CREST Center for Energy and Sustainability at California State University, Los Angeles

能源和可持续发展中心在国家科学基金会的支持下，加州州立大学洛杉矶能源和可持续发展中心将从事能源和与能源相关的材料和技术的研究。该中心的主要目的是开发和生产具有可再生能源应用的新材料。中心研究人员计划开发一种新型燃料电池并评估其效率；解决阻碍开发更高效太阳能电池以获取太阳能发电的几个关键问题；并帮助减少电力传输中的能量损失。该中心的活动包括建立核心材料和表征设施，以及材料科学和工程硕士学位课程。该中心将增加学生参与者的数量，以及接受CREST培训的少数族裔学生进入博士生课程的数量。该中心的研究议程涉及能源科学和技术的基础和应用问题。“基于微流控的燃料电池和优化”子项目将开发基于芯片的燃料电池和为便携式设备提供动力的高效催化剂。研究的重点是开发和使用纸质微流控燃料电池。纸基仪器因其成本低、便携性好、样品和试剂用量少等优点而受到广泛关注。研究还集中在使用Nafion膜的聚二甲基硅氧烷平台上开发甲酸、甲醇和氢燃料电池。在“用于光伏电池的先进材料”子项目中，将新型无机和有机纳米材料集成到光伏电池中，以便以高效和环保的方式发电。研究的重点是Ru染料敏化的细胞，以及钙钛矿细胞。子项目“高温超导体的特性和应用”将结构与低温超导体和高温超导体的功能联系起来。其目标是在足够高的温度下发现超导电性，从而彻底改变与能源相关的技术。这个子项目还涉及对高温超导带材的应用研究，以提高其临界密度和用于电力电缆和高场磁铁等大电流应用的不可逆场。三个次级项目之间的协同作用源于它们的主题重叠和互补性。

Center for Energy and SustainabilityWith National Science Foundation support, the California State University, Los Angeles Center for Energy and Sustainability will engage in research on energy and energy-related materials and technologies. The overarching purpose of the Center is the development and production of novel materials with renewable energy applications. Center researchers plan to develop a novel fuel cell and assess its efficiency; address several key issues that have precluded development of more efficient solar cells to harvest solar power for electricity generation; and help reduce energy loss in power transmission. Center activities include the establishment of core materials and characterization facilities as well as a Master's degree program in Materials Science and Engineering. The Center will increase the number of student participants; as well as the number of CREST trained underrepresented minority students accepted into doctoral programs.The Center's research agenda addresses both fundamental and applied problems in energy science and technology. The "Microfluidic-based Fuel Cells and Optimization" subproject will develop chip-based fuel cells and efficient catalysts for powering portable devices. Research focuses on developing and accessing paper microfluidic fuel cells. Paper-based devices have attracted widespread attention due to their low cost, portability, and minimal sample and reagent volume requirement. Research also focuses on the development of formic acid, methanol, and hydrogen fuel cells on polydimethysiloxane platforms using Nafion membranes. In the subproject on "Advanced Materials for Photovoltaic Cells," new inorganic and organic nanomaterials are integrated into photovoltaic cells so that electricity can be generated in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner. Research focuses on ruthenium dye-sensitized cells, as well as on perovskite cells. The subproject, "Properties and Applications of Overdoped High-Temperature Superconductors," correlates the structures to functions of both low- and high-temperature superconductors. The goal is to discover superconductivity at temperatures high enough to revolutionize energy related technologies. This subproject also involves applied research on high-temperature superconducting tapes to enhance their critical densities and irreversibility fields for high-current applications such as power cables and high-field magnets. Synergy among the three subprojects stems from their thematic overlap and complementarity.