Dr. Thomas Fletcher received the 2015 Reed M. Izatt and James J. Christensen Faculty Excellence in Research Award for his extensive studies in pyrolysis and coal combustion. This award honors scientific achievements in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
“I don’t seek for awards, [although] it’s a nice recognition that I’ve been working hard,” Fletcher said. “A lot of the value of my research is in the education of the students. I’m not doing research just for me.”
After receiving the award, Fletcher spoke about the global energy situation and described recent technological progress in the field of fossil fuel.
Fletcher began by speculating about the future of the world’s many energy sources and their ability to sustain the ever-increasing demand. According to 2012 data, 86 percent of the world’s energy comes from fossil fuels, and world energy consumption is doubling every 27 years.
“We’re growing in our amount of energy usage,” Fletcher said. “It’s driven by countries that are increasing in population and living standards.”
To put the situation into perspective, Fletcher reported energy consumption levels in terms of cubic miles of oil (CMO). Fletcher said that by 2050, we will need a way to produce between two and seven more CMOs annually than we currently produce. What remains uncertain is where that energy will come from.
To produce one extra CMO each year we would need three hundred replicas of the Three Gorges Dam, five new nuclear plants each month by the year 2050, three hundred windmills erected each day for forty years, or several states worth of land to be occupied by solar panels.
“That’s an enormous task ahead of us and ahead of you as scientists,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher then spoke of his own work in the field of fossil fuel energy production. Since receiving his PhD, Fletcher has worked on measuring particle temperatures during rapid coal pyrolysis, creating a practical model of coal’s molecular structure, and improving the applications of oxy-fuel combustion.
He concluded his lecture with a call to action for the students in attendance.
“There are tons of challenges in the energy business,” Fletcher said. “We need problem solvers.”
Fletcher received his undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees in chemical engineering at BYU, completing his PhD in 1983. He has studied the chemical behaviors of coal extensively in an effort to make the production process more efficient and clean, along with other materials such as biomass, oil shale, and petroleum coke. He and his students have published over 100 peer-reviewed publications.
Fletcher joined BYU’s faculty as an associate professor in 1991 and has spent many hours teaching and personally mentoring students.