Albert A. Koenig, Ph.D. Adjunct Professor of Physics & Engineering

Albert A. Koenig, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of Physics & Engineering
Office: Schumacher Science Center South 420
Phone: (610) 436-2827
Email: [email protected]
B.S.
Ph.D.
Loyola University
Duke University
I received my Ph.D. in physics under Prof. Henry Fairbank in low temperature physics (properties of
liquid helium and superconductivity). My thesis work involved using light scattering (critical
opalescence) to investigate the thermodynamic critical point properties of He-4, where vapor and
liquid co-exist and density fluctuations persist to envelop the entire volume. As a side project, I
designed and constructed a novel argon ion laser operating in the blue-green (488nm) spectrum to
enhance the scattering intensity from the sample. I continued this light scattering work as a postdoc at Haverford College with Prof. Jerry Gollub.
Subsequent to my academic work, I joined General Electric, Advanced Energy Programs, King of
Prussia, to work on the development of solar thermal power generators. These employed large
parabolic dishes to concentrate direct solar energy by a factor of 1000X onto a cavity receiver that I
designed and tested at Sandia National Labs. The results of this testing led to a discovery of the
significance of natural convection as a function of elevation pointing angle, which proved to be
important as a heat loss mechanism for all solar thermal concentrator designs, including power
towers.
Following GE, my work focused on the development of high energy density batteries for both EV
and battery energy storage applications. In my work with Chloride Silent Power, Ltd. In Runcorn,
UK, and Beta Power, Inc. in PA and UT, we developed high temperature NaS batteries, which
evolved to NaNiCl2 as the market matured. From this, I started Silent Power Systems that produced
300 kW x 1 hr battery storage systems (with 3ph bi-directional inverters and switchgear in a single
container) for utility customer support.
My most recent foray into sustainable product development was ARBgeowell, a company that I
founded in Conshohocken based on a novel extruded HDPE loop profile that offered 35% better
borehole heat transfer, resulting in less drilling and owner expense. This loop product was tested
side-side against a standard 1¼” loop of the same length in a residential installation and
demonstrated a 15% annual savings in heat pump performance. We have since published these
results to the geothermal community to promote this and other advanced loop technology from
simply a voluntary alternative to an established solution.