We are delighted to share UC Davis graduate, Daniel Eisenberg’s news. You may have met Daniel at the April 2011 Cal-IRES Forum. He and Karen Eggerman, Cal-IRES Associate, prepared the Forum Highlights found on our proceedings page.

Daniel has won a Fulbright scholarship to conduct refrigeration energy efficiency research in Florianopolis, Brazil, beginning in March 2012. The research focus will be on making household refrigeration compressors more thermodynamically efficient. Refrigerators use a major portion of household energy, so this research could have significant societal benefits. Since the research will be conducted at the POLO laboratories at Universidade Federal Santa Catarina with its many ties to major refrigerator manufacturers, it is likely that successful completion of his project will be quickly implemented for consumer use. A secondary focus for his Fulbright scholarship is to become more culturally aware and invested into Brazilian society through music. Daniel has significant experience playing in Brazilian samba schools, and plans to join other local drum ensembles to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be Brazilian.

In the meantime, Daniel has a full-time research position for the Chemical Engineering & Materials Science department at UC Davis. While working on viscoelastic fluid characterization and a life cycle analysis on the health hazards of solar panel production, he is also learning much about state-of-the-art solar panel design and production.