Recent Publications
The following is a sampling of recent publications by U-M faculty working on energy-related research.
Nuclear Energy
Fundamentals of Radiation Materials Science: Metals and Alloys
Gary Was, 2007, Springer
The quest for a secure, affordable and sustainable energy supply will likely include a significant contribution from nuclear energy. The nuclear energy systems of the future will be more reliable, more economical, produce less solid waste, and will be safer than those in the past generation. Virtually all of the advanced nuclear reactor concepts that have been proposed to achieve these goals place much greater demands on the core materials, such as higher temperatures (for greater thermal efficiency), more aggressive media and higher radiation fields and radiation doses. Consequently, the performance and integrity of structural materials has become the greatest challenge to achieving the goals of advanced nuclear energy systems. Radiation Materials Science teaches the fundamentals of the effects of radiation on metals and alloys. When energetic particles strike a solid, numerous processes occur that can alter the physical and mechanical properties of the material. Radiation causes metals and alloys to swell, distort, blister, harden, soften and deform. This textbook covers the basics of particle-atom interaction for a range of particle types, the amount and spatial extent of the resulting radiation damage, the physical effects of irradiation and the changes in mechanical behavior of irradiated metals and alloys. Concepts are developed systematically and quantitatively, supported by examples, references for further reading and problems at the end of each chapter. Beyond addressing students enrolling for a materials sciences or nuclear engineering degree, the book will benefit professionals in laboratories, reactor manufacturers and specialists working in the utility industry.
Available for purchase at http://www.springer.com/west/home/generic/search/results?SGWID=4-40109-22-173707344-0 or through Amazon.com.
Policy, Economics & Business
Greenhouse Gas Reductions or Greenwash? The DOE's 1605b Program
Thomas Lyon and Eun-Hee Kim, August 21, 2007
This working paper presents the first empirical analysis of the causes and consequences of
participation by electric utilities in the Department of Energy’s voluntary greenhouse gas
registry. Although participants report emissions reductions, we find they actually tend to
have increasing emissions; ironically, non-participants tend to have decreasing emissions.
Participants are generally larger, have higher emissions, lower capacity factors, faster
growing demand ,and face greater pressure from environmental groups. Participating in
the 1605b program has no measurable effect on a firm’s carbon emissions per unit of
electricity generated. Overall, the program appears to serve as a convenient
greenwashing tool for industry.
Download the working paper (324K) »
Regulation : If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu
Andrew Hoffman, Harvard Business Review, October 2007. Pages 34-35.
When the companies of the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP)—businesses including GE, Alcoa, DuPont, and PG&E—announced their call for federal standards on greenhouse gas emissions in January 2007, the Wall Street Journal castigated these “jolly green giants” for acting in their own selfinterest in promoting a regulatory program “designed to financially reward companies that reduce CO2 emissions, and punish those that don’t.” But seeking advantage is what companies do. Any company that can foresee business opportunities in influencing carbon emissions regulation is practicing what is expected of business managers—capitalism.
Carbon Strategies: How Leading Companies are Reducing Their Climate Change Footprint
Andrew Hoffman, 2007, University of Michigan Press.
Carbon Strategies describes specific steps any business can take to implement sound, practical, climate-related corporate policies. Based on Andrew J. Hoffman's widely praised report from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, and significantly revised in light of subsequent developments, Carbon Strategies teaches practitioners and students about the importance of timing policy implementation, establishing appropriate levels of internal and external commitment, influencing beneficial policy development, and creating new business opportunities based on climate policy. Hoffman presents real-life "lessons learned" at each step of the climate-strategy development process and concludes this concise guidebook with six case studies (Cinergy, Swiss Re, DuPont, Alcoa, Shell Group, and Whirlpool) that demonstrate the principles of corporate climate policymaking in action.
Available for purchase at http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=306055 or through Amazon.com.
Sustainable Living and Design
Transparent Facade Panel Typologies Based on Hybrid Bio-Composite and Recyclable Polymer Materials
Giles, Harry and Kim, Kyoung-Hee
June 2006
*Judged Best Paper at the 2006 international conference in Philadelphia sponsored by the Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) and the European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE)
Buildings are large consumers of energy. In the
United States of America; they constitute over
33% of the total annual energy consumption,
produce 35% of the total carbon dioxide
emissions and attribute 40% of landfill wastes.
The building industry is also a large consumer
of non-renewable materials and this trend has
escalated dramatically over the past century. It
is essential that we find ways to save on
energy consumption through the use of solar
energy, improved thermal insulation, and
alternative efficient glazed façade systems. In
this paper, we demonstrate how alternative
typologies of transparent and translucent loadbearing
façade systems based on
biocomposite and recyclable materials, are
structurally and thermally efficient at the same
time they contribute towards reduced pollutant
emissions and non-renewable material uses.