News
A new use for old refrigerants
Chemicals in air conditioners are thousands of times more dangerous for the environment than tailpipe emissions from cars. Researchers at Lehigh University are working to change that.
David Vicic, Howard S. Bunn Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Lehigh University, recently announced a breakthrough in chemical research: His team used the metal iridium to functionalize hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants – the ubiquitous chemicals that cool refrigerators, medicines, homes, and office buildin
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Fri, 09/19/2025
A new use for old refrigerants
Chemicals in air conditioners are thousands of times more dangerous for the environment than tailpipe emissions from cars. Researchers at Lehigh University are working to change that.
David Vicic, Howard S. Bunn Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Lehigh University, recently announced a breakthrough in chemical research: His team used the metal iridium to functionalize hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants – the ubiquitous chemicals that cool refrigerators, medicines, homes, and office buildin
Sun, 09/07/2025
Dr. Mark Shiflett Reaches 11,000 Career Citations
Dr. Mark Shiflett, Foundation Distinguished Professor of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering at the University of Kansas reaches a career milestone of 11,000 citations.
Thu, 09/04/2025
EARTH Director Presents Plenary Lecture at International Fluorine Chemistry Symposium
Dr. Mark Shiflett, Director of the newly funded National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center "Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub (EARTH)", delivered an invited Plenary Lecture at the 21st European Symposium on Fluorine Chemistry (ESFC-21) in Lisbon, presenting the vision and mission of the NSF-funded EARTH ERC.
Tue, 08/19/2025
6 KU innovations selected for Rock Chalk Ready commercialization program
The University of Kansas Center for Technology Commercialization (KUCTC) has selected six promising research projects for its inaugural Rock Chalk Ready program, a universitywide initiative designed to mature early-stage innovations and position them for commercialization success.
Mon, 08/18/2025
UMD Provides "Cool" Research Experience for Two School Teachers
As a high school technology teacher, Karen Bogoski has coached over a thousand students through the challenges of engineering projects, but this summer, she was the one tackling a project, and her coaches were University of Maryland (UMD) engineering students.
She worked at UMD’s College Park campus through four weeks of hot and steamy weather, while many other teachers were enjoying time off. But the muggy days only helped motivate her. Guided by a team of students from UMD's A. James Clar
Tue, 08/12/2025
Ivy Tech professors amp up their AC game at Notre Dame
From discovering novel ways to purify and reuse chemicals to creating sensors that will make cooling systems safer and more cost-efficient, teams of researchers have been working together this summer to modernize a sector many take for granted: the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industry.
Indeed, HVACR is essential to every aspect of modern life. To move it forward, two professors from Ivy Tech, a community college with 45 locations in Indiana, spent a large part of
Wed, 07/23/2025
“There’s a lot of math in HVAC”
Johnson County Community College professors worked at a KU engineering lab this summer to deepen their knowledge of the principles underlying heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR)
If your AC unit goes out in the middle of the summer, you call a repair company.
The technician’s job is to fix the problem as soon as possible, so you can be comfortable. No theoretical conversation required.
But this summer, two professors from Johnson County Community College’s Heat
Wed, 07/02/2025
Kevin Turner Passes Preliminary Exam with Insightful Presentation on Refrigerant Flammability
Kevin Turner, a Graduate Student working in the Shiflett Research Group, has successfully passed his preliminary examination, marking a major milestone in his academic journey. His presentation, titled "Refrigerant Flammability Metrics, Methodologies, and Modeling," showcased a deep understanding of critical safety and performance factors in refrigerant technologies. ...
Mon, 05/12/2025
Jide Wintoki to be next dean of the School of Business
The University of Kansas has selected Jide Wintoki, Capitol Federal Professor of Finance, as the next dean of the KU School of Business. Wintoki first joined the school in 2008, and he currently serves as its associate dean of graduate programs. He will begin his new role July 1.
Fri, 05/09/2025
KU celebrates undergraduate research, announces presentation winners
More than 130 undergraduate students participated in the 28th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, which featured Jayhawks' original mentored scholarship as well as artists’ talks and creative displays from many disciplines.
Mon, 04/28/2025
KU announces new 2025-2029 Self Graduate Fellows
Twenty doctoral students have been selected to receive the University of Kansas’ prestigious Madison and Lila Self Graduate Fellowship for the 2025-2026 academic year. This is the largest cohort in the program's history. The total value of the four-year doctoral fellowship exceeds $225,000.
Thu, 04/17/2025
University of Kansas Receives $26M for Refrigerant Research
The University of Kansas (KU) is leading a new Gen-4 Engineering Research Center (ERC) funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) called the Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub (EARTH). EARTH is headed by Foundation Distinguished Professor Mark Shiflett from the Department of Chemical Engineering at the KU School of...
Mon, 02/24/2025
Way cool: KU leads planet-protecting research on refrigerants
A new federally funded center, directed by School of Engineering professor Mark Shiflett, seeks to boost the Kansas economy while driving a heating and cooling revolution. As kickoff celebrations go, the launch of a research center dedicated to refrigerant technology might seem anything but cool. Refrigerants, the chemical compounds that...
Tue, 02/11/2025
Research yields eco-friendly way to separate, recycle refrigerants tied to climate crisis
Investigators based at the University of Kansas report using membranes — amorphous fluorinated polymers — that efficiently isolate complex refrigerant mixtures. Solutions for dealing responsibly with complex gases in existing equipment destined for landfills around the world are badly needed, according to researchers.
Thu, 11/07/2024
From Microsoft to Walmart, new KU research center on refrigerants is attracting strong interest from businesses
If you could have just one statistic to understand how good it is to be in the air-conditioning industry, it might be this one: About 3 billion people live in the hottest regions of the world, but currently only about 8% of them have air conditioning.
As new middle-class economies emerge in places like China, India, Africa and elsewhere, the industry estimates it will need to produce the equivalent of five air conditioners every second for the next 25 years to keep up with demand.
Fri, 10/25/2024
Meet Barnabas Agbodekhe and Hear About His Experience as a Grad Student at FOMMS 2024
Barnabas Agbodekhe's experience in the Maginn Research Group, led by Dr. Edward Maginn, and his work on new refrigerant discovery at the University of Notre Dame were featured in his lightning talk and poster presentations at the 2024 Foundation of Molecular Modeling and Simulation (FOMMS) conference.
Tue, 10/01/2024
Chancellor Girod visits with Mark Shiflett, Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering
Chancellor Girod visits with Mark Shiflett, Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, to discuss his work to develop sustainable refrigerant technologies and practices that will improve quality of life and combat climate change.
Tue, 08/27/2024
KU EARTH Center Research Thrust Leader Receives National Award from American Chemical Society
David A. Vicic, Professor of Chemistry at Lehigh University and KU EARTH Center Research Thrust Leader, received the 2025 American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Fluorine Chemistry, which is sponsored by the ACS Division of Fluorine Chemistry. ...
Wed, 08/21/2024
University of Kansas awarded $26 million for new Engineering Research Center from National Science Foundation
KU is the lead institution for a new National Science Foundation Gen-4 Engineering Research Center — Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub (EARTH) — that will focus on developing sustainable refrigerants to address climate change. EARTH is led by Foundation Distinguished Professor Mark Shiflett in the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering at the KU School of Engineering.
Mon, 05/16/2022
University of Kansas testing new environmentally friendly refrigerant in Watson Library
The University of Kansas is testing a new environmentally friendly refrigerant in a Watson Library air-conditioning chiller. Built in 1924, Watson Library is the oldest and largest of KU’s libraries. The library has two York chillers that operate on refrigerant HFC-134a. The American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) act...