Brief Biographical Sketch

Richard B. Peterson received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1984.  He is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Oregon State University. His specialty areas include heat transfer, thermodynamics, and combustion, especially in miniature and microscale energy systems with emphasis on microtechnology enhanced heat engines and thermal components.  Dr. Peterson has been on the faculty at Oregon State University since 1985 where he continues his research in the area of thermal/fluids.  Currently, Dr. Peterson is an active member of the MECS (Microtechnology-based Energy and Chemical Systems) Group within the College of Engineering.  This group, among other activities, is using microlamination to build energy conversion devices such as miniature and microscale heat engines, heat pumps, and micro combustors.  Specific work in this area includes the analysis of microsystems that employ a temperature difference for their operation and examining the performance of these devices when scaled. Also, programs are being directed by Dr. Peterson to develop heat actuated heat pump and power systems where combined cycles can effectively utilize thermal sources.  Dr. Peterson is an active member of ASME and AAAS.  He reviews manuscripts for a variety of professional journals and conferences as well as organizes workshops and technical sessions at national meetings.  He is a member of the K-11 subcommittee of ASME on heat transfer in combustion and fires, and has chaired the Committee on Miniature Energy Systems in the Advanced Energy Systems Division of ASME.  Dr. Peterson has over 60 papers in both refereed journals and conference proceedings and his work has been supported by a variety of sources including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense (DARPA, ARL, AFOSR, and the Army), the Department of Energy, and various corporate sponsors. He currently directs the Advanced Tactical Energy Systems Program at OSU and is an Associate Director of the Microproducts Breakthrough Institute.

Links to Most Recent Writing Projects	Richard B. Peterson Associate Professor Combustion, Thermodynamics, and Heat Transfer Research   B.S. 1979, University of Nevada-Reno M.S. 1982, Ph.D. 1984, University of California-Berkeley Post-doctoral position 1984-85, NRC/NSF Research Associate at BRL, Aberdeen, MD
Encyclopedia of Energy Article: Micro technology - Energy Applications of ... Published by: Elsevier Limited, Oxford, UK  2004 Visit the Web Site: Encyclopedia of Energy See the Introduction Miniature and Microscale Energy Systems Chapter 1 in the book: Heat and Fluid Flow in Microscale and Nanoscale Structures, editors Faghri and Sunden Published by WIT Press, Southhampton, UK  2003 Visit the Web Site: Heat and Fluid Flow in ... See the Introduction Heat Engine/Combustor Model Development Article: Development of an Analytical Model Useful for Micro Heat Engine Analysis Submitted to: Intl. Comm. in Heat and Mass Transfer, 2004 See the Paper
Technical Photo of Interest Contact Information This photo was taken in our lab and shows a catalytic micro combustor burning propane and air.  The combustor was arranged in a counterflow configuration and used platinum wire as the catalytic material. Richard B. Peterson Department of Mechanical Engineering 204 Rogers Hall Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331 Phone: 541-737-7095 Fax: 541-737-2600 E-mail: Richard.Peterson@oregonstate.edu
Links to Other Micro Energy Systems, Micro Engine Work
1.) U.C. Berkeley's micro rotary engine project. 2.) Website describes work at the University of Minnesota on MEMS Free-Piston Knock Engine. 3.) Micro engine work at the University of Birmingham. 4.) Micro turbine work at MDOT aerospace. 5.) Micro gas turbine work at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Celestijnenlaan 300B, 3001 Leuven, Belgium. 6.) MIT micro combustor for micro gas turbine (see also this link).  Feature article on MIT micro gas turbine. 7.) Micro heat engine work at Washington State University.  More on the WSU micro engine. 8.) Small Packages -- Featured article in ME magazine by R. B. Peterson. 9.) Solid piston micro engine work at the Pennsylvania State University. 10.) Monopropellant small-scale energy systems at Vanderbilt University. 11.) An "Informal" survey of power MEMS, by Jacobson and Epstein. 12.) Meeting the Energy Needs of Future Warriors (2004), Board on Army Science and Technology (BAST) 13.) Micro power generation review paper by Fernandez-Pello, University of California, Berkeley.
Links to Other Micro Energy Systems, Radiocatalytic Effects
1.) See list of reference papers on this subject.