IRES-Undergraduate Research in China on Electron Chemistry and Catalysis at Interfaces

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This OISE award is granted on the basis of Program Solicitation 04-036, International Research Experiences for Students (IRES). It will fund 12 undergraduate students over three summers to travel to China to join research projects in two world-class chemistry institutes, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics and the Dalian University of Technology, both in Dalian, China. The research theme of this program is the study of surface chemistry related to heterogeneous catalysis, involving both molecular-dynamics simulations and engineering applications of catalysts, with emphasis on well-defined nanostructured materials. The program will be coordinated with an on-going PIRE project in this area, and undergraduate students of chemistry and chemical engineering will participate. Students will be prepared for the 10-12 week program in China by research experience in Santa Barbara and training in Chinese language and culture. The research takes a systematic approach to the design of heterogeneous catalysts, using not only experimental testing of reactions but also theoretical simulations, an approach that promises to be more efficient and effective than earlier empirical approaches to finding suitable catalysts for chemical reactions of interest and technological value.This international experience will broaden the students? understanding of the world, especially China, and prepare them to engage with Chinese and American colleagues productively in the future course of their careers. The PIs will make an effort to include underrepresented minorities, and the experience should encourage the participating undergraduates to appreciate research and to continue to graduate school. The applications of new catalysts and the guidelines for directed synthesis are likely to support the development of improved technologies for energy conversion and chemicals production.