Alternative Energy Sources To Be Discussed At CWU

April 22, 2005

Contact: Ethan Bergman (509-963-2366/fax 509-963-2787/e-mail: bergmane@cwu.edu)

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - With the recent spike in the price of gas, there has been renewed discussion about the need for substitutes to fossil fuels. Dr. Subhash Singhal, Battelle Fellow and fuel cells director at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, is an expert on alternative energy sources.

He will talk about them during a presentation, titled "Fuel Cells for Clean and Efficient Power Generation," at Central Washington University. The talk is slated for Tuesday, May 3, at 7 p.m. in Hertz Hall.

Fuel cells have around for the last three decades. They use hydrogen produced from renewable sources for transportation or power generation. Fuel cells now in development can produce electricity without any "greenhouse gas" emissions.

Singhal's presentation, sponsored by the CWU college of education and professional studies and college of the sciences, will focus on fuel cells, the direction of future research and development, and key challenges associated with making them part of everyday life.

At PNNL for the past five years, he provides senior technical, managerial and commercialization leadership to its extensive fuel cell program.

He also spent more than 29 years at Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation (formerly Westinghouse Electric Corporation), where he was involved with major research, development and demonstration programs in the field of advanced metallic, ceramic, and composite materials and protective coatings for various energy systems including fuel cells.

Singhal has received 13 patents, authored more than 70 scientific publications and made hundreds of presentations worldwide.

He has also served on numerous national and international advisory panels including the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, NATO Science for Peace Programs, United Nations Industrial Development Organization and International Energy Agency.

For more information about his free, public presentation, or for persons of disability to arrange for reasonable accommodation, call (509) 963-2366 or (for the hearing impaired) TDD (509) 963-2143.

In 2003, CWU installed the first fuel cell in central Washington. It was the first part of a grant received by the Northwest Energy Technology Collaborative and the Bonneville Power Administration to educate students and the public about hydrogen and fuel cells.