Dr. Prabhakar Singh has been selected Director of the Center for Clean Energy Engineering at the University of Connecticut following an international search. His faculty appointment as the UTC Chair Professor of Fuel Cell Technology will be in the Department of Chemical, Materials & Biomolecular Engineering. Dr. Singh is currently with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) where he oversees and directs the advanced solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) development activities of the NETL-PNNL led U.S. Department of Energy’s SECA Core Technology Program and interfaces with government and industrial clients working in the fuel cell product development. Dr. Singh will begin his duties officially on January 1, 2009.
Dean of Engineering Mun Y. Choi made the announcement, saying “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Singh, a world class researcher and visionary in the field of fuel cell science who will help to transform the Center for Clean Energy Engineering into an international leader in the design, development and commercialization of fuel cells.”
As Director, Dr. Singh will guide the Center’s research and educational activities while also overseeing operations. He will have responsibility for attracting resources and engendering strong collaborative partnerships between the C2E2 and industrial and government partners. He will serve as a catalyst for team-based visionary research and development in the area of fuel cell technology and application.
He is widely recognized for his technical contributions relating to the identification, characterization, and development of mechanistic understanding of accelerated corrosion of metals and alloys under bi-polar exposure conditions as encountered in advanced fuel cell electrochemical power generation systems.
Prior to joining PNNL, Dr. Singh held several key technical and management positions at Ford Motor Company, Westinghouse Electric Corporation and FuelCell Energy. While at Ford Motor Company’s Visteon Corporation enterprise, Dr. Singh managed PEM fuel cell research and development, including fuel cell system and advanced “on board” fuel processing technologies development. At Westinghouse Electric Corporation, as technical group leader and a member of the technical staff, Dr. Singh developed SOFC cell and stack component materials, large scale manufacturing processes, hydrocarbon processing and “on anode” reforming. At FuelCell Energy, Dr. Singh led the development work on corrosion tolerant materials, creep tolerant electrodes and process scale up.
Dr. Singh earned his Ph.D. in metallurgy at the University of Sheffield, England and an MBA degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He holds more than 50 U.S. patents and trade secrets, and he has authored or co-authored more than 100 technical reports and papers along with three book chapters. He is a Fellow of ASM International, the American Ceramic Society and the National Association of Corrosion Engineers, and he serves as Chairman of the ASM Energy Committee. He has received a number of honors and awards. He serves on the ASM Executive Committee and the editorial boards of ASME and the American Ceramic Society.
The Center for Clean Energy Engineering (C2E2), established in 2001 with significant investment from Connecticut Innovations, Inc. and Connecticut industry, is housed in a state-of-the-art 16,000 sq. ft. facility located at the Storrs campus. The mission of the Center is to become the world’s premier academic resource for advanced research, development and technology transfer in fuel cell technologies. In addition, the Fuel Cell Center and the School of Engineering are working with the University, the State and industrial partners to attract an eminent faculty member and associated team in the area of clean, sustainable and alternate energy.
