For more information

To learn more about the Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of South Carolina, call or mail us at:

The University of South Carolina
Department of Chemical Engineering
2C02, Swearingen Engineering Center
301 South Main Street
Columbia, SC 29208

Ph 803.777.4181
Fax 803.777.8265

Maps:
USC campus
Columbia, SC

Jean St-Pierre

Research Professor

Dr. St-Pierre is a leading electrochemical engineer with over 15 years academic and industrial research experience within the electrochemical technology industry, including energy conversion, electrowinning, electrodeposition and electrosynthesis. He has a track record of mathematical modeling, concept generation and patenting, and, management of technical demonstration and development partnerships, including program development, with academic, government and industrial organizations. Dr. St-Pierre is currently expanding and summarizing his experience in a fuel cell engineering textbook for undergraduate and graduate students.

Dr. St-Pierre's current research interests include the development of diagnostic methods for proton exchange membrane fuel cells to facilitate fundamental understanding of two key issues: water management and performance degradation. For water management, residence time distribution and micro-fluidics were selected to respectively measure the amount of water in flow field channels, gas diffusion electrodes and membranes during cell operation, and the fundamental properties (saturation, capillary pressure, intrinsic and relative permeabilities) associated with two-phase flow in thin porous media (gas diffusion electrodes). The information generated will be used to validate and further develop mathematical models with the objective to increase prediction accuracy. For performance degradation, the development of methods to non-destructively characterize and accelerate catalyst particle sintering at low temperatures (< 100° C) represent the main objectives.

Education

• Honorary Research Fellow, University of Exeter, School of Engineering, UK (1989-1991)
  Advisor: Anthony A. Wragg
• Ph. D., Metallurgical Engineering, École Polytechnique, Montré;al, QC, Canada (1986-1989)
  Advisor: Dominique L. Piron
• M. Sc. A., Metallurgical Engineering, École Polytechnique, Montréal, QC, Canada (1983-1985) Advisor: Dominique L. Piron
• B. Ing., Engineering Physics, École Polytechnique, Montréal, QC, Canada (1979-1983)
  Senior Thesis Advisor: Dominique L. Piron

Selected Publications

• J. St-Pierre, D. P. Wilkinson, S. Knights and M. L. Bos, "Relationships between Water Management, Contamination and Lifetime Degradation in PEFC", J. New Mat. Electrochem. Systems, 3 (2000) 99-106. [PDF]
• J. St-Pierre and D. P. Wilkinson, "Fuel Cells: A New, Efficient and Cleaner Power Source", AIChE J., 47 (2001) 1482-1486. [PDF]
• D. P. Wilkinson and J. St-Pierre, "In-plane Gradients in Fuel Cell Structure and Conditions for Higher Performance", J. Power Sources, 113 (2003) 101-108. [PDF]
• S. D. Knights, K. M. Colbow, J. St-Pierre and D. P. Wilkinson, "Aging Mechanisms and Lifetime, PEFC and DMFC", J. Power Sources, 127 (2004) 127-134. [PDF]
• P. Berg, K. Promislow, J. St-Pierre, J. Stumper and B. Wetton, "Water Management in PEM Fuel Cells". J. Electrochem. Soc., 151 (2004) A341-A353. [PDF]