Independent scientific research organization
Dooher Institute
of Physics and Energy
Scientific research in physics, energy systems, combustion, rheology and advanced energy technologies.
An independent United States research organization, recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since July 2001. EIN 11-3576524.
Purpose
The Dooher Institute of Physics and Energy is an independent research organization founded by the physicist John P. Dooher. The purposes described in the organization’s public nonprofit record are to research methods by which energy can be used efficiently with minimum impact on the environment, to inform the public about the work of physicists, and to encourage the study of physics.
The Institute’s work includes participation in externally funded energy research, peer-reviewed and technical publication, and a current confidential research program in advanced energy systems. Historical work on this site is attributed to the institution in which it was performed, including Adelphi University and documented project partners.
Current research: the Institute reports the Advanced Energy Systems Research Program as active in 2026 under the research leadership of John P. Dooher, Ph.D. Technical details are limited while the work remains confidential and under active development.
Current research · 2026
Advanced Energy Systems Research Program
The Institute reports this program as active in 2026 under the research leadership of John P. Dooher, Ph.D.. Because the work is confidential and under active development, the Institute does not publicly disclose technical objectives, methods, datasets, collaborators or results at this stage.
The program sits within the Institute’s established research domain in physics and advanced energy systems. Publicly documented background in this domain includes energy conversion, gasification, combustion, rheology and multiphase systems.
Research areas
Five areas account for the documented research record. Each page separates completed historical work from the questions the Institute continues to follow.
Energy physics & advanced energy systems
Gasification of coal and biomass, slurry feed systems, carbon-dioxide-based carrier fluids, modular gasifier concepts and energy-system modeling.
Combustion & flame diagnostics
Compound and emulsified fuels, droplet combustion, optical flame diagnostics and the control of pollutants from fossil-fuel combustion.
Rheology & multiphase systems
Rheology of dense colloidal suspensions, pipeline flow of slurries, particle-packing models and the atomization of slurry feedstocks.
Fundamental, nuclear & high-energy physics
Vector-meson field theory, current algebra, magnetic monopoles, cosmic-ray processes and particle-detection instrumentation.
Optics & quantum-dot research
Multiphoton absorption and third-order optical nonlinearities in cadmium selenide semiconductor quantum dots.
Publications index
Thirty-eight catalogued publications and technical reports from 1966 to 2022, each with its digital object identifier or government record number.
Documented research participation
Liquid CO2 slurry for feeding low-rank coal to gasifiers
On 9 September 2011 the U.S. Department of Energy announced six projects to advance integrated gasification combined cycle technology. The Dooher Institute of Physics and Energy was named as a team member on the project led by the Electric Power Research Institute, which was the award recipient.
DOE share $817,316; recipient share $204,329; duration 12 months. No amount attributable to any individual team member is disclosed in any public record.
The founder relationship in the literature
The printed author biography in Optical Engineering 46(12) 128003 (2007) states:
“He is a Ying of Balquhain fellow and president and founder of the Dooher Institute of Physics and Energy.”
Author biography, Bentley, Anderson & Dooher, Optical Engineering 46(12) 128003, 2007
Selected external records
These are the independent records against which the statements on this site can be checked. Nothing on this website asks to be taken on trust.
| Record | Holder | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Exempt Organization Search | Internal Revenue Service | Exempt status under 501(c)(3), ruling date, classification, address of record |
| IGCC project announcement, 9 Sep 2011 | U.S. Department of Energy | The Institute as a named team member; award recipient and funding shares |
| Gasification Systems Overview, 12 Jul 2012 | National Energy Technology Laboratory | Project title, team composition and technical scope |
| OSTI record 1122274 | DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information | Final technical report of the project, contract FE0007977 |
| Faculty profile — John Dooher | Adelphi University | Current academic title, degree, research interests, reported funding history |
| Physics Research — energy and IFAS | Adelphi University | Direction of the Intelligent Flame Analysis System research |
| Optical Engineering 46(12) 128003 | SPIE | Peer-reviewed publication and the printed founder biography |
Institutional lead
John P. Dooher, Ph.D.
Founder, President and Director of the Institute. Professor Emeritus of Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences at Adelphi University, where he has held appointments since the 1960s and chaired the Department of Physics in more than one period.
Ph.D. in Physics, Stevens Institute of Technology, 1965. His published work runs from vector-meson field theory and experiments at the CERN Intersecting Storage Rings in the 1960s and 1970s to gasification and slurry-fuel research published through 2022.
Contact
Correspondence on research, collaboration and institutional verification:
peterjdooher@dooherinstitute.org
Mailing address of record: Kailua, Hawaii, United States. The registered address is available through IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.