The Fix Lab

   University of Texas at Austin

About the Lab

Our group leverages the principles of classical thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, and membrane science to solve critical energy and water challenges in the built environment. More specifically, much of our research revolves around developing next-generation water vapor separation technologies, including vacuum-driven membrane dehumidification, liquid desiccant dehumidification and regeneration, and refrigeration-driven condensation. We combine theoretical modeling, materials fabrication and characterization, and benchtop prototype development to provide holistic demonstration of next-generation cooling, dehumidification, and atmospheric water generation equipment and systems.

Our research aims to reduce energy consumption for cooling and dehumidification in buildings, industrial drying applications, and atmospheric water generation. More importantly, water vapor has traditionally been treated as an expendable waste product across a wide range of applications and industries (power plant heat rejection, datacenter cooling towers, building air conditioner condensate, industrial drying processes, and more). However, with growing water scarcity around the globe rapidly increasing demand for air conditioning, and the boom of AI datacenter infrastructure, atmospheric water is a critical resource. It will continue presenting severe energy demands on air conditioning systems, motivating the need for advanced, efficient dehumidification technologies. And, it will also continue to be abundantly available, both in the open atmosphere and from industrial cooling waste streams (data center cooling towers, power generation plants, etc.), necesitating efficient water vapor capture technologies to help "close the loop" on water use in cooling systems and offset water use across all sectors.