GTRI and SEI Announce Recipients of Phase Two Seed Funding From the Energy and National Security Initiative

In July 2024, the Strategic Energy Institute (SEI), in partnership with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), launched the Energy and National Security Initiative through a campuswide workshop. The event attracted over 100 participants from units across Georgia Tech and GTRI. John Tien, SEI distinguished external fellow, professor of the practice, and former deputy secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, along with Tom Fanning, former CEO at Southern Company, kicked off the workshop with a discussion on the role of energy in national security and the opportunities for Georgia Tech to align its research with this critical topic. 

The event concluded with the announcement of two rounds of seed funding, offering up to $500,000 annually for three years. The first round, announced in September 2024, provided planning grants to six teams to support their initiatives in the fall.  

Recipients of the second phase of seed funding have now been announced. This phase will provide research support in the spring, with an option for additional funding through the 2025-26 academic year. 

“This seed funding initiative by SEI and GTRI is a significant step toward advancing national security through innovative energy solutions. We believe this support will empower the funded teams to explore critical intersections between energy infrastructure and security, fostering groundbreaking advancements for a safer energy future,” said Christine Conwell, SEI’s interim executive director.  

Seven interdisciplinary projects by team members from Georgia Tech and GTRI have been selected for the second phase, also known as Category B. The projects include:

• Energy Infrastructure Security and Risk Assessment Through Interactive Wargaming
  Description: This project analyzes key vulnerabilities in energy infrastructure operations related to national security, focusing on interactions within and between Systems of Systems (SoS).
  Principal Investigators (PIs): Dimitri Mavris, Scott Duncan, Michael Balchanos
  Team Members: Charles Domercant, Adam Stulberg, Jenna Jordan, Margaret E. Kosal
• Evaluating Energy Storage Materials, Supplies, and Systems in the Context of National Security Requirements
  Description: This project explores the evolving requirements and performance of energy storage technologies for defense, focusing on design space, battery performance under extreme conditions, and material needs.
  PIs: Micah Ziegler, Jinho Park
  Team Members: Matt McDowell, Ilan Stern
• Nanostructured Sensors for Monitoring of Nuclear Fuel Cycle
  Description: Advanced sensors and instrumentation are crucial for monitoring the nuclear fuel cycle amid evolving energy and security concerns. This project proposes a multidisciplinary research effort to explore nuclear threats and the development of safe, secure civil nuclear power, nuclear waste management, and SMRs.
  PIs: Anna Erickson
  Team Members: W. Jud Ready, Yuguo Tao, Brent Wagner
• Resilient Critical Infrastructures via Provably Secure Control Algorithms
  Description: This project focuses on using provable cryptographic techniques to securely and efficiently solve control algorithms in real time to ensure overall safety, security, and resilience of critical infrastructure (power grids, water networks, and communication systems).
  PI: Dan Molzahn
  Team Members: Saman Zonouz, Vladimir Kolesnikov, Samuel Litchfield
• Robust Energy Systems Planning by Way of Novel Systems Engineering (RESPoNSE)
  Description: This project focuses on an improved decision-making framework for military deployment Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The framework will enhance “scheduling” both on the level of deploying fuel supply assets such as fuel trucks and optimizing time allocations of sequential energy conversions.
  PI: Comas Haynes
  Team Members: Matt McDowell, Mathieu Dahan
• SPARC: Severe-Weather Predictive Analytics and Resilient Communication
  Description: SPARC aims to address severe weather challenges to energy infrastructure by making energy systems more resilient through the integration of advanced predictive analytics, localized weather models, and resilient communication networks. 
  PI: Francisco Valdes 
  Team Members: Santiago Grijalva, Trevor Lewis, Michael Peterson
• The Strategic Mineral Economy: Challenges and Opportunities for Critical Resources
  Description: This project focuses on combining disciplinary toolkits with growing expertise in the science, engineering, policy, logistics, and economics of critical minerals supply chains to provide valuable policy insights and academic research at the frontier of this nascent field.
  PIs: Dylan Brewer, Bobby Harris, Matthew Swarts
  Team Members: Kevin Caravati, Chris Gaffney, Manho Kang, Francisco Valdes, Micah Ziegler, Laura Taylor
   

“The seed grant initiative is supporting energy and national security collaboration among researchers from multiple units across the Georgia Tech campus,” said William H. Robinson, interim chief technology officer and deputy director for Research in GTRI’s Information and Cyber Sciences Directorate. “We are very pleased to see the teamwork of these faculty members as they address important issues facing our nation.”

A follow-up workshop will be held this summer to bring together the awardees of the seed grant program. Additionally, a lunch and learn seminar series is planned in the fall to showcase the research progress of the seed grant program. For updates, visit the Strategic Energy Institute event webpage.