# Presentation: 331091

## ENERGY FOR

**ENERGY FOR**
**SUSTAINABILITY**

**Trung Van Nguyen, Ph.D., Prof.**
**Program Director**
**CBET Division/Engineering Directorate**
**NSF**
***tnguyen@nsf.gov***
***703-292-5356***
***University of Connecticut, Oct. 23, 2008***

## The Energy for Sustainability Program was created in late 2006 in anticipation of the importance of environmentally friendly and renewable energy sources to the energy needs of the nation in the near future and in response to the interests of the scientific and engineering research communities.  

**The ****Energy for Sustainability ****Program was created in late 2006 in anticipation of the importance of environmentally friendly and renewable energy sources to the energy needs of the nation in the near future and in response to the interests of the scientific and engineering research communities. **** **

## Supports Fundamental and Transformative Research & Education in the Generation, Conversion and Storage of Environmentally Friendly and Renewable Energy Sources. 

**Supports **_**Fundamental**_** and **_**Transformative**_** ****Research**** & ****Education**** in the **_**Generation**_**, **_**Conversion**_** ****and**** **_**Storage**_** ****of**** **_**Environmentally Friendly**_** and**** **_**Renewable Energy**_** ****Sources. **

## Program Investment Areas

**Program Investment Areas**

_***Solar***_
** ****New photovoltaic materials ****(dye-sensitized, quantum dots/rods, biomimetic-molecular/organic)**** and fundamental understanding of energy conversion processes in these materials;**
_***H2 Generation/Storage***_
** ****Hydrogen generation by thermochemical, electrochemical and photochemical processes.**
** ****Metal oxide, metal-organic and carbon nanostructured materials and fundamental understanding of hydrogen adsorption & desorption processes in these materials.**** **

## Program Investment Areas 

**Program Investment Areas **
- (Continued)

_***Biomass***_
** ****Conversion of biomass to hydrogen and hydrocarbons by catalytic and biocatalytic processes**
** ****Bio fuel cells**
_***Wind***_
** ****Fundamental understanding of interaction between the complex fluid flow and blades**
** ****Computational tools to allow optimization of blade design.**

## Program Investment Areas 

**Program Investment Areas **
- (Continued)

_***Fuel Cells***_
_** **__**Low Temp. Systems**_**: New ionic membrane materials for high temperature operation and increased durability; Novel water and thermal management concepts; Fundamental understanding of reaction and transport at catalyst/membrane interface; Optimized electrode micro-structure and interfacial properties to handle multiphase transport.**
_** **__**High Temp. Systems**_**: New electrolyte materials for lower temperature operation; Improved 3-D distribution of electronic/ionic/gas reaction and transport interfaces. **

## Core/Shell CdSe/CdTe Heterostructure Nano-Rod for Photovoltaic Cells - R. Ramprasad, University of Connecticut

***Core/Shell CdSe/CdTe Heterostructure Nano-Rod for Photovoltaic Cells****** - *****R. Ramprasad, University of Connecticut**

**Hole wave function localized in the CdTe shell**

**Electron wave function localized in the CdSe core**

## H2 Production by Biological Processes

**H2 Production by Biological Processes**
**K. Finnegan – U. Illinois**

**Photograph of Cell Suspensions**

**Reactor Schematic**

##  Nano-Particle Catalyst for Fuel Cells

** ****Nano-Particle Catalyst for Fuel Cells**

**P. Strasser, U. Houston**

##  Advancing Wind Turbine Analysis and Design for Sustainable Energy – Marilyn Smith, Georgia Institute of Technology

** ****Advancing Wind Turbine Analysis and Design for Sustainable Energy **– Marilyn Smith, Georgia Institute of Technology

**Wind energy is expected to be a major source of sustainable energy.**
**NSF-funded research at Georgia Tech focuses on advancing the state-of-the-art in computational modeling techniques for both fixed and rotating systems that can be used in wind turbine analysis and design.**

- Vorticity field about a Phase-VI wind turbine rotor. Iso-surface of vorticity-magnitude colored with velocity magnitude. Results include improved turbulence modeling and unsteady low Mach number preconditioning.

##  Microbial Fuel Cells

** ****Microbial Fuel Cells**

**Lars Angenent, Washington University**

**Generate power and treat waste simultaneously.**
**Incorporating both microbial anode and cathode to eliminate the need for precious metal (Pt).**

## Program Core Activities

**Program Core Activities**

** ****CAREER**
** ****Unsolicited Research**
** ****SGERs**
** ****Workshops**
** ****International Collaborations**
** ****2007 Budget - $4M**
** ****2008 Budget - $7M **
** ****2009 Budget - $7M ???**** **

## Co-Funding Programs

**Co-Funding Programs**

_**CBET Division**_
**Catalyst and Biocatalysis – *****J. Regalbuto***
**Process and Reaction Engineering – *****M. Burka***
**Thermal Transport Processes – *****T. Bergman***
**Fluid Dynamics – *****W. Schultz***
**Environmental Sustainability – *****B. Hamilton***
**Interfacial Processes & Thermo. – *****R. Wellek***
**Chemical & Biological Separations -**** *****R. Wesson***** **
**Combustion & Plasma Processes -**** *****P. Westmoreland*****   **
_**CMMI Division**_
_**ECCS Division**_
**MPS Directorate ****(DMR/CHE)**

## Current Portfolio

**Current Portfolio**

**Biomass Conversion: ****12/44 = ****27%**
**Fuel Cells: ****11/44 = ****26%**
**Solar: ****8/44 awards = ****18%**** **
**Hydrogen Generation & Storage: ****5/44 = ****11%**
**Others: ****5/44 = ****11%**
**Wind: ****2/44 = ****4.5%**
**More information available at:**
_**[www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501026&org=CBET](http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501026&org=CBET)**__**. **_