Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability (CEES)

In Phase II, CEES research will address the challenging interdisciplinary problems, paving the way for scientific and technological breakthroughs in energy engineering to meet short- and long-term national needs. This research effort is led by the Center’s director Dr. Raghava Kommalapati, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Principal Investigator. His team consist of several Co-PIs from various departments to include a technical coordinator (Dr. Hongbo Du) as well as an Education and Outreach (E&O) coordinator (Dr. Sheena Reeves)

CEES research is organized into three subprojects (SPs). Subproject I: Bioenergy (lead by Dr. Ananda Amarasekara) will focus on the production of bioenergy crops with treated produced water and generation of biomass-based hydrocarbon fuels. Subproject II: Offshore Wind Energy (lead by Dr. Ziaul Huque) will conduct research to improve the feasibility and reliability of massive offshore energy generation. Subproject III: Environmental Sustainability (lead by Dr. Raghava Kommalapati) will employ process engineering and stochastic methods to enhance the sustainability of fossil fuel energy sources. These subprojects build on Phase I results while substantially expanding the research scope and leveraging collaborations with other universities, national labs, and industry.

The goal of the Center’s first phase was to support the arduous and increasing program of research and teaching in the areas of both renewable energy and environmental sustainability. The focus, however, was on innovative technical solutions in the arena of energy and engaging Prairie View A&M University students in research questions that led to the scientific solutions needed to fill critical gaps in environmental and sustainable energy. Phase I researched was organized into 3 main focus areas: Biofuels, Wind Energy and Energy & Environmental Sustainability. The research goals, activities and resulting intellectual merits were summarized in each focus area.