2017 Student and Postdoc Team Science Contest

Early Career scientists are a significant component of the Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC), Energy Innovation Hub (Hub), and Computational Materials Sciences Award (CMS) programs. Altogether, these programs involve more than 900 graduate students and 800 postdoctoral researchers. To highlight their accomplishments and further the development of the future scientific energy workforce, the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) sponsored a Student and Postdoc Team Science Contest as part of the 2017 EFRC-Hub-CMS Principal Investigators’ Meeting in Washington, D.C. on July 24-25, 2017. Each Director was invited to nominate a team of two or more graduate student and/or postdoctoral researchers to present a joint talk about their center research that included both theory and experiment. The DOE EFRC, Hub, and CMS management teams selected 16 finalists from more than 25 nominations. At the meeting, teams of DOE program managers selected the top six teams based on how well the research exemplified the opportunities provided by the center funding modality, scientific excellence, integration of theory and experiment, topical diversity, and quality of the presentation. The winners received an award certificate from Harriet Kung, Associate Director of the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, during a ceremony at the end of the meeting.

The abstracts of all the finalist talks can be found here.

Team Science Winners

(From left) Iqbal B. Utama, Diana Y. Qiu, Felipe H. da Jornada

Environmental Screening Effects in 2D Materials: Renormalization of the Bandgap, Electronic Structure, and Optical Spectra

[CMS – C2SEPEM] Diana Y. Qiu, Felipe H. da Jornada, M. Iqbal B. Utama, Feng Wang, Steven G. Louie

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory / University of California, Berkeley

Center for Computational Study of Excited-State Phenomena in Energy Materials (C2SEPEM)

(From left on top) Robert Warburton, Bruno Nicolau, Kendra Letchworth-Weaver; (From left on bottom) Xiao Chen, Kan-Sheng Chen

Understanding and Controlling the Reactivity of LiMn₂O₄-Electrolyte Interfaces

[EFRC – CEES] Robert Warburton¹, Bruno Nicolau², Kendra Letchworth-Weaver⁴, Kan-Sheng Chen³, Aaron Petronico², Laila Jaber-Ansari³, Xiao Chen⁴, Yasaman Ghadar⁴, Maria Chan⁴, Ralph Nuzzo², Andrew Gewirth², Jeffrey P. Greeley¹, Mark Hersam³, Paul Fenter⁴

¹Purdue University; ²University of Illinois; ³Northwestern University; ⁴Argonne National Laboratory

Center for Electrochemical Energy Science (CEES)

(From left) Manual A. Ortuna, Ana E. Platero-Prats, Zhanyong Li

Post-functionalized Metal–Organic Frameworks for Catalysis

[EFRC – ICDC] Manuel A. Ortuño¹, Zhanyong Li², Ana E. Platero-Prats³, Karena W. Chapman³, Joseph T. Hupp², Omar. K. Farha², Christopher J. Cramer¹, Laura Gagliardi¹

¹University of Minnesota; ²Northwestern University; ³Argonne National Laboratory

Inorganometallic Catalyst Design Center (ICDC)

(From left) Zachary W. Ulissi, Daniel A. Torelli, Maryam Farmand, Jeremy T. Feaster, Sean W. Fackler

Materials Discovery, Theory, and Characterization of Intermetallics for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

[Hub – JCAP] Jeremy T. Feaster^1,4, Daniel A. Torelli^2,4, Zachary W. Ulissi^1,4, Maryam Farmand^3,4, Sean W. Fackler^3,4, J.W. Beeman³, A. Mehta¹, R. Davis¹, A.T. Landers^1,4, J.C. Lin^1,4, D.C. Higgins^1,4, S.A. Francis^2,4, J.C. Crompton^2,4, A. Javier^2,4, J.R. Thompson², M.T. Tang^1,4, J. Xiao^1,4, X. Liu^1,4, M. Karamad¹, R. Sandberg^1,4, K. Chan^1,4, C. Hahn^1,4, B.S. Brunschwig^2,4, M.P. Soriaga^2,4, W.S. Drisdell^3,4, J. Yano^3,4, T.F. Jaramillo^1,4, N.S. Lewis^2,4, J.K. Nørskov^1,4

¹Stanford/SLAC; ²Caltech; ³LBNL; ⁴JCAP

Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP)

(From left) David Bierman, Veronika Stelmakh

Tailoring Thermal Emission for High Performance Solar Thermophotovoltaic Devices

[EFRC – S3TEC] David M. Bierman¹, Veronika Stelmakh¹, Andrej Lenert^1,2, Veronika Rinnerbauer^1,3, Walker R. Chan¹, Ivan Celanovic¹, Marin Soljacic¹, Evelyn N. Wang¹

¹Massachusetts Institute of Technology; ²Currently at University of Michigan – Ann Arbor; ³Currently at Johannes Kepler University Linz

Solid-State Solar-Thermal Energy Conversion Center (S3TEC) 

(From left) Joshua D. Howe, Robert M. Marti

Understanding Structure and Dynamics of CO₂ Adsorbed in Open-Site Metal-Organic Frameworks

[EFRC – UNCAGE-ME] Robert M. Marti¹, Joshua D. Howe², Cody R. Morelock², Krista S. Walton², Mark S. Conradi^1,3, David S. Sholl², Sophia E. Hayes¹

¹Washington University; ²Georgia Institute of Technology; ³ABQMR

Center for Understanding and Control of Acid Gas-induced Evolution of Materials for Energy (UNCAGE-ME)

Team Science Finalists

(From left) Gihan Kwon, Nathan T. La Porte, Kelly L. Materna, Benjamin Rudshteyn, Jiyun Hong

The Pyridine Alkoxide Ligand Works for Water Oxidation Catalysts Both in Theory and in Practice

[EFRC – ANSER] Benjamin Rudshteyn¹, Kelly L. Materna¹, Nathan T. La Porte², Katherine J. Fisher¹, Ke R. Yang¹, Svante Hedstrom¹, Jose F. Martinez², Gihan Kwon³, Jiyun Hong², David M. Tiede³, Lin X. Chen^2,3, Michael R. Wasielewski², Robert H. Crabtree¹, Gary W. Brudvig¹, Victor S. Batista¹

¹Yale University; ²Northwestern University; ³Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center (ANSER)

(From left) Jonathan Yuly, Diep Nguyen

Mechanistic insights into energy conservation by flavin-based electron bifurcation

[EFRC – BETCy] D. Nguyen¹, J. Yuly², C. Lubner³, D. Jennings⁴, D. Mulder³, G. Schut¹, O. Zadvornyy⁵, J. Hoben⁶, P. Zhang¹, M. Tokmina-Lukaszewska⁷, L. Berry⁷, G. Lipscomb¹, B. Bothner⁷, A. Jones⁴, A. Miller⁶, P. King³, D. Beratan², M. Adams¹, J. Peters^5,7

¹University of Georgia; ²Duke; ³National Renewable Energy Laboratory; ⁴Arizona State; ⁵Washington State; ⁶University of Kentucky; ⁷Montana State

Center for Biological Electron Transfer and Catalysis (BETCy)  

(From left) Rebecca Siegelman, Alexander Forse

Rational Design of New Materials for Carbon Dioxide Capture

[EFRC – CGS] Rebecca L. Siegelman¹, Alexander C. Forse¹, Phillip J. Milner¹, Thomas M. McDonald¹, Miguel I. Gonzalez¹, Tomče Runčevski¹, Jeffrey D. Martell¹, Jarad A. Mason¹, Jung-Hoon Lee^1,2, Bess Vlaisavljevich¹, Walter S. Drisdell², Jeffrey B. Kortright², David Prendergast², Jeffrey B. Neaton^1,2,3, Berend Smit, Jeffrey A. Reimer¹, Jeffrey R. Long^1,2

¹University of California, Berkeley; ²Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; ³Kavli Energy NanoSciences

Center for Gas Separations Relevant to Clean Energy Technologies (CGS) 

(From left) Hui Yang, Jason Burris, Xiaoran Xin, Abhishek Singh

The Nanomachine that Synthesizes Cellulose in Plants

[EFRC – CLSF] Abhishek Singh¹, Yaraslova Yingling¹, Jason N. Burris¹, Jonathan K. Davis¹, Alison W. Roberts², Candace H. Haigler¹, Xiaoran Xin³, Ying Gu³, Hui Yang³, James D. Kubicki⁴, Jochen Zimmer⁵

¹North Carolina State University; ²University of Rhode Island; ³Pennsylvania State University; ⁴University of Texas at El Paso; ⁵University of Virginia

Center for Lignocellulose Structure and Formation (CLSF) 

(From left) Shijun Zhao, Taini Yang, Shi Shi

Effects of Alloy Complexity on Defect Production and Microstructural Evolution in Concentrated Alloys

[EFRC – EDDE] Shijun Zhao¹, Taini Yang², Shi Shi³, Chenyang Lu², Eva Zarkadoula¹, Hongbin Bei¹, Lumin Wang², Ian Robertson³, Yanwen Zhang¹

¹Oak Ridge National Laboratory; ²University of Michigan; ³University of Wisconsin-Madison

Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution (EDDE)  

(Standing from left) Yu Zhang, Matt Thompson; (Seated from left) Kun Liu, Katie Van Aken, Naresh Osti, Justin Neal

Understanding Room Temperature Ionic Liquids and their Performance in Supercapacitors

[EFRC – FIRST] Justin Neal¹, Kun Liu¹, Naresh Osti2, Matthew W. Thompson³, Katherine Van Aken⁴, Yu Zhang³

¹University of California, Riverside; ²Spallation Neutron Source, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; ³Vanderbilt University; ⁴Drexel University

Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures and Transport Center (FIRST)

(Top from left) Laura Dalton, Samantha Fuchs, Gabriela Dávila; (Bottom from left) Pooyan Kabir, Mary Tkach, Zhuofan Shi

Geochemical Reactions During Geological Carbon Sequestration Can Decrease Fracture Toughness of Reservoir Rock and Contribute to Microseismic Events

[EFRC – GSCO2] L. Dalton¹, M.G. Davila Ordonez², S. Fuchs³, P. Kabir², Z. Shi⁴, M.K. Tkach¹, A. Akono², D.M. Crandall¹, J. Druhan², A.L. Goodman¹, K. Jessen⁴, T. Tsotsis⁴, C.J. Werth³

¹National Energy Technology Laboratory; ²University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; ³University of Texas at Austin; ⁴University of Southern California

Center for Geologic Storage of CO2 (GSCO2)

(From left) Marc Francis Hidalgo, Yuh-Chieh (Paul) Lin, Shawn Sallis

Thermodynamic Stability, Voltage and Diffusion Kinetics of LixVOPO4 (x=0,1,2) Vanadyl Phosphate Polymorphs: Joint First-principles and Experimental Study

[EFRC – NECCES] Yuh-Chieh Lin¹, Iek-Heng Chu¹, Marc V. Hidalgo², Carrie Siu², Fredrick Omenya², Natasha A. Chernova², Linda W. Wangoh², Shawn Sallis², Louis F. J. Piper², M. Stanley Whittingham¹, Shyue Ping Ong¹

¹University of California San Diego; ²Binghamton University

NorthEast Center for Chemical Energy Storage (NECCES)

(From left) Xin Ma, Gen Yin

Magnetic skyrmions in ferromagnetic/heavy-metal multi-layers

[EFRC – SHINES] Gen Yin¹, Xin Ma², Kang L. Wang¹, Xiaoqin Li²

¹University of California, Los Angeles; ²University of Texas at Austin

Spins and Heat in Nanoscale Electronic Systems (SHINES)

(From left) Lesheng Li, Taylor Moot

Identification and passivation of the defect states in NiO for photovoltaic and Solar Fuel applications

[EFRC – UNC] Taylor H. Moot¹, Lesheng Li¹, Aaron D. Taggart¹, Bing Shan¹, Shannon M. McCullough¹, Carrie L. Donley¹, Thomas J. Meyer¹, Yosuke Kanai¹, James F. Cahoon¹

¹University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Center for Solar Fuels (UNC)