Research Overview

Welcome to the BioResource Energy & Electrochemistry (BREE) Lab in the BioResource & Agricultural Engineering (BRAE) Department at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Our group sits at the intersection of electrochemistry, combustion science, and agricultural engineering, developing energy technologies that convert agricultural byproducts and waste streams such as manure, biomass, and processing residues into usable power.

Core research directions include agricultural waste-to-energy conversion, electrochemical recovery of energy and resources from livestock waste, catalysts derived from biochar, and direct biomass and hydrocarbon fuel cells, alongside broader work on fuel cells, electrolyzers, and flow batteries.

We are an interdisciplinary team combining experimental electrochemistry, materials characterization, and applied engineering design to address energy and sustainability challenges specific to agriculture, from dairy and livestock operations to biomass and food processing waste.

We welcome motivated undergraduate and graduate students interested in hands-on research connecting energy engineering to agricultural systems.