Energy
Energy drives life. The sunflower bends to catch more light from the Sun. So also the way we make, store, and use energy must change to allow life to thrive.
The Energy Department at Science Synergy focuses on the threats to the survival of organized life posed by past, present, and future energy use. However, our goal is to realize new ways for life to thrive. Nevertheless, our real world energy work such as making membranes to catch helium from the largest natural gas supplier in the world before 2021, tracking methane leaks in one of the largest natural gas distribution systems in North America since 2022, and cooling data servers since 2023 have lead to significant reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change.
A vital part of the activities of the Energy Department is working with engineers who are struggling to meet the growing demand for energy amid the clear and present danger to organized life from the way energy is currently supplied. Yet the core of what we do is simply taking common-sense steps that let life thrive. We reach into the fastest stream of natural gas in the world and collect a rare chemical element that is critical to medical imaging, we find and fix the pipe that is leaking one of the most potent greenhouse gases, and we cut the energy needed to cool the server racks that are one of the most intense commercial users of energy.