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Yushan Yan
Professor and Chair of Chemical & Environmental Engineering
Fuel Cells:
Helping the U.S. maintain its technological lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies, UCR researchers are developing fuel cells that can replace internal combustion engines for powering vehicles, resulting in much- reduced or zero emissions. This fuel cell technology and its reverse operation as an electrolyzer together can also be used for energy storage that is necessary for the efficient use of wind/solar-based electricity.
Helping the U.S. maintain its technological lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies, UCR researchers are developing fuel cells that can replace internal combustion engines for powering vehicles, resulting in much- reduced or zero emissions. This fuel cell technology and its reverse operation as an electrolyzer together can also be used for energy storage that is necessary for the efficient use of wind/solar-based electricity.
Areas of Expertise
Areas of Expertise:- Zeolite thin films
- Fuel cells
- Nanostructured materials
Select Honors and Distinctions
- 2008 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
- 2008 Chair, Gordon Research Conference on Nanoporous Materials 2013
- 2007 Member, Scientific Advisory Board of NanoH20
- 2007 Top 100 Most Cited Papers Since 1975, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
- 2006 University Scholar, University of California, Riverside
Research Summary
Novel applications of zeolite thin films for semiconductor and aerospace applications and nanotechnology inspired catalysts and membranes to make fuel cells cheaper and more durable.Q&A
Q: What is a fuel cell and why aren’t they in common use?A fuel cell is a device that can oxidize a fuel, such as hydrogen, electrochemically to produce electricity with high efficiency and low or zero emissions. Unlike fossil fuel engines, which produce air pollutants and climate change gasses, the by-products of fuel cells are heat and water. Fuel cells have great potential to produce affordable sustainable energy for automotives, homes, portable electronics and for energy storage for solar and wind electricity.
The biggest problems for the current polymer proton exchange membrane fuel cells are their high cost and low durability. Scientists are working to break these kinds of barriers to fuel cell commercialization. In our lab, we are developing new classes of catalysts and membranes, which will reduce the cost of fuel cells dramatically and make them attractive to companies.
Q: Please describe your research philosophy.
It is critically important for researchers to choose society-impacting problems to work on. Understandably, all of these problems are challenging and require unique and perhaps revolutionary approaches. If we limit ourselves to the most recent literature and trendy approaches, we can still contribute to the science and technology, but it may be difficult to come up something dramatically different. So how can we generate out-of-the-box approaches? Past research approaches that were considered “dead-ends” many years ago may no long be so, due to the development of correct understanding, sophisticated tools and/or new materials. So often we can simply pick up these approaches again today and apply what is readily available now to get the problems solved.
Q: What led you to UCR?
It took me slightly less than four years to get my PhD, and a year before I graduated I accepted a Senior Staff Engineer position at AlliedSignal. Some of my current work in the aerospace area and my fascination for commercialization can be traced back to my AlliedSignal experience. While working at AlliedSignal, I realized that my way of pursuing research would be served better in an academic setting. My wife also had the strong desire to come back to California from Chicago. So I applied to UCR. When I was invited to UCR for a visit and interview and saw the almost brand new laboratories with great views (no more basement) and steel counters and drawers (no more buckled wood drawer bottoms), this was it.
Q: What keeps you here?
At UCR people are very warm, friendly and enthusiastic about moving UCR forward to the next level of achievement. We have high aspirations and the UC system is a great platform to achieve that. There is a lot of excitement among the students, staff and the faculty, and this is very healthy, stimulating and gratifying.
Q: What do you do in your spare time?
I enjoy reading history, science history in particular, and I do not function well without my daily quiet one hour walk through our beautiful Botanic Gardens. I do some random thinking while I walk but mostly my mind is blank.
"Unlike fossil fuel engines, which produce air
pollutants and climate change gasses, the by-products of fuel cells are heat and
water."—Yushan Yan
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