Award winners gathered on stage at IGNITE 24

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced approximately $11.5 million in funding through its new Inspiring Generations of New Innovators to Impact Technologies in Energy 2024 (IGNIITE 2024) program, which focuses on early-career scientists and engineers converting disruptive ideas into impactful energy technologies. Prof. Matt Woongkul Lee, who is joining the faculty of the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University, is one of the recipients. He received the award for research he started as an assistant professor at Michigan State University. Lee will continue this research at Purdue.

Lee says he is honored to receive this inaugural ARPA-E Early Career Award and join the esteemed group of twenty-three IGNIITE 2024 selectees. His project is entitled “Optically Powered Ultra-High-Speed (OPUS) Wound-Field Synchronous Generators.” The objective of the research is to develop an optically powered ultra-high-speed wound-field synchronous generator for uncrewed aircraft. The generator will be integrated with an optical encoder for position estimation to maximize its power density, reliability, and power handling capability. Lee says this recognition is a testament to the innovative potential of the project, which aims to revolutionize electric machine technology.

“By leveraging optical wireless power transfer, we seek to eliminate the reliance on rare-earth materials and double the power density of the system,” says Lee. “This breakthrough could pave the way for more sustainable and efficient energy solutions, addressing critical challenges in the industry and contributing to a sustainable future.”

Each IGNIITE 2024 selectee will receive approximately $500,000 to advance research projects at universities, national laboratories, and in the private sector that will span the full spectrum of energy applications, including advanced energy storage systems, fusion reactor technology, carbon-negative concrete alternatives, power electronics for grid reliability, critical material recovery, energy-efficient water desalination, plastic depolymerization, and more.

“We need an infusion of unconventional ideas from the next generation of researchers, entrepreneurs, and technologists to tackle energy challenges of today,” said ARPA-E Director Evelyn N. Wang. “As an engineer who benefited from support early on in my career, I know how instrumental resourcing and expert guidance is to successful innovation. By supporting this cohort of early-career innovators, I am confident that we are one step closer to a sustainable clean energy future.”

IGNIITE 2024 selectees were honored on July 9, 2024 at the National Academies in Washington, D.C.