One of the most abundant sources of renewable energy is the heat deep in the earth. This geothermal energy could provide clean heat and energy to whole cities, and in some parts of the world, such as Iceland, it does. But accessing this resource can be difficult. Dr. Woskov is developing a way to convert coal and gas electric power plants by drilling deep geothermal wells to replace the fossil fuels. He discusses the abundance of geothermal energy, the challenges of accessing it, and the geothermal project using a microwave-emitting mechanism called a gyrotron.
Dr. Woskov’s work involves development and use of technologies in the microwave through terahertz frequency range for applications in energy and environment. He has contributed to the development of the highest power millimeter-wave sources (gyrotrons/ lasers) and highly sensitive millimeter-wave heterodyne receivers and the transmission technologies to exploit their use. His current work involves applying millimeter-wave technologies developed for magnetic confinement fusion energy research to enabling geothermal energy and deep borehole storage of nuclear waste.