Planning: PREC: Powering the Valley: Electrifying Chemistry at UC Merced

在这项由美国国家科学基金会化学部门资助的计划拨款中，加州大学默塞德分校的Michael Findlater教授和Ryan Baxter教授将与合成有机电化学中心（CSOE）合作，发展一种伙伴关系，这可能成为未来提交“化学研究和教育伙伴关系（PREC）计划”的基础。合成有机电化学，利用电流制造和破坏键的能力处于现代化学合成的前沿。这项技术在以环保和可持续的方式制造新燃料、材料和药物分子方面具有无与伦比的潜力。然而，到目前为止，在这个领域的研究仅仅触及了合成有机电化学所能做的事情的表面，然而，许多长期以来关于合成可能性的信念正在被修正。该规划提案旨在为未来的劳动力发展推进合成有机电化学培训，并在此过程中建立多样性，并致力于扩大加州中央山谷和全国的机会。这一计划拨款将允许加州大学默塞德分校的项目负责人与中心内的研究人员进行交流，分享知识，并帮助他们的学员培养在未来的化学合成前沿劳动力中竞争所需的技能。加州大学默塞德分校的参与者将与中心研究人员和外展协调员合作，开发适当的研讨会，广泛教育校园教师和学生研究人员关于电合成的知识。公共宣传活动也计划加深校园与加州中央山谷之间的联系。在推进提案中描述的研究和推广目标的过程中，pi将与中心工作人员和研究人员保持密切和定期的联系，以帮助为未来的PREC提交奠定基础。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。

In this planning grant, funded by the Chemistry Division at NSF, Professors Michael Findlater and Ryan Baxter of the University of California at Merced will work with the Center for Synthetic Organic Electrochemistry (CSOE) to develop a partnership that could form the basis of a future submission to the ‘Partnerships for Research and Education in Chemistry (PREC) program’. Synthetic organic electrochemistry, the ability to make and break bonds using electrical current is at the forefront of modern chemical synthesis. This technique offers unmatched potential in making new fuels, materials and drug molecules in an environmentally-friendly and sustainable fashion. However, research in this space to date is only scratching the surface of what synthetic organic electrochemistry can do and yet many long-held beliefs on what is possible synthetically are being revised. This planning proposal seeks to advance training in synthetic organic electrochemistry for future workforce development, and in so doing build diversity and commit to broadening opportunities in California’s Central Valley and across the nation. This planning grant will allow UC Merced PIs to engage with researchers within the Center to share knowledge and to help their trainees to develop the skills needed to compete in the workforce of tomorrow at the leading edge of chemical synthesis. UC Merced participants will work in collaboration with center researchers and outreach coordinators to develop appropriate workshops to broadly educate the campus faculty and student researchers on electrosynthesis. Public outreach events are also planned to deepen the ties between campus and California’s Central Valley. In advancing the research and outreach goals described in the proposal, the PIs will maintain close and regular contact with center staff and research faculty to help lay the groundwork for a future PREC submission.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.