Planning Grant: Engineering Research Center for Accelerated Catalytic Design and Characterization (ACDC)

工程研究中心规划奖助金竞赛是作为ERC计划的试点征集活动进行的。计划拨款并不是整个ERC竞赛的一部分，而是为了在团队之间建立能力，以计划集中的、中心规模的工程研究。这笔规划拨款将为西北大学国际纳米技术研究所未来的工程研究中心制定精心设计的计划，该中心将汇集一个由研究人员、教育工作者和利益相关者组成的跨学科团队，专注于发明和开发新的方法，以显著加快材料的发现和设计。利用在大型图书馆(拥有数十亿个系统变化的颗粒成分和大小的图书馆)中实施的组合纳米科学来快速发现和开发材料，这些材料对氢气生产和利用至关重要，以创造更清洁、更廉价的能源；固氮以提高粮食生产；以及水净化，以更低的成本和更大的规模获得清洁水。所制定的方法的适用性很可能远远超出这里所承认的社会需求的催化解决办法。规划活动将有助于在多样性和包容性的框架内发展一支高度一体化的汇聚团队。研究任务将被磨砺成一个清晰、独特的愿景，即一个成功的、有潜力满足重大社会需求的ERC。已经确定了水、粮食和能源这三个关键专题领域的世界领导人，并将在这些个人将参加的公开研讨会上进行思想交流，这将产生利用组合方法的新想法。通过推进这项计划拨款而获得的知识将使所有参与者受益，特别是将高度参与整个提案准备的研究生和博士后学者。除了纳米科学和催化领域外，还将发现关于如何最好地促进和加强融合研究的新知识。这项ERC计划拨款将使学术界、产业界和相关利益相关者之间建立有意义的伙伴关系，并增加富有成效的合作的潜力。拟议的规划活动还将加强未来融合研究工作的基础设施，并为创新教育计划奠定基础。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Planning Grants for Engineering Research Centers competition was run as a pilot solicitation within the ERC program. Planning grants are not required as part of the full ERC competition, but intended to build capacity among teams to plan for convergent, center-scale engineering research. This planning grant will develop well-formulated plans for a future Engineering Research Center at the International Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern University that brings together a transdisciplinary team of researchers, educators, and stakeholders focused on the invention and development of new methodologies to dramatically accelerate materials discovery and design. Utilizing combinatorial nanoscience implemented in mega-libraries (libraries with billions of systematically varied particle compositions and sizes) for the rapid discovery and development of materials, critical for hydrogen production and utilization to create a cleaner, cheaper energy; nitrogen fixation to enhance food production; and water purification to yield access to clean water at lower cost and greater scale. The methodologies developed are likely to have applicability far beyond the catalytic solutions to societal needs recognized here.The planning activities will help develop a highly integrated convergent team within a framework of diversity and inclusion. The research mission will be sharpened into a crisp, singular vision for a successful ERC that has the potential to address significant societal needs. World leaders in the three key topical areas, water, food and energy, have been identified and the exchange of ideas that will occur in open symposia at which these individuals will participate will generate new ideas for exploiting the combinatorial approach. The knowledge gained through the advancement of this planning grant will be a benefit for all the participants, particularly the graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who will be highly involved in the full proposal preparation. Beyond the fields of nanoscience and catalysis, new knowledge about how best to facilitate and enhance convergent research will be discovered.This ERC Planning Grant will enable meaningful partnerships between academia, industry, and affiliated stakeholders to be developed and increase the potential for productive collaborations. The proposed planning activities will also enhance the infrastructure for future convergent research efforts and lay a foundation for innovative educational programs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.