Cornell University

04/16/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/16/2025 14:49

As Croll Professor, Hanrath to lead Engineering Energy Transitions research

With a dedication to transforming scientific discovery into real-world impact, Tobias Hanrath, a Cornell Engineering nanomaterials and energy researcher, has been appointed Croll Professor of Sustainable Energy Systems and lead for the college's research pillar in Engineering Energy Transitions.

As the designated point person for one of the college's strategic research priorities, Hanrath will provide strategic advice about new research initiatives, facilitate collaborations with the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and others, and shape academic programs that equip students and faculty to advance the future of clean energy technologies.

"The next phase of our Cornell Engineering 2030 plan calls for strategic investments in people, programs and infrastructure that position the college for meaningful societal impact in priority research areas," said Lynden Archer, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering. "I see value in identifying faculty champions who can help focus these investments, inspire students and advise their dean. Piloting this approach with Tobias was a natural decision given his reputation as an innovator and leader in the energy systems area."

By his own admission, the mission suits Hanrath, who is based in in the R.F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and is a longtime fellow in the Atkinson Center.

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Credit: Jason Koski

Tobias Hanrath, Croll Professor of Sustainable Energy Systems, leads local area teachers on a tour of the Cornell Snyder Road Solar Farm.

"One of our unique advantages is that, at a place like Cornell, which is big and has a wide range of fields and disciplines, there are a lot of great minds," Hanrath said, citing the pioneering research of peers in everything from chemistry, artificial intelligence and energy storage to innovations at the interface of agriculture and engineering. "There are real opportunities at the intersections. My approach is to ask: What are people passionate about on campus? What is the collective skill set that we have?"

An illustrative example of this approach in action is Hanrath's earlier work co-founding Dimensional Energy, a startup company that emerged from a collaboration between his research lab and that of David Erickson, director of the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. By leveraging breakthroughs in catalysis and materials science, Dimensional Energy is developing technology to transform carbon dioxide emissions into sustainable aviation fuel.

The company's success reflects Hanrath's commitment to bridging academic research and commercial viability. In a major step toward industry adoption, Dimensional Energy announced in 2022 a partnership with United Airlines in which the aviation company would purchase at least 300 million gallons of fuel and invest into further research and development.

In addition to entrepreneurship, Hanrath also sees opportunity to bridge research and education. He hopes to prepare students for the evolving energy landscape by introducing new courses on energy policy and regulations, and by building new design studios for Master of Engineering students working directly with industry partners on research and development challenges.

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Credit: Ryan Young

Tobias Hanrath, Croll Professor of Sustainable Energy Systems (right), and Aarav Seth '25, apply a package containing materials that can reduce the operating temperature of a solar panel.

Hanrath said he sees his role as facilitating an evolution rather than a revolution. Helping Cornell Engineering leap forward in energy transitions is not about changing what students and faculty are doing around energy and sustainability, he stressed, but instead taking a "systems-level approach" to increasing awareness of academic and research efforts across campus, and finding mechanisms to translate that work into close partnerships with other institutions and energy industry leaders.

This systems-level approach is exemplified by the establishment of the Cornell Advanced Platform for Testing, Utilization, and Research in CO2 Capture and Conversion Technologies, also known as the CAPTURE-Lab, in which nine faculty members from across campus will establish an experimental facility at Cornell's Combined Heat and Power Plant.

The project is led by Hanrath; Phillip Milner, assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology in the College of Arts and Sciences; and Greeshma Gadikota, associate professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The team plans to establish a mobile lab adjacent to the plant that will analyze gas emissions and provide real-time information about its composition. They will then examine and test materials for carbon capture and conversion, supporting interdisciplinary research on both basic science and lab-to-market feasibility.

By finding the paths and the collaborations that promise the greatest real-world success, Hanrath hopes to build at Cornell Engineering a "center of gravity" in which talent and partners from across campus - and around the world - will organically convene.

Creating that center of gravity requires internal and external awareness, and Hanrath said he plans to invest a significant portion of his new position into communicating broadly about Cornell Engineering's energy research and its impact.

"Part of what we need to establish here is, if you want to have impactful work in energy and translate ideas into impacts, Cornell should be on your radar," Hanrath said. "In the future, we all want to have a world that is better than what it is now. So that's a perspective, irrespective of what your favorite technology is, where there's a common point."

John Carberry is a freelance writer for Cornell Engineering.