Student Awarded Sonnerup Fellowship for Energy Technologies Research

Jocelyn Shyong '16

Jocelyn Shyong '16 was awarded The Bengt Sonnerup Fellowship for the 2015–2016 academic year. The fellowship will support further research and implementation of her work with Professor Mark Laser entitled, "Techno-economic assessment of integrated oxycombustion concepts for C02 capture from pulverized coal power plants."

"Jocelyn’s project addresses a vital concern—energy sustainability—by evaluating a promising technology having the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the use of coal for power generation," says Professor Laser. "She is well suited for the research, given her strong academic record in chemical engineering, particularly ENGS 157: Chemical Process Design, in which she received a citation for her outstanding performance in the course. She has obvious talent in the area of process modeling and analysis, and a passion for making a difference in the world. I look forward to seeing her do exactly that through her Fellowship."

"I'm very honored to have been chosen for the Sonnerup Fellowship this year," says Shyong. "Even with progress being made in other areas such as renewable fuels, coal is still the fastest growing source of primary energy in the world. In order to meet long term carbon stabilization goals without restricting use of known coal reserves, carbon capture (i.e. CO2 capture) must be deployed in the coal-fired electricity sector. Along those lines, my project focuses on oxyfuel combustion carbon capture, which is one of the most competitive but least mature carbon capture options. More specifically, the project addresses the current need for process optimization through integration into a complete steam-electric power plant. The validation of integrated oxyfuel processes will advance the technical readiness of oxycombustion carbon capture and align with IEA climate change mitigation targets. This area of 'clean coal' research presents a compelling technical challenge that allows me to apply everything I've learned here at Thayer School, and I’m very excited to begin work on the project!"

The Sonnerup Fellowship is made possible through the generosity of anonymous donors with the goal of encouraging the development of applied research that addresses the challenges, broadly defined, of global climate change.