US-Africa Forum on Nanotechnology Convergence for Sustainable Energy, Water and Environment

NSF已将融合研究和教育确定为未来投资的十大想法之一。该研讨会的总体目标是通过首届“美国-非洲纳米技术融合促进可持续能源、水和环境论坛”，为美国和撒哈拉以南非洲(SSA)的研究人员(包括研究生、博士后研究员和教师)之间的讨论和合作提供一个平台，从而推动美国(US)的融合研究和教育。南非大学将担任论坛的东道主。拟议中的论坛将包括在纳米材料和纳米尺度现象方面进行基础研究(实验和建模)的研究人员与那些使用纳米技术作为汇聚平台以实现可持续能源、水和环境联系的研究人员之间的讨论。据论坛主席了解，这将是美国和非洲在这些领域的研究人员最大的一次聚会。全体会议和同时举行的分组会议将在论坛期间举行。在论坛的最后一天，每个参与者将被分配到三个同时举行的关于能源、水和环境的分组会议中的一个。每一次会议将由一名主持人领导，负责制定一份建议和主题清单，以启动美国和SSA科学家/工程师之间的合作研究活动，以推进纳米技术融合，以实现可持续的能源、水和环境联系。美非纳米技术融合论坛的全体和分组会议将于2019年8月11日星期一至8月15日星期四在约翰内斯堡的UniSA科学校园举行。讨论将以整合基础科学和工程应用的跨学科视角为指导。在为期四天的论坛期间，将讨论的主题和交叉领域包括：1)用于能源产生和储存的纳米材料(例如光伏、燃料电池和电池)，2)用于水净化的纳米材料(例如处理、再利用和海水淡化)，3)用于二氧化碳捕获和转化的纳米材料，以及4)用于(I)环境传感和监测的纳米技术，(Ii)分离科学和技术以及(Iii)催化。除了促进美国和非洲科学家/工程师之间的合作研究外，论坛主席还将利用会议讨论和演讲机会编辑和出版《纳米粒子研究杂志》特刊，题为《非洲的纳米技术融合》，重点关注应对能源、水、食品、健康和环境方面的全球社会挑战的研究。该研讨会的成功完成有望促进有意义的合作，具有巨大的潜力，在以纳米技术为平台推进美国融合研究和教育方面具有更广泛的影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，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。

NSF has identified Convergence Research and Education as one of the "10 Big Ideas" for future investment. The overarching goal of this workshop is to advance Convergence Research and Education in the United States (US) by providing a platform for discussion and collaboration between researchers (including graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty) from the US and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) through this first "US-Africa Forum on Nanotechnology Convergence for Sustainable Energy, Water, and Environment". The University of South Africa (UNISA) will serve as host for the forum. The proposed forum will feature discussion between researchers conducting fundamental research (experiments and modeling) in nanomaterials and nanoscale phenomena and those using nanotechnology as a convergence platform to achieve a sustainable energy, water, and environment nexus. To the Forum's Chairs knowledge, this would be the largest gathering of researchers in these fields from both the US and Africa. Both plenary and concurrent breakout sessions will take place during the forum. During the final day of the forum, each participant will be assigned to one of three concurrent breakout sessions devoted to energy, water and environment. Each session will be led by a facilitator and charged to develop a list of recommendations and topics to initiate collaborative research activities between scientists/engineers from the US and SSA to advance nanotechnology convergence for a sustainable energy, water, and environment nexus.The plenary and breakout sessions of the US-Africa Forum on Nanotechnology Convergence will be held at the UNISA Science Campus in Johannesburg from Monday August 11 through Thursday August 15, 2019. The discussion will be guided by a transdisciplinary perspective that integrates fundamental science and engineering applications. Topical and crosscutting areas that will be discussed during the 4-day forum include: 1) nanomaterials for energy generation and storage (e.g. photovoltaics, fuel cells and batteries), 2) nanomaterials for water purification (e.g. treatment, reuse and desalination), 3) nanomaterials for CO2 capture and conversion and 4) nanotechnology for (i) environmental sensing and monitoring, (ii) separation science and technology and (iii) catalysis. In addition to the facilitation of collaborative research between US and African scientists/engineers, the Forum Chairs will leverage the conference discussion and presentations to edit and publish a special issue of the Journal of Nanoparticle Research entitled "Nanotechnology Convergence in Africa" with a focus on research that addresses global societal challenges in energy, water, food, health and environment. The successful completion of this workshop is expected to catalyze meaningful collaborations with great potential for broader impacts in advancing Convergence Research and Education in the US using Nanotechnology as a platform.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.