4:03 p.m., Jan. 25, 2010----The University of Delaware Energy Institute (UDEI) will host the seminar “Building Kinetic Models, Research Programs and Academic Units in Support of Sustainable Energy Options” by Michael Klein, UD alumnus and Board of Governors Professor of Engineering at Rutgers University, on Monday, Feb. 1, from 10-11:15 a.m., in the Center for Composite Materials, Room 104/106. Refreshments will be served at 9:45 a.m.

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According to Klein, the wide range of science, engineering, policy, economic and ethical issues that will decide the future of energy supply and use presents a significant opportunity for academia. The coherence and visibility attained by building and projecting a university's academic strengths in these areas through a multidisciplinary energy institute will allow it to both contribute to the determination of the future and strengthen core programs. To this end, Klein's experiences in academic program building and energy-related research in kinetic model building will be discussed in this talk.

One vital subset of energy research includes the thermochemical conversion of biomass and non-traditional fossil fuels to more usable products. Conversion processes are aided by the development of molecular-level kinetic models because the full power of structure-property relationships can thus be brought to bear.

The challenge of building detailed kinetic models for these feed stocks is due to the staggering complexity of the complex reaction mixtures. The use of the computer to not only solve but also formulate the model is helpful in that it allows the modeler to focus on the basic chemistry and rules of the model and not the burdensome bookkeeping.

Recent work by Klein's research group has led to the development of such an automated capability to model development. Graph theoretic concepts are used to represent molecular structure and the bond-making and bond-breaking of chemical reactions.

Reactivity information is then organized in terms of quantitative linear free energy relationships. The model equations are then built and coded on the computer. Solution of this chemical reaction network provides a prediction of the molecular composition, which is then organized into any desired commercially relevant outputs. These capabilities are now bundled as an integrated set of model building tools.

Klein served as dean of the Rutgers College of Engineering from 1998 to 2008. He is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Delaware (1977) and received his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He joined the UD faculty in 1981 and received a Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation in 1985. During his career at UD, Klein served as chairperson of the Department of Chemical Engineering, associate dean of the College of Engineering, director of the Center for Catalytic Science and Technology, and was named the Elizabeth Inez Kelley Professor of Chemical Engineering. He has published extensively in professional journals.