Guiyan Zang is an associate professor in the Washington State University Tri-Cities School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, as well as an INEF faculty fellow with a background in mechanical engineering. She earned her PhD in 2019 from the University of Iowa, where she cultivated a research focus on thermodynamics and the relationship between heat and energy in power-generating systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since then, she has applied her research expertise toward a better understanding of how emerging energy technologies operate at a larger scale, using two methodologies known as techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA). The former looks to investigate the economic feasibility and efficiency of an energy system based on things like fuel resource availability and consumption, whereas the latter deals with evaluating the long-term sustainability and environmental impacts of the energy system from beginning to end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As such, Zang\u2019s work is still based fundamentally on mechanical and chemical engineering, but incorporates elements of economics and systems design research as they apply to power-generating technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor the system design I need to get the mass and energy balance, and then using the mass and energy balance I can do the TEA to evaluate the cost and the LCA to evaluate the emission,\u201d Zang says. \u201cI can also look at the supply chain to see where the resources are and where the demand is \u2014 and to link the resources and the demand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an example project, Zang said she is currently assisting one outside research group in its long-term efforts to bring an experimental biomass conversion technology into full-scale production \u2014 using TEA, LCA, and simulation to provide helpful insight and ideas for potential improvements to the core system design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey can convert biomass into battery material, into polymers, into liquid fuels. But they don\u2019t know the cost. They don\u2019t know what will happen if they want to scale up their technology,\u201d Zang said. \u201cSo I can help them to scale their very small, experimental design to something very large-scale \u2014 comparable with a current industry plant. And then I can evaluate the cost and the emission for their technology, and my research output can help them to optimize their experimental design.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before starting at WSU, Zang worked as a techno-economic analysis group lead at the MIT Energy Initiative in Massachusetts and as a data modeling analyst at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. One of the reasons why WSU Tri-Cities and INEF caught her eye, Zang said, was the campus\u2019s proximity and strong research ties to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really enjoy the research environment at the national labs,\u201d she said. \u201cThe close location to PNNL is important to me, and I also want to engage in more activities with students. I\u2019m changing my role to faculty, but I can still keep the collaboration, keep the working style, and keep the research part close.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
INEF\u2019s collaborative, systems-level approach to energy research and educational mentoring opportunities are another draw for Zang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWorking for [INEF] will help me take my research results and convert it into real-world impact very fast, and it is easy for me to collaborate with other faculty members at INEF and to connect with the industry,\u201d Zang said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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