New Opportunities in Energy Research

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

TECHNICAL A 1-day workshop to be held at NSF on March 15 will focus on new opportunities in energy research and examine current challenges in the fields of alternative energy harvesting, transfer and storage. The targeted audience for this includes chemists, materials scientists, mathematicians, physicists, engineers (of all disciplines), as well as social and behavioral scientists and economists. Areas to be covered include, but are not limited to: solar energy, hydrogen fuels and fuel cells, biofuels, nuclear, catalysis and biocatalysis, battery and capacitor technologies, sustainable materials, etc. A small group of distinguished researchers from different scientific and engineering backgrounds have been asked to attend this workshop and discuss three topics: Computational Efforts in Energy; Design of New Materials; and Systems Integration as they are related to current and future energy research needs. The expected outcome of the workshop will be to pave the way to overcome some of the current obstacles impeding the development of alternative energy technologies. NON-TECHNICAL This workshop will increase understanding of the roadblocks and opportunities in sustainable energy technologies. By competently addressing issues facing scientists and engineers, new collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts might be brought to the forefront of the research endeavor. Such research opportunities will be integrated with efforts to train the next generation of scientists and engineers, to inform the public, and to seek implementation on a global scale. Invited speakers knowledgeable in the various types of energy science and engineering will present lectures and group discussion in the form of working sessions will follow. The proceedings of the workshop will be published in publically-accessible reports and journal articles.