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Leading off the speakers, Chancellor Doug Girod hails EARTH as \u201cgame-changing in so many ways,\u201d calling it nothing less than an ambitious attempt to develop a new industry that could boost the Kansas economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, c\u201976, l\u201982, casts the center as a remedy to the brain drain that siphons many of Kansas\u2019 best and brightest, who often leave the state to seek jobs. \u201cToday is one more opportunity for us to expand the opportunities for students and business and industry and increase the capabilities of our country to deal with environmental issues,\u201d Moran says. \u201cSo it\u2019s a win-win-win in my world, and I\u2019m delighted to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the National Science Foundation, which awarded the five-year grant that is among the largest in the University\u2019s history, touts the effort\u2019s \u201chuge impact\u201d on humanity. \u201cThis project is phenomenal,\u201d Panchanathan enthuses. \u201cWhat it is going to do is to unleash scientific ideas, to unleash innovation, to unleash the technology of the future and\u2014most importantly\u2014the industries of the future and therefore the jobs of the future, having an impact on economic, societal as well as national security\u2014all at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
EARTH is one of only 19 Engineering Research Centers currently funded by the NSF in the fields of advanced manufacturing, energy and the environment, health, and microelectronics. The result of a highly competitive, four-year process that required a 1,000-page application, a site visit by NSF teams, and extensive collaboration among KU and its five research university partners across the country (plus multiple community and vocational colleges across the state), EARTH is headed by KU Foundation Distinguished Professor Mark Shiflett, a former DuPont researcher who joined the department of chemical and petroleum engineering in 2016 as the University\u2019s 12th and final Foundation Distinguished Professor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking his turn at the microphone, Shiflett notes the multiyear whirl of activity that has led to this celebratory moment, including consultations with faculty and students from the schools joining KU on the project, as well as with stakeholders in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) industry, dozens of whom are attending today. As the person ultimately responsible for delivering on the colossal promise of EARTH, Shiflett delivers his remarks in a more sober and measured tone than the speakers who preceded him. But his confidence\u2014as he makes clear exactly what the stakes are\u2014is just as high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are going to help solve some of the most challenging engineering problems with transitioning this industry to more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient refrigerants,\u201d Shiflett says, speaking slowly and softly. \u201cWe named it EARTH. We, all of us\u2014all of us\u2014live on a planet that\u2019s called Earth, and we have to take care of it. It\u2019s our home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, completing the vibe shift, he issues marching orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur University of Kansas band is going to play for you; when they finish, please follow them out into the foyer for some coffee and cake. And remember, we will reconvene in here at 10 a.m.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The implication seems clear: Celebrate. Enjoy your cake. Then let\u2019s get to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Biggest blind spot\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The imperative driving the HVACR industry to make the transition to greener technology is the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, a 2020 U.S. law that authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to phase down the production and consumption of refrigerants made with hydrofluorocarbons. HFCs, as they are known, are greenhouse gases with global warming potential (GWP) that can be hundreds or even thousands of times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The AIM Act grants the EPA authority to phase out the production and use of HFCs, to manage these compounds and their substitutes, and to facilitate the transition to next-generation technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HFCs are widespread, as Shiflett reminds the conference attendees after the break has concluded and the special guests have departed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think about your own home, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn my house, I have a refrigerator in the kitchen, a refrigerator in the garage, a wine cooler, a dehumidifier, two cars parked in the garage and a heat pump outside.\u201d All of them, Shiflett notes, contain refrigerants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow you traveled here, whether it was by car, plane, train: all air-conditioned,\u201d he continues. \u201cThis room is actually being air-conditioned\u2014in November.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, think more broadly, he urges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 2 billion air conditioning, refrigeration and heat pump systems are in use today, and 30% of them are in the United States, where they account for 20% to 30% of the country\u2019s electricity consumption. Globally, about 3 billion people live in some of the hottest places on the planet, and only 8% have air conditioning. So far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs incomes and living standards improve around the world, the number of air conditioner, refrigeration and heat pump systems will continue to increase,\u201d Shiflett says. \u201cWe expect over 6 billion units by 2050. That\u2019s five new air conditioners made every second for the next 25 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pauses to let that sink in. Then he begins snapping his fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFive new air conditioners (snap). Five new air conditioners (snap). Five new air conditioners (snap).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What happens, Shiflett asks, if the middle classes in China, India, Africa and the rest of the global south install air conditioners before we develop more environmentally friendly refrigerants? \u201cThis growing demand is the biggest blind spot in our energy debate today,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Increased CO2 emissions from the added electricity needed to power these units is only part of the problem. More than 90% of refrigerants in today\u2019s air conditioners and other cooling devices eventually leak into the atmosphere, Shiflett explains. \u201cDepending on the size of your house, your air conditioner contains about 5 to 10 pounds of refrigerant. If that leaks out, that\u2019s equivalent to the CO2 emissions caused by driving your car for one year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such leaks are difficult to track, too. Most homeowners notice something is wrong only when their AC stops cooling effectively, by which time the refrigerant has already escaped. HVACR technicians who lack training or who simply take shortcuts have even been known to vent a unit\u2019s remaining refrigerant into the atmosphere when making repairs, rather than taking the extra step to capture it for reclamation or destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EARTH aims to address these issues by creating a circular and sustainable refrigerant economy that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to see the United States remain the leader in air conditioning and refrigeration,\u201d Shiflett says during an interview in his lab at the School of Engineering\u2019s Learned Engineering Expansion Phase 2 (LEEP2) building. \u201cI want to see us be the leader in the technology and the leader in the exports. Too often, in my lifetime, I\u2019ve seen the opposite. The solar industry left, right? Maybe it\u2019s starting to slowly trickle back, but I don\u2019t want to see that happen to air conditioning and refrigeration. I started as a 21-year-old working in this field, and obviously worked on a lot of different things in between. But now here at the end of my career, I want to see us develop something that goes beyond the technology we have today for comfort cooling. And I\u2019d love to think that in 10 years I could be buying something that I\u2019m installing in my home or walking into a commercial building or walking into a grocery store and be like, \u2018Wow. We did it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It wouldn\u2019t be the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shiflett began working part time at DuPont in 1987, while an undergraduate at North Carolina State University, moving to full time after earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in chemical engineering in 1989. The Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the use of chemicals that were leading to depletion of the stratospheric layer that protects Earth from the sun\u2019s ultraviolet rays, had just taken effect, and DuPont was developing new products to replace materials banned by the agreement, including the chemical compounds used in supermarket refrigeration. One of Shiflett\u2019s mentors, a senior engineer, was assigned the job, but he was busy developing a chemical that would be used to retrofit automobiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe said, \u2018Hey, why don\u2019t you take a look at this?\u2019\u201d Shiflett recalls. \u201cI was 21. I didn\u2019t know a lot about refrigerants, didn\u2019t know a lot about supermarket refrigeration, and all of a sudden this is my job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He invented several refrigerants, three of which DuPont commercialized. One of those, R-404A, earned the company over $1 billion in sales and is still used in the supermarket industry worldwide. (A hydrofluorocarbon developed to replace banned chlorofluorocarbons, it is now one of the refrigerants being phased out under the AIM Act.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf I go to Dillons or Hy-Vee, and I go to the frozen food case and I open the doors up and pull the packages aside, I can find a metal tag somewhere inside that unit, and on that tag it\u2019ll say the name of the refrigerant that I invented,\u201d Shiflett says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A big grin spreads across his face. In it, there\u2019s a hint of his boyhood enthusiasm for building model trains, planes and rockets, which led Shiflett to choose a college major inspired by the space program and by Neil Armstrong\u2019s declaration that he was proud to be an engineer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAfter almost 40 years, I\u2019m excited by that,\u201d he says of the cold-case deep dive he still indulges in from time to time\u2014much to his wife\u2019s chagrin, he jokes. \u201cYou can\u2019t pay me enough money to get the feeling I get when I see that and know it\u2019s something I created that made a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s the exact same thing that I\u2019m trying to instill in every one of these young students, that you can make a difference with an idea, an invention. You can do that. And with these folks across KU and the other universities, I\u2019m hoping to lead them through something like that, so that we can make a real difference, make a real change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a message that resonates with students, says Kalin Baca, PhD\u201923, who came to KU specifically to study with Shiflett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMark has an extremely unique perspective because he worked for DuPont for 28 years prior to coming to academia, and he had a really good understanding of how to commercialize technology and how to develop products,\u201d Baca says. \u201cHe\u2019s the inventor on many of the refrigerants that we use today. Because of that experience, he came in with a much different perspective than you oftentimes see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMark is not afraid to dream big, and he works harder than anyone I\u2019ve ever met,\u201d she adds. \u201cHe\u2019s also extremely passionate about not only the development of these technologies and having a positive impact on society, but he\u2019s extremely passionate about the development and growth of people. His superpower is his availability. It\u2019s that combination that makes him perfect for this role leading the center.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While at DuPont, Shiflett returned to school to earn a master\u2019s and doctorate in chemical engineering. He worked on a string of projects, from hydrogen fuel cells to environmentally friendly paint pigments to renewable tires, racking up more than 40 U.S. patents, eventually earning election to the National Academy of Inventors. Finding that he particularly enjoyed mentoring DuPont interns, he reached out to the University of Delaware and began teaching part time in 2011. In 2016 he retired from DuPont and came to KU, bringing with him millions of dollars worth of donated lab equipment from the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the School of Engineering, he continued the emphasis on sustainability that had formed a common thread throughout his DuPont projects. In 2017, Shiflett read a story about The Wonderful Company, and he reached out to KU Endowment to ask whether they had any contacts at the multibillion-dollar food conglomerate. As it happened, a KU alumnus, Eric Johnson, e\u201989, is senior vice president for capital projects at the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe had a really good meeting,\u201d Shiflett says of the introduction that followed. \u201cWe hit it off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That initial conversation led to a gift from Wonderful that allowed Shiflett to work on refrigeration projects for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen we started to look at what some of their byproducts were, and we realized they\u2019re the largest producer of pistachios in the world. They make about a hundred million pounds of pistachios every year, and they have this thing called \u2018the 3-mile pile,\u2019 which is a pile of pistachio shells that stretches 3 miles. You could fill Allen Field House with those shells\u2014and that\u2019s every year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shiflett and his students set out to find a use for these discards. After a couple of false starts, they determined that the shells contain a compound called polyphenols, which can be used to improve the gut health of animals. With research studies confirming the efficacy of this approach, and a $5 million gift from Wonderful co-founders Stewart and Lynda Resnick, The Wonderful Institute for Sustainable Engineering (WISE-KU) began helping transform a waste-management dilemma into a valuable food additive for the pork, aquaculture and pet food industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEnvironmental sustainability must be one of the priorities for our planet and is a primary focus of our company\u2019s operations,\u201d Johnson said in February 2024, when the gift was announced. \u201cSucceeding in our efforts to care for our world requires research and innovation\u2014everything from renewable energy and responsible water usage to rethinking pistachio waste. The Wonderful Institute for Sustainable Engineering at KU has taken a novel approach towards exploring new technologies and creating cutting-edge outputs that align with Wonderful\u2019s mission to make our world a safer, healthier and better home for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The search for \u201ca novel approach\u201d will be a hallmark of the EARTH Engineering Research Center, too\u2014as demonstrated by its first spinoff company, Icorium Engineering, co-founded in 2022 by Shiflett and Baca. Headquartered at KU Innovation Park on West Campus, the startup licensed a patent from KU for its novel process for reclaiming outdated and mixed refrigerants and is now in the process of bringing the technique to market on an industrial scale. (See \u201cHomegrown innovation\u201d below.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shiflett has worked hard to transfer the corporate ethos of constant innovation and development to his research and teaching at KU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDuPont was probably one of the first companies to establish sustainability goals when sustainability wasn\u2019t something people were talking about very much, and it was the kind of company that wanted us in research to dream big,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve tried to instill that in my students: You will run into obstacles and barriers, but you\u2019ve just got to keep trying, and there\u2019s nothing too big that you can dream that you can\u2019t possibly do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n America may have lost the initiative in allowing other countries to dominate the solar industry, but another past scenario offers a model for how the country might lead the way in tackling the energy transition mandated for the HVACR industry: the move to LED lighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As things stand now, Shiflett says, \u201cWe have the opportunity to do what happened when we went from the incandescent light bulb to fluorescents to LEDs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Light bulbs and electronics made with light-emitting diodes use one-tenth of the electricity and produce one-tenth of the heat of an incandescent bulb for the exact same amount of light, Shiflett explains. \u201cThat has revolutionized lighting. Everything now is moving to LED because the cost has come down. It\u2019s affordable. They last for decades, and it\u2019s just incredible what we\u2019ve accomplished in the last 25 years with lighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I worked at DuPont back in the late \u201980s, we were talking about LEDs then, and they were these tiny little things that you thought, \u2018How could that ever be a TV screen or be powerful enough to be used as a light bulb?\u2019 And now they\u2019re everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of thing we want to do for air conditioning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back at Burge, as the players in the KU-led EARTH initiative ponder the challenge before them, Shiflett offers some bracing straight talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It won\u2019t be easy, he warns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t tell you what the invention is today, but I can tell you that this group, along with our industry partners and our other stakeholders and the national labs, we are going to figure this out. We are going to make air conditioning and refrigeration sustainable and use a lot less electricity than we use today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if one of the 10 EARTH projects now in development is commercialized, Shiflett tells his audience, there is the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. Even if none of those come to fruition, stakeholders have told him, the assistance they gain with workforce and diversity training will make EARTH a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe believe EARTH can transform the status quo into an Earth-inspired future where over 90% of refrigerants are recycled rather than ending up in the atmosphere,\u201d Shiflett says, his gaze roaming the room to make eye contact with attendees as he rallies them for the monumental task that awaits, sketching out a road map for how they might get there: Sensors and self-healing additives will reduce leakage to less than 1% of HVACR systems. Air conditioners and heat pumps will be less expensive and up to 30% more energy efficient. Refrigerators will use solid-state refrigerants that eliminate the need for gaseous refrigerants, operate silently and last longer. Over 150,000 new jobs will be created to meet the goals of the AIM Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEARTH will help enable that,\u201d Shiflett says, \u201cand the United States will remain the technology leader and the export leader as we build a trillion-dollar industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Believe it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The $26 million, five-year National Science Foundation grant that funded EARTH establishes KU as the lead institution of a six-university team that also includes Lehigh University, the University of Hawai\u2018i at Manoa, the University of Maryland, the University of Notre Dame and the University of South Dakota. In addition, 11 community colleges, four HVACR tech schools, and four two- and four-year colleges will participate, among them Johnson County Community College, Metropolitan Community College, Peaslee Tech, Salina Tech and Seward County Community College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The five-year project, which can be renewed for another five years if goals are met, also involves dozens of industry stakeholders, national labs, professional organizations and regulatory agencies. Contributors in attendance at the November kickoff meeting and celebration included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The potential impact of the new EARTH center could be comparable to the economic and public relations boost delivered by another high-profile Kansas win, the new Panasonic EV battery factory in De Soto, says U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI look at the Panasonic arrival as a role model for others,\u201d Moran, c\u201976, l\u201982, told KU Alumni. \u201c\u2018Panasonic came to Kansas, what did they find there? Maybe we should look and see what they saw.\u2019 Same thing here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the center\u2019s research developments are commercialized and present new business opportunities, \u201cpresumably that\u2019s going to develop here,\u201d Moran said. \u201cThat helps us not only educate students, but create careers and opportunities for them and their families to remain in Kansas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/EARTH-at-KU.jpg\")
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Sustainability: A common thread<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Light bulb moment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nKU leads broad partnership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nHomegrown innovation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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