In this episode, Dr. Jacob Leachman breaks down why hydrogen might be the coolest fuel in the universe. The Washington State University (WSU) associate professor joins host Dave Whitehead to discuss the benefits and challenges of hydrogen as a fuel source, ways it’s already being used and the innovation happening at WSU’s cryogenic hydrogen research lab.

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Associate Professor

Dr. Jacob Leachman is an Associate Professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University. In 2010, he initiated the Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research, or HYPER, laboratory at WSU to advance cryogenic and hydrogen systems. To this day, the HYPER laboratory remains the only US academic laboratory focusing on cryogenic hydrogen. Dr. Leachman has a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. degree from the University of Idaho. His master’s thesis has been adopted as the foundation for hydrogen fueling standards and custody exchange, in addition to winning the Western Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Award in 2008. He completed his Ph.D. in the Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is the lead author of the reference texts “Thermodynamic Properties of Cryogenic Fluids: 2

 Edition” and “Cool Fuel: The Science and Engineering of Cryogenic Hydrogen” which is in development. In 2018, he received the Roger W. Boom Award from the Cryogenic Society of America. In 2021, he mentored the NASA Big Ideas Challenge winning team by solving the problem of lunar dust mitigation with liquid nitrogen sprays.

Jacob Leachman

In this episode, Dr. Jacob Leachman breaks down why hydrogen might be the coolest fuel in the universe. The Washington State University Associate Professor joins host Dave Whitehead to discuss the benefits and challenges of hydrogen as a fuel source, ways it’s already being used and the innovation happening at WSU’s cryogenic hydrogen research lab. 

Cool Fuel: A Future for Green Hydrogen in the Pacific Northwest