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

工程研究中心的规划赠款竞争是作为ERC计划内的试点招标运行。 规划赠款不需要作为整个ERC竞争的一部分，但旨在建立团队之间的能力，以规划融合的中心规模的工程研究。这项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制定的计划，该中心汇集了一个由研究人员，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方法，以大大加快材料的发现和设计。利用在大型图书馆（具有数十亿系统性变化的颗粒组成和尺寸的图书馆）中实施的组合纳米科学，快速发现和开发材料，这对氢的生产和利用至关重要，以创造更清洁，更便宜的能源;固氮以提高粮食生产;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可能远远超出本文所确认的对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框架内建立一个高度一体化的趋同团队。研究使命将被锐化成一个清晰的，单一的愿景，成功的ERC，有潜力解决重大的社会需求。 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，这些人将参加的公开专题讨论会上的意见交流将产生利用组合办法的新想法。通过这一规划补助金的进步所获得的知识将有利于所有参与者，特别是研究生和博士后学者谁将高度参与全面的提案准备。在纳米科学和催化领域之外，将发现关于如何最好地促进和加强聚合研究的新知识。ERC规划补助金将使学术界，工业界和附属利益相关者之间建立有意义的伙伴关系，并增加生产合作的潜力。拟议的规划活动也将加强基础设施，为未来的融合研究工作，并奠定了基础，创新的教育programmes.This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

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.