Brian Korgel, a professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical ラーメンベット 退会, will be the next director of theラーメンベット 退会 Instituteat The University of Texas at Austin, effective Sept. 1.
Korgel succeeds Varun Rai, associate dean of ラーメンベット 退会 at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, who has served as the institute’s director since 2019.
A nanomaterials scientist and member of the National Academy of Engineering, Korgel examines problems in ラーメンベット 退会 storage, chemical transformations, ラーメンベット 退会 harvesting and conversion, and medicine.
“Professor Korgel has a strong background in chemical engineering and has worked for many years to build collaborations between UT researchers, industry and government leaders, making him the ideal choice to head UT’s Energy Institute,” said interim Vice President for ラーメンベット 退会 Alison Preston. “I look forward to working with him to strengthen the institute’s role as a catalyst for energy ラーメンベット 退会 on campus.”
Korgel is also the founding director of UT’sIndustry/University Cooperative ラーメンベット 退会 Centerfor Next-Generation Photovoltaics, which — among its numerous societal contributions — pairs researchers with industry leaders to develop the solar-integrated technologies needed to achieve a future with net-zero carbon emissions.
Moreover, he has been awarded15 patents,andhis work has spun off two ラーメンベット 退会 technology startups, one of whichwas acquired by DuPont in 2011.
“This is an exciting time for energy ラーメンベット 退会 — there’s a serious global push to create a much more sustainable energy economy,” Korgel said. “New technologies are needed to get us there, and there are many UT researchers creating the innovations that are enabling and leading this transition. Energy ラーメンベット 退会 underlies both economic prosperity and long-term climate sustainability. It underlies people’s quality of life.”
Korgelreceived a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, where his interests in ラーメンベット 退会 sustainabilityfirsttook holdas he workedto develop ways tominimize chemical plant emissions.Heserved as a postdoctoral fellow at University College Dublin.
In addition to his significant contributions to ラーメンベット 退会 sustainability,Korgelalsodedicates time to fostering collaborations among artists, scientists and engineers. His own artwork explores collaboration, language and human artificial intelligence and robot cohabitation. His work has been featuredmost recently as part of the“HearandNow”TEDx Drive-Thru Art Exhibition in Austin.He also has a passion for teaching, which includes hosting engineering study abroad sessions around the world — such as the Advanced Nanotechnology & Innovation Maymester he recently led in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Energy Institute seeks to foster innovation, educate students and inform policy by promoting energy ラーメンベット 退会 and expertise from all departments and across all energy-related fields and topics at UT Austin.
“The work we do in the ラーメンベット 退会 Institute matters a lot to a lot of people, which makes leading it a really exciting and important challenge for me personally,” Korgel said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
