Stanford Energy Student Lectures: Mason Wu and Sonia Martin

Mason Wu

Title: Stretchable, recyclable thermosets via photopolymerization and 3D printing of hemiacetal ester-based resins

Abstract: Achieving a circular plastics economy is one of our greatest environmental challenges, yet conventional mechanical recycling remains inadequate for thermoplastics and incompatible with thermosets. The next generation of plastic materials will be designed with the capacity for degradation and recycling at end-of-use. To address this opportunity in the burgeoning technologies of 3D printing and photolithography, we report a modular system for the production of degradable and recyclable thermosets via photopolymerization. The polyurethane backbone imparts robust, elastic, and tunable mechanical properties, while the use of hemiacetal ester linkages enables facile degradation under mild acid. The synthetic design allows for simple purification to regenerate a functional polyurethane diol.

Bio: Mason grew up in both Taipei and the Bay Area. He attended Cornell University for his undergraduate degree, where he began his research career in Professor Brett Fors’ group working on organic materials for organic light-emitting diodes and battery cathodes. Mason obtained his PhD in Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the guidance of Professor Timothy Swager. At MIT, Mason’s research spanned a number of projects, including post-polymerization modification of polyoxazolines and porous bottlebrush polymers for gas separation membranes. Currently, Mason is a Taiwan Science and Technology Hub @Stanford Research Fellow in Professor Zhenan Bao’s group in the Department of Chemical Engineering. His research focuses on the design and synthesis of photopolymerizable and recyclable plastics.

Sonia Martin

Title: Electric vehicle green charging with marginal emissions signals

Abstract: Electric vehicles (EVs) are a promising clean transportation option, but they still release CO2 emissions when charging from the electricity grid. Often, EV drivers charge their vehicles when it is cheap or convenient, not when grid carbon intensity is lowest. Green charging, or smart charging control, is a solution to this problem that optimizes to reduce emissions by shifting electricity demand in between and across charging sessions. In this talk, I will present and validate a green charging control strategy based on actual EV driver data and historical grid emissions. The basis for this control is marginal emissions, or the emissions released when a new generator must be dispatched to the grid, which we find performs better than using average grid emissions data.

Bio: Sonia Martin is a 3rd year PhD candidate in the Stanford Sustainable Systems Lab. Her research centers around controlling battery systems to maximize their decarbonization potential. Specifically, she designs optimization algorithms for electric vehicles, electric buses, and aggregated stationary battery systems to ensure they are storing carbon-free power. Sonia obtained her M.S. from Stanford University in 2022 and B.S. from UC Berkeley in 2020, both in mechanical engineering.