CEN Lecture Series | Hydrogen Fuel Cells: 200 Years of Research. Current Opportunities and Challenges (September 2023)
Global warming and air pollution are among the main challenges that threaten human health. The excessive use of fossil fuels for energy and material production in the last two decades is now directly linked to climate change. Therefore, extensive efforts are being directed towards the exploitation of clean power sources. Fuel cells are among the most effective and promising sources for clean energy considering their lower carbon footprint (depending on the fuel used). They are characterized by their all solid structure, fast startup and the quiet operation. Among the various types of fuel cells, hydrogen fuel cells are receiving considerable attention. The talk will discuss the opportunities and challenges of using hydrogen fuel in various types of fuel cells for power generation and sheds light on the future directions. The talk gives specific recommnedations towards effective hydrogen economy.
About the speaker
Dr. Amani Al-Othman joined AUS in 2013. She is currently the Petrofac Endowed Chair in Renwable Energy. Dr. Al-Othman has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Ottawa. Dr. Al-Othman also holds a Master of Science in Mining, Metals and Materials Engineering from McGill University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology. Her research at AUS focuses on fuel cells technology and renewable energy applications. Her research activities also include the development of nano-composite materials/polymers for fuel cells and solar cells. Dr. Al-Othman is a lead investigator in the energy research group at the AUS Department of Chemical Engineering. The group aims at developing novel materials and coatings for self-cleaning solar cells. Dr. Al-Othman is also affiliated with the biomedical engineering graduate program and works on the development of implantable electrodes for neural sensing/stimulation as part of the neuro-engineering group. Dr. Al-Othman has been AUS' top-cited researcher for the past three years and published several peer-reviewed scholarly articles in high impact factor energy journals. She was a keynote speaker at several national and international conferences/events and she is a trustee at the Sharjah International Future Readiness Award launched by Sharjah Police 2022/2023.
