Ph.D. student earns international prize for heat research

Graduate student Brennan Pecha is working under Dr. Manuel Garcia-Pérez, who is also managing the grant from the National Science Foundation.


By Erik Gomez, Voiland College of Engineering & Architecture intern

PULLMAN, Wash. – Graduate student Brennan Pecha is one of four researchers from about 330 presenting posters to receive the international Frontier-Labs Young Scientist Award for significant contributions to analytical and applied pyrolysis.

Pyrolysis converts solid materials into oil, gas and char by using heat. It has applications for renewable energy, recycling, agriculture and forensic science. Pecha’s research is funded by the National Science Foundation.

He is pursuing a Ph.D. in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at Washington State University. He received the award at the International Symposium on Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, also known as Pyro 2016, in Nancy, France in May. His presentation was, “Modified Pyroprobe for Studying Thermochemical Reactions: Design, Characterization, and Experimentation.”