Cross-Cutting Energy Sciences
Biography
Supervising Faculty: Orlando Rios
In 2017, the end-use energy efficiency of the residential sector was estimated to be 65% while the remaining 35% of the energy consumed is wasted (DOE energy data, 2017), hence this makes improving energy efficiency in building systems and technologies a pervasive problem. The primary use of energy in these systems is in heating and cooling. An innovative approach to enhance the efficiency of traditional heat exchangers used in HVAC systems explores the use of a phase change material (PCM) for thermal energy storage (TES) that takes advantage of low thermal fluctuations. The availability of a low-cost PCM will enable use in a variety of building applications that can enable tens of GW of demand reduction and hundreds of TBtu/yr in energy savings.
Damilola currently works at the Material Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop a stable, low-cost, high thermal conductivity phase change material (PCM), based on a novel fabrication method for a composite comprised of salt hydrate and compressed expanded natural graphite (CENG). The work comprises the synthesis of composite (salt hydrate and graphite) and the use of several advanced material characterization techniques such as neutron diffraction, x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy to explore their characteristics and determine their performance in energy systems. During his graduate education, Damilola wants to leverage expertise from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and The University of Tennessee in Material Chemistry, Neutron Science and Computational Science towards the understanding of the processing-structure-property-performance relationship of complex materials for energy applications.
Technology, health, national security and other aspects of daily life are affected by the policy choices and decisions made by those in authority. Damilola is interested in learning public policy creation and the influence on the populace. He is also interested in technology commercialization and science communication as crucial ingredients in bridging the gap between the ‘science world’ and the general, non-scientist public.
Education
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering-Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria