By Marcia Meier

A new program funded by the National Science Foundation means UC Santa Barbara is now able to offer graduate students deep and broad experience in solving the energy challenges facing the country.

The Conversion of Energy through Molecular Platforms program, or ConvEne, will train a new generation of chemical and materials scientists and engineers to address a broad range of questions in energy conversion using an interdisciplinary and multi-department approach. These future Ph.D.s will acquire the technical skills, environmental awareness, business expertise, and teamwork approaches needed to address fundamental and applied issues in the generation and conversion of energy in efficient and environmentally sustainable ways.

Officially known as an Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT), the program is funded by a $3.1 million NSF grant over five years. UCSB will contribute an additional $750,000 in program support. That will provide 55 student-years of graduate fellowships, among other things, said Ram Seshadri, the principal investigator.

“We anticipate that the IGERT will be an important part of campus efforts focusing attention on research in energy conversion,” Seshadri said.

Seshadri, whose expertise is in inorganic materials synthesis, has four co-principal investigators on the USCB faculty. Craig Hawker will focus on organic materials synthesis. Dorothy Pak will head up education and outreach efforts. Susannah Scott will lead the surface science and catalysis group, and Fred Wudl will direct the organic photovoltaics efforts.

Nearly 20 researchers from a variety of departments and programs will be involved, including the Materials Research Laboratory; the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management; the California NanoSystems Institute; the Technology Management Program; the Materials Department; Chemistry and Biochemistry; and Chemical Engineering.

“To solve the grand energy challenges facing society we need talented scientists and engineers who are also able to evaluate the economic viability and environmental impact of new technologies,” said Michael Witherell, vice chancellor for research. “NSF is investing in UCSB’s effort to train such people.”

Seshadri said the impetus for the project came from both students and the interests of UCSB faculty.

“A lot of students’ statements of purpose indicate they want to work on research related to energy,” he said. Strong energy-related programs already exist at UCSB, including research on solid-state lighting, the use of organic materials in solar energy conversion, and catalysis associated with fossil fuels and biomass.

This is the fifth IGERT that has been funded at UCSB since the NSF initiated the program in 1997.