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

规划资助：加速催化设计与表征工程研究中心（ACDC）

• 批准号: 1840619
• 负责人: Sossina Haile
• 金额: $ 9.8万
• 依托单位: Northwestern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2021-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1840619&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Planning; Grant; Engineering; Research; Center

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.

工程研究中心规划拨款竞赛是ERC项目的试点征集。规划补助金不需要作为ERC竞赛的一部分，但它旨在在团队之间建立能力，以规划聚合的、中心规模的工程研究。这项计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完善的计划，该中心将汇集跨学科的研究人员、教育工作者和利益相关者，专注于新方法的发明和开发，以极大地加速材料的发现和设计。利用在巨型库（拥有数十亿系统变化的颗粒组成和大小的库）中实现的组合纳米科学来快速发现和开发材料，这对于氢气的生产和利用至关重要，从而创造更清洁，更便宜的能源；固氮提高粮食产量；水净化使人们能够以更低的成本和更大的规模获得清洁的水。所开发的方法的适用性可能远远超出这里所承认的催化解决方案对社会需求的适用性。规划活动将有助于在多样性和包容性的框架内建立一个高度一体化的汇合团队。这项研究任务将被强化为一个清晰、独特的愿景，即一个成功的ERC，有可能解决重大的社会需求。已经确定了水、食品和能源这三个关键主题领域的世界领导人，并将在这些个人将参加的公开专题讨论会上进行思想交流，这将产生利用组合方法的新想法。通过这项计划资助的推进所获得的知识将使所有参与者受益，特别是那些将高度参与提案准备工作的研究生和博士后学者。在纳米科学和催化领域之外，关于如何最好地促进和加强融合研究的新知识将被发现。这项ERC规划补助金将使学术界、工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。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。