Solar Energy and Mentoring Young People Power MIT Professor Paula Hammond’s Work

Paula Hammond with roll up fuel cells

Professor Paula T. Hammond of MIT advocates for solar energy. She is encouraged by her research into polymers that could significantly increase the power in methanol fuel cells and offer a lighter, longer lasting and environmentally friendly alternative to batteries in cell phones and laptops.

As an alumnus and Bayer professor of chemical engineering and executive officer of MIT’s chemical engineering department, Hammond supports diversity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, expands her research efforts and promotes the school’s potential to affect the expanding solar-energy field.

She studied chemical engineering as an undergraduate and received her Bachelor of Science degree from MIT in 1984.

“I went into it knowing only a few things about chemical engineering, some of which were kind of integrated things, like chemical engineers are the highest-paid engineers,” said the associate professor in Technology and the Dream: Reflections on the Black Experience at MIT, 1941-1999 by Clarence G. Williams.

Hammond said her interest in science was sparked in her Detroit parochial high-school chemistry class, where a teacher introduced her to the idea of a career in chemical engineering, and from the work and actions of her parents.

“It fascinates me that you can take two completely different things and turn them into entirely new things; the wonders of chemistry,”said Hammond in a telephone interview.

Following her undergraduate work, Hammond worked for two years at Motorola in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She was a process engineer and worked in the packaging of integrated circuits. She went on to receive her master’s degree at Georgia Tech in 1988 while working for the school’s research institute.

In 1993, Hammond returned to MIT to complete her doctorate and then participated in a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship in the chemistry department at Harvard. She returned to MIT in 1995 as a faculty member in the chemical engineering department.

“I enjoy introducing young people to the exciting aspects within the field of chemical engineering,” said Hammond. “There are always new concepts and it’s important how you introduce it to them.”

Hammond is married to Cannon Cunningham, a vice president with the non-profit Jobs for the Future. They have a daughter, Therese, from a previous marriage. They live in Newton, Mass., where she spends most of her free time with her family. She enjoys vacationing, reading and listening to jazz.

As an advocate for MIT’s energy initiative program and the school’s recently launched future solar energy study, Hammond said MIT can contribute to the future of solar energy. There is a range of disciplines in the study, so different perspectives will be addressed.

“The main focus of the program is to create new innovations in the use of solar energy and to increase awareness,”Hammond said. “MIT is doing a great job. The program has launched new ideas and has brought awareness even throughout campus.”

Students can get involved with the program through organizations like the school’s energy club or studying energy as an undergraduate minor.

In addition to roles as a researcher and educator, Hammond works to get more women and minorities in science, energy and technology. She is working to increase the number of minorities at MIT. She is a member of the Race Initiative, comprised of faculty members representing the five schools.

“As we look at the numbers over the past several years we find a need for such program,” Hammond said.

The initiative includes both qualitative and quantitative studies, focusing on the problems, experiences and retention of faculty members and ways to maintain diversity.