Greg Jackson

Greg Jackson is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, where he has served since 2013. He previously held a faculty position at the University of Maryland's Department of Mechanical Engineering and Energy Research Center. As former Department Head of Mechanical Engineering at Mines (2013-2017), he has over 25 years of academic leadership and research experience. His research focuses on concentrated solar energy, high-temperature thermal storage, and solid-oxide electrochemical systems.

Education:

• PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University (thesis on liquid fuel combustion)
• Post-PhD work at Precision Combustion Inc., leading catalytic reactor R&D for low-NOx combustion and ignition

Research Interests:

• Thermochemical energy storage via redox cycles (e.g., calcium manganites)
• Particle-based heat exchangers for concentrated solar power
• High-temperature electrochemical cells (SOFC/SOEC)
• Material characterization for energy systems
• Lunar in-situ resource utilization for propellant production

Recent Research Trends: His work bridges fundamental material science with large-scale system design, emphasizing scalable solutions for renewable energy storage and space exploration applications. Recent studies focus on fluidized bed heat exchangers, aerospace SOFC integration, and lunar solid-oxide electrolysis systems.

Awards:

• High Temperature Materials Division Outstanding Achievement Award (2018)

Labs & Collaborations: Leads the High-Temperature Energy Conversion and Storage (Hi-TECS) research group at Mines. Affiliated with the Colorado Fuel Cell Center, Center for Space Resources, and Advanced Energy Systems graduate program. Collaborates on NASA-funded lunar propellant production initiatives and DOE solar energy projects.