Mr Matthew Hoffman

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Fulbright U.S. Alumni Scholar

Media profile

“Despite the fact that both Australia and the United States have immense solar resources, solar power has yet to make a significant contribution to the energy supply of either country.”

Matthew Hoffman, a recent graduate in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States, has won a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship to spend a year at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

Through his Fulbright, Matthew plans to work with the school of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at UNSW to help develop a novel solar concentrator for solar energy applications. This research will improve the efficiency of a new concept for roof-mounted solar energy production.

Working with Dr. Gary Rosengarten in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Matthew will focus on optimizing an experimental system’s thermal performance.

“One important concern for all solar collectors is minimizing heat loss that could otherwise be converted into useful energy. Another concern is temperature drop between the components that absorb sunlight and the fluid that is used to transfer the absorbed energy to useful systems,” Matthew said.

Matthew aims to address both of these concerns by using a combination of experimental and computational methods. This research will contribute to Matthew’s long-term plans, which are to use his expertise in thermal systems modeling and experimentation to contribute to the development of a technology that could change the way both Australia and the United States utilise their solar resources.

“Optimizing the heat transfer characteristics of hybrid roof-mounted collectors is an important step towards making solar energy a more efficient and cost-effective energy solution worldwide,” Matthew said.

Matthew has just completed a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States. In addition to his academic work, he enjoys wilderness trekking, exploring national parks, and endurance sports. He looks forward to becoming involved with Sydney’s multi-sport community so that he can continue to compete in triathlons and trail runs while away from the Unites States. He said that his passion for the great outdoors has been a driving force behind his interest in cleaner and more sustainable energy systems.