• Number 422  |
• September 15, 2014

Teamwork, collaboration broaden frontiers of science at NETL

Collaboration is a critical component of every successful enterprise. This is particularly true at DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) where research projects frequently extend beyond the lab’s physical boundaries to include participants in academia, industry, and other national labs. For Dr. Kirk Gerdes, who leads both NETL’s Fuel Cells Research Team and the WV Science Bowl Regional, collaboration is more than a corporate cliche; it’s a proven method and a best practice, and he applies variations of this core philosophy to his energy research and to encouraging future generations of scientists and engineers.

Kirk’s interest in energy conversion brought him to DOE’s Energy Lab, and his experiences working with teams of diversely talented individuals makes every assignment uniquely rewarding. “One of the implicit strengths of the national lab environment is the community of technical professionals willing to contribute their expertise to serve the public. Teamwork here is terrifically rewarding because of the diverse technical expertise embodied in the staff.” 

In one team environment, Kirk leads a group of more than 30 researchers and technical staff in pursuit of common research goals that support commercialization of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology.  NETL’s Fuel Cell Research Portfolio is focused on reducing SOFC degradation, an effort requiring skills and knowledge from many inter-related science and engineering fields. Fuel cell degradation refers to loss of cell performance over time, and understanding degradation processes will reduce costs of SOFCs to bring this low-emission fossil fuel technology successfully to market. To investigate degradation, Kirk and his team are correlating fuel cell structure to its function, and predicting how the function will evolve over commercially relevant time scales.

Much like meteorological tracking of tropical storms, the fuel cell team is developing a “hurricane model” for SOFCs that will describe lifetime cell performance. Consider that when a storm is first spotted at sea, meteorologists are able to predict only a broad path towards landfall, which contains significant uncertainty. As the hurricane moves in closer to land, range and intensity predictions are refined with data, ultimately resulting in identification of specific evacuation areas. Kirk explains: “Like a meteorological prediction, our model will tell industrial and commercial users when a fuel cell needs to be serviced or replaced. Researchers will also use it to engineer SOFC durability improvements, and the model will encourage development of new materials to improve performance.”

To produce such a model requires a multiscale, multidisciplinary effort, the objectives of which could not be accomplished without a tightly collaborating team. According to Kirk, “we have mathematicians, electro-chemists, multiple engineering disciplines, and materials scientists all applying their particular expertise to achieve, common project goals. Mere person-to-person teamwork would be insufficient to solve the problems we’re investigating. Solutions involve technical information exchange and collaboration among every team member because each person brings resources and expertise that are required for all members’ benefit.”

The fuel cell researchers must collaborate closely to place their piece of the puzzle to create the bigger picture. For example, scientists studying SOFC fundamentals could choose any set of input conditions to investigate, but would not necessarily choose the best conditions unless the applied scientists advise which inputs are most advantageous. If the inputs are irrelevant, the research would not be useful. Likewise, applied researchers often want to know every parameter associated with the system being tested, a prohibitively costly proposition.  Through the fuel cell research team’s collaborative paradigm, fundamental analysis is tailored to those parameters that are most germane. Each researcher applies their knowledge and skill both to their specific research and that task’s role in the big picture of SOFC degradation. For Kirk, this is a very rewarding aspect of working with this team: “Nobody’s contribution is exclusive or independent. Every team member is critical to the success of the whole project.”

From Science Research to Science Bowl

Another team of diversely talented individuals assembles in September as planning begins for the annual West Virginia Regional Science Bowl (WVSB). Kirk also leads this team and has served as Regional Coordinator for 3 years. “Science Bowl gives me an opportunity to work with students and I really enjoy that,” Kirk says. When asked how he became the Regional Coordinator in charge of planning and executing the event, Kirk laughs. “I guess I was in the right place at the right time. [Coordinator Emeritus] Steve Woodruff knew that I enjoyed working with teams and said he thought I could handle it.” Perhaps what the former coordinator saw was Kirk’s passion for science, technology, engineering, and math, the STEM fields that Science Bowl promotes. Perhaps he observed that Kirk’s affable demeanor makes him ideal to lead a team of volunteers from varied backgrounds. Whatever Kirk’s obvious qualifications, his penchant for teamwork has been a definite asset for the Regional competition.

“The West Virginia Science Bowl is conceived as an exciting educational service event for WV students, and is also an opportunity to assemble a community in promoting West Virginia and STEM education.  One of the best parts is seeing how the core group of 12 to 15 coordinating committee members collaborates to execute this great public service event.  I think that every coordinator really takes pride in their individual role while supporting the common purpose that we serve.”  So far, Kirk and the WVSB coordinating team are achieving their goals as participation continues to grow. Each year, WVSB hosts teams from around the state as a qualifying tournament for the National Science Bowl. The winning team earns a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent the state in the national competition.

But the Regional event is not just about competing. Staying true to the vision of broadening horizons, the team of Science Bowl volunteers devotes much planning and hard work to make the competition as enriching of an educational experience as possible. The 2014 event featured guest speakers including U.S. Representative (WV-1) and Professional Engineer David M. McKinley, and Dr. Nigel Clark, WVU’s Associate Vice-President for Academic Strategic Planning. A pre-event reception allowed high school students and their coaches to interact with WVU President Gordon L. Gee. Beyond “networking,” students attended an information fair supported by universities around the state and enjoyed a half-time activity of Sumo Lego Robots (SuGoBots), in which kids get to exercise their engineering chops by designing a robot for bot-to-bot competition with other teams.   “We’re expecting the 2015 event to be even more tech-focused, and are planning to add a new set of interactive STEM experiences for the participants.”

The 2015 competition, which will take place in February, promises to be the biggest yet.  “This year [2015] we’re set up to be able to host 24 high school teams and 16 middle school teams,” Kirk enthusiastically reports. The 2014 competition was limited by capacity at the NETL Morgantown site, which meant that only 18 teams from around the state were invited to participate. However, in 2014, thanks to Kirk’s vision and the coordinating committee’s determination, NETL partnered with West Virginia University, and the event was held at the university’s student union. The change in venue meant that the event’s outreach has expanded to more than 50 teams and 400 students from around the state.

“It’s really rewarding to be able to include more students,” Kirk says. “We have an opportunity to introduce kids from around the state to activities and experiences they might otherwise not know about.” Most everybody remembers a defining moment in their youth or a particularly inspirational teacher that helped set their future course. Kirk hopes that WVSB can contribute to that experience. “I remember attending summer camps in elementary and junior high school and becoming interested in science and chemistry because of the experiences, including many with professional scientists and science students.” That interest did not wane. Kirk went on to get a PhD in Chemical Engineering. “I hope that when our students participate in Science Bowl the experience gives them a return beyond the competition. Maybe someone will discover a passion for physics, and would only have known it by participating in Science Bowl. The goal is to provide an enticing activity and for people to be excited about it.” 

Whether in solid oxide fuel cell research or West Virginia Regional Science Bowl, approaches rooted in team cooperation and collaboration have engendered success for Kirk. Best of all, many stakeholders can share the success and the reward of creating team outcomes that are bigger than any individual.

Submitted by DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory