Next Generation Electrochemistry (NGenE) Summer Institute, Chicago

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Next Generation Electrochemistry (NGenE) is a 1-week student-centered summer intensive workshop that explores the frontiers of electrochemical research, which is at the core of many modern technologies. The event brings together a group graduate students with demonstrated interest and research experience in the field of electrochemistry with renowned electrochemists from across North America. The primary objective of the activity is to present fundamental questions and research at the frontiers of the field, and develop innovative strategies to address current gaps through collaboration and critical thinking. The format of NGenE is designed to accelerate advances at the frontier of electrochemistry in the United States, while developing a close-knit community of willing collaborators intent on tackling the most important fundamental questions with a direct impact on society, for instance, through novel energy technologies. The inaugural edition focuses on these topics related to energy, covering phenomena of relevance to photosynthesis, fuel cells, batteries, electrochemical reactors and supercapacitors. Yet, the fundamental aspects presented by the faculty are of broad relevance, applying in other sub-fields of electrochemical research. A salient feature of the structure of NGenE is to contribute to the training of the next generation of electrochemists, fostering their critical thinking and providing the tools to identify and tackle pioneering research priorities that produce meaningful societal advances through economic and environmental benefits. TECHNICAL DETAILS: Next Generation Electrochemistry (NGenE) brings 25 advanced graduate students and 10 distinguished lecturers together for five days to explore the frontiers of our scientific knowledge in electrochemistry. They examine fundamental phenomena that control the reactivity, transport and stability of electrochemical processes at an advanced level, identifying critical gaps in our understanding and innovative strategies to address them. The theme in 2016 is electrochemistry in energy applications, which includes phenomena of relevance to important modern technologies, such as batteries and electrolyzers. NGenE explores these research frontiers through lectures, discussions and demonstrations, including a site visit to cutting-edge facilities at Argonne National Laboratory, as well as research projects developed by students under the mentoring of NGenE faculty. Faculty stimulate discussion by bringing unsolved challenges at the frontiers of electrochemistry to the fore, while working with students to develop and design innovative, forward-looking synthesis, characterization, theory, and simulation to solve problems in electrochemical science. The activity assumes baseline knowledge and prior experience in electrochemistry. As a result, NGenE does not ask, ?What is electrochemistry?? but instead ?What will electrochemistry become?? This focus on the fundamental knowledge gaps distinguishes NGenE from other summer workshops in electrochemistry. The goal of the activity is to stimulate a dialog between the current and the next generation of scientists in electrochemistry that spurs, in the future, an accelerated development of electrochemical science impacting applications in energy, medicine and manufacturing. This outcome would provide a clear societal benefit and contribute to the leadership of the U,S, in this important discipline.