Specialty: Fuel Cell Technologies
Major Contributions:
Director Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program & Fuel Cell Technologies Office, at U.S. Department of Energy
10 patents issued
Selected for the National Gallery of Women Engineers
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Joining the United States Department of Energy in 2003, Dr. Sunita Satyapal worked in the Fuel Cells Technology Program and was promoted to Director for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office where she coordinates activities across offices for the US DOE Hydrogen Program.
After earning her doctorate, she was a visiting professor at Vassar College, but wanted to spend more time on research. So, she accepted a position at Cornell where she applied skills developed working on her PhD by using lasers to destroy chemical warfare agent simulants.
Before joining the DOE, Satyapal worked in the private sector at the United Technologies Research Center at UTC Fuel Cells where she managed research groups of scientists, engineers, and technicians on chemistry and energy projects that included hydrogen and fuel cell research and development.
She was first hired as the Hydrogen Storage Team Lead where she coordinated hydrogen and fuel cell activities for the DOE as well as other agencies. Through the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuels Cells in the Economy, she worked with international stakeholders from seventeen countries and the European Commission.
When appointed director in 2010 her responsibilities increased to include oversight and coordination of close to $10 billion in research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities related to hydrogen fuel cells as well as the office’s overall strategy and execution. The Fuel Cells Technologies Office encompasses a large variety of interests to address the full range of barriers facing the development and deployment of hydrogen and fuel cells. The ultimate goals of this research include reducing carbon emissions, decreasing our dependence on oil, and enabling clean reliable power generation.
The fuel cells being developed under Dr. Satyapal have numerous advantages including low maintenance needs, high reliability, and quiet operation. They can provide power from many fuels from hydrogen to natural gas or renewable fuels like biogas and methanol.
Dr. Satyapal has authored many publications and has been awarded ten patents so far in her career. She was a recipient of an Outstanding Achievement Award from UTC, was selected to the National Gallery of Women Engineers, and is the recipient of a Presidential Rank Award.
Written by Angela Goad
Sources:
Energy.Gov: Sunita Satyapal-Director, Fuel Cell Technologies Office
CMU: Speaker Profile, Dr. Sunita SatyapalEngineer Girl: Sunita Satyapal
See Also:
Energy Technology Innovation and Japan-U.S. Decarbonization Cooperation (The Indo-Pacific Program)