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Professor Alan Weimer recently traveled more than 7,500 miles to deliver the Distinguished University Lecture at Texas A&M University at Qatar.

Weimer, an expert in high-temperature solar thermal chemical processing, was selected from among numerous highly renowned researchers to deliver his March 23 lecture, “Solarthermal Chemistry: The Path Forward.”

The topic was of particular interest in Qatar, which enjoys an abundance of natural gas, sand and sun but little fresh water, Weimer said. He discussed several ways engineers might use concentrated sunlight for the region’s benefit, including driving the thermal cracking of natural gas to produce hydrogen and carbon black. The carbon black could be sold to India for tires, while the hydrogen could energize fuel cells.

They could also use concentrated sunlight to drive reduction/oxidation chemical reactions to store solar energy thermally and chemically, which could then generate electricity for desalination plants to sustainably produce drinking water from sea water, Weimer explained. Finally, the process could also drive high-temperature chemical reactions to produce photovoltaic-grade silicon metal from sand to start a silicon industry in Qatar.

“It was a wonderful lecture that was well-received by our students and faculty,” said Dean César Malavé.

Attendees also included Abdul Sattar Al-Taie, executive director of the Qatar National Research Fund, and guests from the Qatar Shell Research & Technology Centre.

A first-time visitor to the Persian Gulf capital, Weimer said he found Doha busy with infrastructure projects as the city prepares to host the 2022 World Cup. He said he was impressed by the students and the country’s commitment to K-12 education.

“I was humbled that they selected me to present a distinguished university lecture, as they could have invited anyone,” Weimer said.

Weimer also traveled halfway around the world in 2015 to present a Dean’s Colloquium Series presentation at the Australian National University in Canberra.

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