Energy Research | Research News Center

Sam Shelton, Founding Director of the Strategic Energy Institute (Photo Credit: Georgia Tech Institute Communications)

July 7, 2026

In Memoriam: Sam Shelton, Founding Director of the Strategic Energy Institute

3 min read

Sam Shelton, founding director of the Strategic Energy Institute (SEI), longtime professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and designer of the torch for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, passed away on June 20, 2026.

4 panel image: clockwise from upper left - solar panels in field, data center and cooling complex, Hormuz Island, gas pump in a car's fuel port

July 1, 2026

EPIcenter Experts in the News: AI, Prices, and the War

1 min read

EPIcenter Faculty Affiliates have recently contributed to more than a dozen news broadcasts, public radio interviews, and national media conversations on energy price trends, the war in Iran, and what these mean for everyday Americans.

June 30, 2026

Meet the Expert: Brian An

1 min read

In this EPIcenter Expert series, meet Brian An, EPIcenter Affiliate, studying the intersection of energy resilience and urban policy to improve grid equity during extreme weather.

Georgia Tech's Tech Tower with flowers blooming in the foreground

June 24, 2026

Researchers Discover Membrane-Based Approach to More Sustainable Oil Refining

6 min read

Published in Nature, the researchers' findings suggest that using membranes to separate crude oil before distillation could significantly reduce the energy, water, and carbon footprint of petroleum refining.

United States map showing the eight regions of the CORE-CM Initiative. Courtesy: Department of Energy Core-CM Initiative

June 24, 2026

Mining New Possibilities for Critical Minerals: Mapping a Stronger U.S. Supply Chain

4 min read

A new Department of Energy award will help Georgia Tech lead a regional effort to identify, recover, and reuse materials essential to energy, manufacturing, and national security.

Stock image that shows a soccer stadium as the center of an AI chip design

June 24, 2026

What It Takes to Deliver a Tech‑Heavy World Cup

1 min read

With hundreds of thousands of people attending the 104 World Cup games, Georgia Tech experts explain how electrical and computer engineering are facilitating some of the tournament's newest and most crucial technology.

Professors Ryan Lively (Georgia Tech) and Dong-Yeun Koh (KAIST). Koh used to be postdoctoral researcher in the Lively Lab.

June 24, 2026

Researchers Discover Membrane-Based Approach to More Sustainable Oil Refining

6 min read

Published in Nature, the researchers' findings suggest that using membranes to separate crude oil before distillation could significantly reduce the energy, water, and carbon footprint of petroleum refining.

June 18, 2026

Zhuomin Zhang Receives ASME 2026 James Harry Potter Gold Medal

1 min read

Zhuomin Zhang, J. Erskine Love, Jr. Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded the 2026 James Harry Potter Gold Medal by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Graphic showing #1 public university in energy in Georgia Tech colors

June 9, 2026

Georgia Tech Maintains No. 1 Ranking in Energy and Fuels for Third Consecutive Year

2 min read

U.S. News & World Report has named Georgia Tech the top-ranked public university in energy and fuels research (No. 3 nationally). The Institute has maintained this ranking every year since the category was first introduced in 2024.

Ben Emerson, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering giving a tour of the Ben T. Zinn Combustion Lab for the Summer Carbon Management Fellows

June 5, 2026

Summer Carbon Management Fellows Program Visit to the Ben T. Zinn Combustion Lab

1 min read

The combustion lab had the pleasure of touring visiting scholars from several neighboring universities on Wednesday, May 27. The combustion lab tour was part of a larger campus visit centered on the topic of carbon management.

Portrait of an individual photographed outdoors, shown from the shoulders up and wearing a dark red top. The background includes a textured stone column, greenery, and part of a building with a window visible behind the subject.

May 27, 2026

Data Centers, Microbes, and the Future of Water Reuse

5 min read

Metro Atlanta has become a magnet for hyperscale data centers and securing enough cooling water with wastewater reuse has unknown public health risks.

May 27, 2026

Steven Ferguson Builds Better On-Ramps to Georgia Manufacturing, Education

3 min read

For Steven Ferguson, deputy director of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute and executive director of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing 4.0 Consortium, advancing Georgia’s manufacturing industry and its workforce is personal.

Logos of national labs including Oak Ridge National Lab, AMES Lab, Argonne National Lab, Savannah River National Lab, PPPL, National Lab of the Rockies, National Fusion Facility, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Brookhaven National Lab and Sandia national lab

May 26, 2026

Georgia Tech Students Advance Energy, Science Innovation Through National Lab Internships

2 min read

Georgia Tech students are gaining hands-on research experience at U.S. national laboratories this summer, reinforcing the Institute’s strong and enduring partnerships across the national lab system.

EPIcenter Director Laura Taylor, Southern Company Chairman and CEO Chris Womack, President Angel Cabrera, EVPR Tim Lieuwen, SEI Executive Director Yuanzhi Tang

May 26, 2026

INTERSECT 2026 Marks a Decade of Impact in Advancing the Southeast’s Energy Policy

2 min read

Georgia Tech’s INTERSECT 2026 brought together leading voices in energy on May 18 to explore critical issues in the Southeast’s energy ecosystem.

Aerial view of a large industrial facility with multiple blue cylindrical cooling towers arranged in rows, releasing visible steam into the air. The structures are connected by metal walkways, pipes, and equipment, with a darker building facade behind them. Green grass and patches of standing water are visible in the distance beyond the facility.

May 25, 2026

BBISS Insights Series Reflection: Demystifying Data Centers — Water

3 min read

A recent BBISS seminar focused on the issue of water and data centers, bringing together perspectives from engineering, utilities, and infrastructure planning.

Hand of the man putting money into the opening gas tank of his car. Refueling car with gasoline at gas stations.

May 18, 2026

How the Global Energy Crisis Is Affecting Americans

4 min read

Experts break down five things to know about how global oil disruptions are already hitting American households.

Vida Jamali, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Tech

May 14, 2026

Vida Jamali Receives the Inaugural Dr. James Robert and Margaret Spencer Early Career Fellowship

1 min read

Assistant Professor Vida Jamali is the inaugural recipient of the new Dr. James Robert and Margaret Spencer Early Career Fellowship in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE@GT).

EPIcenter ACCELERATE Program Recipients: Top (Left to Right) - Clio Andris, Marilyn Brown, Dylan Brewer, Gaurav Doshi, Michelle Graff; Bottom (Left to Right) - Tony Harding, Brian An, Matt Oliver, Micah Ziegler, Constance Crozier

May 5, 2026

EPIcenter Awards Inaugural Funding to Advance Energy Policy Impact in the Southeast

3 min read

The Energy Policy and Innovation Center at Georgia Tech has awarded funding to a new faculty cohort through its ACCELERATE program, designed to strengthen Georgia Tech’s thought leadership and real world impact in energy policy in the Southeast.

A person filling gas in his car with the gas prices shown in the foreground

May 1, 2026

What’s in the Price of a Gallon of Gas?

7 min read

Georgia Tech energy economist Bobby Harris said U.S. gasoline prices are driven mainly by crude oil costs, with refining, distribution and taxes accounting for a smaller and shifting share of what consumers pay at the pump.

Ángel Cabrera, president of Georgia Tech, and Ken Ramírez, executive vice president and head of Global Energy and Hydrogen Business at Hyundai Motor Group

April 29, 2026

Hyundai Motor Group, Georgia Tech Sign MOU on Hydrogen Mobility Development

4 min read

Georgia Tech has entered into a multiyear partnership with Hyundai Motor Group to advance hydrogen mobility solutions on campus, expanding research, education, and real-world application of zero-emissions transportation.