Members

Education

• Stanford University, Ph.D., 2010
• The University of Texas at Austin, M.S., 2005
• Brigham Young University, B.S., 2003

Background

Dr. Porter received his PhD from Stanford University where he developed optical sensors for fuel sensing in internal combustion engines, supported by an NDSEG fellowship and Nissan Motor Co. His doctoral research focused on applications of multi-wavelength mid-infrared lasers for detection of fuel vapor in the presence of fuel films and aerosols. He received his MS from UT Austin where he developed optimization algorithms for radiation heat transfer models. During his masters research, Dr. Porter worked at Sandia National Labs where he applied radiation heat transfer models to fire science applications.

Research Interests

Dr. Porter’s research can be broadly grouped into two efforts: 1) developing optical diagnostics for in-situ detection and control of complex energy conversion technologies, and 2) studying fundamental transport and chemical kinetics for improved efficiency and reduced pollution in energy conversion. Technologies studied include: room-temperature ionic liquids, sodium-ion batteries, diesel spray combustion, gasification, steam-methane reforming, PEM fuel cell manufacturing, and solar photovoltaic manufacturing.

A significant research focus is in gasification of biomass, coal, and waste streams to produce syngas—a potentially much cleaner process than direct combustion. A laboratory-scale high-pressure entrained-flow gasifier serves as a test bed for many fundamental gasification studies, including two current projects studying char gasification kinetics and hydrogen separation membranes.