In moving toward a more sustainable future, we must develop more efficient means to convert and utilize energy. This presentation will highlight the recent work of Dr. Schaefer’s lab on a number of energy systems, which are unifiedthrough the application of rigorous thermofluid modeling, both on the small scale and at the systems level. An overview will be presented of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), including its ability to capture particle interactions without high computational complexity.

The mesoscopic particle distribution functions of the LBM allow for simulation of the multiphase, multicomponent thermal flows that are common in a range of energy systems. Improvements to the LBM will also be discussed, along with the challenges in extending the method to capture higher-order behavior. Finally, examples will be presented on how the LBM, along with more conventional CFD and
heat transfer approaches, can be useful in designing and implementing advanced energy systems.

Dr. Laura Schaefer is Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rice University, as well as a Burton J. and Ann M. McMurtry Chaired Professor. Dr. Schaefer received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (1995) and a B.A. in English (1995) from Rice University, and her M.S. (1997) and Ph.D. (2000) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech. She was a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh from 2000-2015, where she was also Deputy Director of the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation and Associate Director of the Center for Energy.

Dr. Schaefer’s research has received over $12 million in funding by organizations such as NSF, AFOSR, ASHRAE, PITA, and NCIIA. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier journal Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, an Associate Editor of the ASME Journal of Heat Transfer, and a past Chair of the Advanced Energy Systems Division of ASME.