Ken Reifsnider

Critical mass

Ken Reifsnider brings solid-oxide fuel cell expertise to Carolina's alternative energy research

The trumpet was Kenneth Reifsnider's first love. But he picked up another instrument--the calculator--after choosing to pursue a career in engineering.

Since earning a master's degree in mechanics and a Ph.D. in metallurgy and solids mechanics from Johns Hopkins University, Reifsnider's career has hit a number of high notes, including membership in the National Academy of Engineering.

Reifsnider also has become a renowned expert in the study of composite materials, specifically in their application to fuel cells. He specializes in solid-oxide fuel cells, a kind that relies on solid ceramic electrolyte rather than on a polymer that's used in proton-exchange membrane and direct-methanol fuel cells. SOFCs offer greatest energy conversion efficiency compared to other fuel cell types.

"Solid oxide fuel cells have been around for decades, but we are focusing on new systems that will allow us to do things for our society that we have not been able to do before."

Formerly the director of the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center at the University of Connecticut, Reifsnider is now the endowed chair at the University of South Carolina's Center for Solid-Oxide Fuel Cells and director of the University's Future Fuels Inititiative.

The United States is in the midst of an energy crisis, Reifsnider says, "not just from an availability-of-supply standpoint but also from the standpoint of our courage to make difficult decisions regarding the future of how we use energy."