Revolutionizing Energy Systems

Thermoradiative Photovoltaics

Researchers in the UC Davis Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offer insights on devices that operate like solar cells in reverse and can generate power even in the absence of sunlight, offering an alternative route for energy production.

Charging, Not Range, is Becoming a Top Concern For Electric Car Drivers

Over the past four years, the number of public charging ports across the U.S. has doubled. As of August 2024, the nation had 192,000 publicly available charging ports and was adding about 1,000 public chargers weekly. But there’s still a need to make the charging experience more reliable and accessible for everyone.

Eclipsing the Limitations of Solar Energy

College of Engineering researchers aim to make around-the-clock solar energy a reality with a novel thermophotovoltaic device. Paired with an optical emitter, the device converts the sun’s heat into a concentrated light spectrum that can then be transformed into usable energy.

Ultrafast Laser Pulses Could Lessen Data Storage Energy Needs

New research published in Physical Review Letters shows how an experiment with lasers and magnets resulted in the domain walls within ferromagnetic layers moving at previously unheard-of speeds, paving the way for more sustainable and energy-efficient data storage.

Tackling Climate Change with Chemical Engineering

As researchers look for new ways to help slow a changing climate and mitigate the effects of a fossil fuel-based energy system, UC Davis professor Ambarish Kulkarni and his team of researchers are using chemical engineering to find sustainable solutions.