Nathanial Cooper

Nathanial Cooper's picture

Ph.D. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California – Davis, 2016

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Brown University, 2012

Email: 
nathanial.cooper@yale.edu

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Nathanial Cooper joined Prof. Elimelech’s group as a postdoctoral fellow in September 2021. Here he will focus on techno-economic analysis of systems at the water-energy nexus, researching the optimal design and operation of water treatment & water use systems. 

Prior to this, Nathanial worked in the Centre for Process Systems Engineering at Imperial College London, where he focused on applications for systems and process engineering in the sustainability field, including hydrogen production, and biomass supply chains. During his Ph.D. at the University of California - Davis, Nathanial investigated the design of gas distribution mechanisms in PEM fuel cells to maximize power and efficiency. He received his B.S. from Brown University, where he performed research on the development of agricultural waste-based biochars, which are potential alternatives to activated carbons.

Outside of work, Nathanial enjoys homebrewing, rock climbing, gardening, and spending time with his family.

Publications

pdfs and supporting information for group papers available on the main publications page.

  1. N.J. Cooper, C. Horend, N. Shah. A Framework for the Design & Operation of a Large-Scale Wind-Powered Hydrogen Electrolyzer Hub. In review (2021)
  2. N.J. Cooper, A. Panteli, N. Shah. A Biomass Supply Chain Optimization Framework with Linear Approximation of Biomass Yield Distributions for Improved Land Use, Proceedings of the ASME 2019 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. Volume 6: Energy. ASME. DOI: 10.1115/IMECE2019-11399
  3. N.J. Cooper, A. Panteli, N. Shah. Linear Estimators of Biomass Yield Maps for Improved Biomass Supply Chain Optimisation, Applied Energy. Volume 253 (2019), Article 113526. DOI:10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113526
  4. P.A. Trotter, N.J. Cooper, P.R. Wilson. A Multi-Criteria, Long-Term Energy Planning Optimisation Model with Integrated on-Grid and off-Grid Electrification – The Case of Uganda, Applied Energy. Volume 243 (2019), pp. 288–312. DOI:10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.03.178
  5. N.J. Cooper, T. Smith, A.D. Santamaria, J.W. Park. An Electrochemical Performance Characterization Method for Comparing PEFCs of Varying Channel Dimensions, ASME Journal of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage. Volume 15 (2018) Article 041006. DOI:10.1115/1.4039789
  6. S. Huo, N.J. Cooper, T.L. Smith, J.W. Park, K. Jiao. Experimental investigation on PEM fuel cell cold start behavior containing porous metal foam as cathode flow distributor, Applied Energy. Volume 203 (2017) Pages 101-114. DOI:10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.06.028
  7. N.J. Cooper, A.D. Santamaria, M.K. Becton, J.W. Park. Neutron radiography measurements of in-situ PEMFC liquid water saturation in 2D & 3D morphology gas diffusion layers, Int. J. of Hydrogen Energy. Volume 42, Issue 25 (2017) Pages 16269-16278. DOI:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.05.105
  8. N.J. Cooper, A.D. Santamaria, M.K. Becton, J.W. Park. Investigation of the performance improvement in decreasing aspect ratio interdigitated flow field PEMFCs, Energy Conversion and Management. Volume 136 (2017) Pages 307-317. DOI:10.1016/j.enconman.2017.01.005
  9. N.J. Cooper, T. Smith, A.D. Santamaria, J.W. Park. Experimental optimization of parallel and interdigitated PEMFC flow-field channel geometry, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. Volume 41, Issue 2 (2016) Pages 1213–1223. DOI:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.11.153
  10. A.D. Santamaria, M.K. Becton, N.J. Cooper, A.Z. Weber, J.W. Park, Effect of cross-flow on PEFC liquid-water distribution: An in-situ high-resolution neutron radiography study, Journal of Power Sources. Volume 293 (2015) Pages 162–169. DOI:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.05.016
  11. A. Santamaria, N. Cooper, M. Becton, J.W. Park. Experimental investigation of channel aspect ratio on interdigitated PEMFC performance, SAE International Journal of Alternative Powertrains. Volume 3 (2014) Pages 78–85. DOI:10.4271/2014-01-1828
  12. A.D. Santamaria, N.J. Cooper, M.K. Becton, J.W. Park, Effect of channel length on interdigitated flow-field PEMFC performance: A computational and experimental study, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. Volume 38 (2013) Pages 16253–16263. DOI:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.09.081