Deep in Thought: Sean Lubner’s Philosophical Lens on Energy-Efficient Research

by Danny Giancioppo | Photos by Kelly Peña

Do you ever wonder why we’re here?

It’s one of life’s great mysteries. How did the modern world come to be, how did its many societies evolve, and where are they going? In the wake of so many systemic issues, what avenues exist for change? Questions like these might not sound intrinsically related to physics and engineering––they might sound a bit more like a philosophy course––but a philosophical angle is precisely what has driven Assistant Professor Sean Lubner (ME, MSE) and his research group to pursue projects dedicated to nano-to-macro energy storage and conversion. 

“I may be in that bucket of people who have always had a very strong curiosity about how the universe works. Coupled with a belief that it is interesting to understand––and it is possible to understand––how things work.”

Carrying both a philosophical and academic intrigue came to Lubner during his time in undergrad, where he obtained dual degrees in mechanical engineering (ME) and applied physics, with a minor in philosophy. 

“I may be in that bucket of people who have always had a very strong curiosity about how the universe works,” Lubner says. “Coupled with a belief that it is interesting to understand––and it is possible to understand––how things work.” This lent itself to a joint interest in physics and philosophy, serving the same overall goal: to learn more about ourselves and the world we live in, and try to improve them. 

As he continued his education, pursuing a PhD and research assistant position at UC Berkeley, this mentality alerted Lubner toward larger, more systemic problems our society faces. Included were questions on sustainability and renewable energy. Opting to continue as a postdoc at Berkeley after graduation, he dedicated his work to nanoscale heat transfer and energy conversion as part of a larger academic framework. Since joining Boston University as an Assistant Professor, that framework has broken into three branches: Direct Air Capture (DAC), grid-scale thermal energy storage, and thermal wave sensors (TWS).  

DAC is a way to directly reduce atmospheric CO2, whereas grid scale energy storage is a means to enable replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy (that does not emit greenhouse gases). It is also true, however, that DAC requires enormous amounts of energy, which requires renewable energy power sources, rather than high carbon-intensity fossil fuels, to avoid worst-case climate change scenarios.  This past summer, REU Haneen Ahmed assisted with such a project in the Lubner research group, developing hot disk thermal measurement capabilities to improve DAC capabilities. 

“The rate at which you can learn something new will scale directly with how well-calibrated you are there.” 

Grid-scale thermal energy storage, meanwhile, aims to provide a buffer between the timing mismatch of intermittent renewable energy supply and energy demand. “Until we fill in that gap,” Lubner explains, “we will not be able to convert completely to renewable energy, regardless of how good our wind turbines are, or our solar panels.” 

Lastly, Thermal Wave Sensors––effectively detecting temperature changes of a given material through measured thermal waves––is a technique from the nanoscale thermal academic community. Lubner and his group are expanding its use to go beyond just thermal properties, so the practice may be used for detecting issues in and improving upon a wider variety of energy systems. 

From these three focuses alone, it’s evident that the impact of energy storage and conversion is equal parts large-scale and everyday in its application. Understandably, this can make it difficult to fully grasp what such a wide spectrum of applicability actually looks like. To Lubner, that’s just another exciting aspect of the field. 

“In addition to developing these new materials and these new systems, we are developing new techniques to be able to investigate materials and systems in sophisticated ways that would usually require very expensive and extravagant resources… and turning that into a desktop capability.” In other words, turning research around into easily-applicable and accessible technologies across a spectrum of issues and users. 

After all, the principles of thermodynamics, Lubner says, can be applied to everything––from an iPhone to the electrical grid around the country. As they all obey the laws of energy conservation, entropy generation, and so on, there is a universality to both the research and the results. But the convergence doesn’t only lay in what he studies. It also applies to who he works with. 

As with many Photonics Center faculty, Lubner’s group is well-equipped to handle interdisciplinary research. And just as with the extensive reach of philosophy, his energy-related research also touches upon all manner of STEM fields. Being grounded in basic science therefore allows the group to apply their work in many different ways. 

“That can relate to dark matter detection, quantum computers,” Lubner says. “We have a good diversification both in terms of experiment and theory.” 

 It is standard, Lubner explains, for computation, experimentation and theory to serve as the three main pillars of research. While his group doesn’t lean into “hardcore computation,” there is a wide range of experimenting and theory in their work. This requires a diverse group. 

“We have people in our group with backgrounds in physics, in chemistry or chemical engineering, in mechanical engineering,” Lubner says. “All over!”

Across a diversity of interests, Lubner is always looking for students interested and excited to ask questions. What draws everyone in Lubner’s group together is their shared curiosity and focus on impact––that can mean creating useful technologies, discovering new, fundamental knowledge, and learning new topics and their application. But this also means learning the baseline of larger, professional skills. Organizational practices, presentation skills, team coordination, and the keen awareness of knowing how well you understand something are key to Lubner’s practices as a Principal Investigator. 

“If you have [those skills], it provides a feedback loop which you can use for your entire life,” Lubner says. “The rate at which you can learn something new will scale directly with how well-calibrated you are there.” 

Being able to step outside of ostensible research relevance––and finding the means to apply it to his work––is what Lubner has been doing since grad school. Scaling his focus toward “bigger picture thinking” comes from a grounding in the basic question of “how do things work?”  From there, he can progress to the next phase: figuring out how these concepts can benefit society. 

“There are other forces that push and pull human behavior. People have to put food on the table. They will respond to the most immediate social pressures around them.”

Early in his career, Lubner saw that many of these steps were not only possible to reach, but necessary. The key to making necessary research evolve––getting into the hands of the people––is all in fitting the mold of potentially opposing worldviews. 

“One of the ways that I think that scientists or engineers can actually have a significant impact is not just by developing some amazing new technology,” Lubner explains, “but specifically using their engineering and their science to deliberately design a beneficial technology aligned with the economic incentives of capitalism.” 

It requires a philosophic recognition that merely raising awareness to pressing issues isn’t enough. While noble, it naively assumes two things: that society may be spurred to action from knowledge alone, and that researchers cannot do more to urge them on. “There are other forces that push and pull human behavior,” Lubner says. “People have to put food on the table. They will respond to the most immediate social pressures around them.” Rather than ignoring these things, Lubner pivots his work to serve a symbiotic purpose. 

“For example, if we can design a thermal energy storage solution that would actually be more profitable for a large energy company to use than to continue to extract oil or coal, then we have aligned incentives. We can trust the natural capitalist economic forces to drive that technology forward.” 

And the Lubner group is finding success approaching this angle. Back in November, his senior PhD students joined him at IMECE, where they presented their DAC and thermal energy storage projects to professionals in the mechanical engineering field. Their continued work on TWS is meanwhile being applied to electrochemical battery improvements, and is soon going to extend into their DAC work and other high-temperature materials. 

The throughline of Lubner’s M-O is exposure. Being aware of not only the many details around a given subject, but the different ways of looking at it. “Everyone is different and has a different way of perceiving things, and that’s a good thing,” he says. Every researcher comes in with a different background, life experience, and perspective with which to consider these details. It’s easy to get lost in them––and Lubner notes that’s not in itself a bad thing––but for him there must always remain the question: what does the research mean fundamentally? “Ontologically, what have we learned here?” 

There is no objective answer to the best way to solve systemic issues of climate and energy, but Lubner believes that their subjects are, if nothing else, worth pursuing. Being exposed to and aware of the many different ways academia, industry, and government will consider these issues is important, but so is the belief that the work the lab group does serves an altruistic and important purpose. 

“I’d like to think what I’m working on is a result of carefully thinking through all of this. But I also like to make sure that what we’re working on is chosen in context, both of the science and society, and really thinking about those two elements.” 

View all posts