Nathan Schroeder

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Nathan Schroeder

R&D Mechanical Engineer

Biography

Nathan Schroeder is an R&D Mechanical Engineer working at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF). Nathan is involved in Gen 3 particle- based acquisition and controls systems. He has conducted over 200 hours of falling particle receiver test operation as part of the Generation 3 down selection process. Nathan is also involved in thermal energy storage and other concentrating solar technology research, including decarbonization of cement production.

In graduate school, Nathan focused on energy and thermal sciences with an emphasis on renewable energy and energy storage. He started his graduate research by modeling microgrid dispatch strategies for the Emera microgrid demonstration on Kirkland Air Force Base. An opportunity at the seminal facility for concentrating solar power research, the NSTTF, brought him to Sandia in 2019. Since then, Nathan has progressed from a graduate intern to member of the technical staff, and finally to senior member of the technical staff.

His non-work interests include skiing, gardening, pond building, bee keeping, and hiking.

Education

  • Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico, 2018
  • Master of Science, Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico, 2021

Research Interests

  • Industrial decarbonization of cement and calcination processes

Publications

  • Mills, Brantley H., Clifford K. Ho, Nathaniel R. Schroeder, Reid Shaeffer, Hendrik F. Laubscher, Kevin J. Albrecht, “Design Evaluation of a Next-Generation High- Temperature Particle Receiver for Concentrating Solar Thermal Applications,” Energies (2022).
  • Ho, Clifford K., Brantley Mills, Jeremy Sment, Kevin Albrecht, Nathan Schroeder, Henk Laubscher, “Next-Generation Particle-Based Concentrating Solar Thermal Power,” Annual Review of Heat Transfer, (2022).
  • Schroeder, Nathan, Luke Mclaughlin, Hendrik Laubscher, Walter Gerstle, and Clifford K. Ho, “Testing and Model Validation of a 100 kWhth Radial Packed-Bed Thermal Energy Storage System,” SolarPACES, 2022.
  • Schroeder, Nathan, and Braden Smith, “Design and Testing of a High Flux Beam Characterization Device for Falling Particle Receivers,” SolarPACES, 2022.

    See Nathan on LinkedIn