{"656035":{"#nid":"656035","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Meet the Water and Energy Dream Team","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Water-Energy Research Lab (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/amenonlab.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWERL\u003C\/a\u003E) at Georgia Tech is a new experimental research group in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWoodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E. Led by Assistant Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/menon\u0022\u003EAkanksha Menon\u003C\/a\u003E, the WERL team implements advances in thermal science and functional materials to develop novel technologies for applications ranging from desalination using hybrid membrane-thermal processes and stimuli-responsive materials, to decarbonized buildings using thermal energy storage and negative emissions materials. The first effort was selected for a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/2021-2022-georgia-tech-institute-electronics-and-nanotechnology-ien-core-facilities-seed-grant-1\u0022\u003Eseed grant\u003C\/a\u003E from the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ien.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInstitute for Electronics and Nanotechnology\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe materials-focused research activities on the water side include the development of polymeric heat transfer surfaces with modified morphology and\/or chemistry to inhibit nucleation that are characterized using static and dynamic measurements (goniometer with temperature control), as well as using thermally responsive ionic liquids with tailored absorption properties that harness solar energy for separations.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOn the energy side, the team focuses on the development of a thermal battery based on inorganic-organic thermochemical composites and characterizing their reaction enthalpy and hygrothermal stability using a combination of microscale (TGA and DSC) and macroscale (environmental chamber) experiments.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThese experimental efforts are complemented with thermodynamic modeling of aqueous solutions to provide insight on and predict the precipitation behavior of multi-component complex solutions, as well as combined heat and mass transfer models that elucidate the effects of diffusion and reaction kinetics. At the system level, modeling efforts include the Integration of solar-thermal energy and renewable electricity to enable sustainable desalination.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA smaller effort in the group is focused on the development of flexible electronics that can achieve active personal thermoregulation and harvest body heat for self-powered devices using thermoelectric semiconductors.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the PI: \u003C\/strong\u003EMenon is a proud Yellow Jacket (Ph.D. ME 2018). She is back at the Woodruff School after spending three years as a Rosenfeld Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, an experience that motivated her to solve grand challenges at the nexus of energy, water, and climate. She was featured by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of their \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/articles\/women-energy-dr-akanksha-menon\u0022\u003EWomen in STEM\u003C\/a\u003E initiative.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The Water-Energy Research Lab (WERL) at Georgia Tech is a new experimental research group in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Water-Energy Research Lab (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/amenonlab.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWERL\u003C\/a\u003E) at Georgia Tech is a new experimental research group in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWoodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Water-Energy Research Lab (WERL) at Georgia Tech is a new experimental research group in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering."}],"uid":"34760","created_gmt":"2022-03-04 13:40:53","changed_gmt":"2022-03-04 16:42:06","author":"Laurie Haigh","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-03-04T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2022-03-04T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"656037":{"id":"656037","type":"image","title":"The WERL Team (L-R): Ph.D. student Erik Barbosa, Assistant Professor Akanksha Menon, Master\u2019s student John Huang, and Ph.D. student Walter Parker","body":null,"created":"1646402628","gmt_created":"2022-03-04 14:03:48","changed":"1646411780","gmt_changed":"2022-03-04 16:36:20","alt":"Ph.D. Student Erik Barbosa, Assistant Professor Akanksha Menon, Master\u2019s student John Huang, and Ph.D. student Walter Parker","file":{"fid":"248704","name":"Square-image.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Square-image_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Square-image_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":453861,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Square-image_0.png?itok=RV5qGj71"}},"656046":{"id":"656046","type":"image","title":"Barbosa measures the reaction enthalpy and hygrothermal stability of different materials used in thermochemical energy storage.","body":null,"created":"1646411919","gmt_created":"2022-03-04 16:38:39","changed":"1646411919","gmt_changed":"2022-03-04 16:38:39","alt":"Barbosa working in the lab","file":{"fid":"248709","name":"QB6A3736.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/QB6A3736.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/QB6A3736.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":368015,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/QB6A3736.JPG?itok=FWCl9w9W"}},"656044":{"id":"656044","type":"image","title":"Menon and Huang design a lab-scale hybrid desalination process to treat high salinity wastewater using thermally responsive ionic liquids. ","body":null,"created":"1646411744","gmt_created":"2022-03-04 16:35:44","changed":"1646411744","gmt_changed":"2022-03-04 16:35:44","alt":"Menon and Huang in the lab","file":{"fid":"248708","name":"040A3788.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/040A3788.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/040A3788.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":277770,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/040A3788.JPG?itok=Ui9d79V2"}},"656047":{"id":"656047","type":"image","title":"Parker measures the contact angle on superhydrophobic polymeric heat transfer surfaces to manage salt precipitation during desalination.","body":null,"created":"1646412029","gmt_created":"2022-03-04 16:40:29","changed":"1646412029","gmt_changed":"2022-03-04 16:40:29","alt":"Parker in the lab","file":{"fid":"248710","name":"040A3696.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/040A3696.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/040A3696.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":329439,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/040A3696.JPG?itok=S16evSeZ"}}},"media_ids":["656037","656046","656044","656047"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/amenonlab.me.gatech.edu\/","title":"Water-Energy Research Lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"197261","name":"Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187433","name":"go-ien"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}