La Verne Magazine "Tradition & Change" Filling Up With Hydrogen
by Jeanette M. Neyman Imagine being in the middle of a large
busy city on the United States west coast. The familiar roar of
internal combustion engines can be heard all around, but there
are almost no toxic emissions coming from all these cars,
trucks, buses and planes. The vision is staggering: a society
powered almost entirely by hydrogen -- the most abundant element
on earth. When the hydrogen is used as an energy source in a
fuel cell, it generates no emissions other than water, which is
recycled to make more hydrogen. A mere fantasy? Perhaps not --
especially if Dr. Iraj Parchamazad, professor of chemistry and
chair of the Chemistry Department, has anything to do with it.
Making this vision a reality in the 21st century is the goal of
researchers led by Dr. Parchamazad at the University of La
Verne. A $600,000 private research grant will help the ULV
chemistry department explore promising new hydrogen technology
for production, storage and