B. Erik Ydstie

Professor, Chemical Engineering
Courtesy Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Bio

Dr. B. Erik Ydstie received his BS in Chemistry from the University of Trondheim in 1977 after which he entered Imperial College of Science and Technology in London. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering and the Diploma of Imperial College in 1982. Prof. Ydstie entered academics at the University of Massachusetts in 1982 where he taught and did research until 1992 when he joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon.

Research

Ydstie's research concerns modeling and control for manufacturing solar cells, and optimal operation of oil and gas fields, adaptive control and self-learning control.

Chemical Engineering Professor Erik Ydstie believes solar energy can play a huge part in supplying our energy needs in the long term. He discusses his work with "the ice machine," using a technique for making the thin silicon wafers used in solar cells that dramatically reduces the waste created in traditional processes.