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Sun Shines on UMass Energy Road Show
What could be more fun than building your own solar cell with Bill Nye, the Science Guy? This exciting learning experience for young scientists was the latest stop for the “Energy Road Show” of the Fueling the Future Center for Chemical Innovation based at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
As a public outreach program of the Center, the Energy Road Show gives people of all ages the opportunity to learn more about the science of clean energy—through informative and engaging demonstrations and activities.
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Bill Nye (center) makes a solar cell as part of the UMass Energy Road Show with Harihara Venkatraman (left) and Professor "DV" Venkataraman (right).
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Recently, chemistry professor “DV” Venkataraman and graduate students from the Center brought a home-made solar cell demonstration to students attending the first annual meeting of the Massachusetts Academy of Sciences at UMass Amherst.
Using household chemicals to make true working photovoltaic cells, students were excited to bring their glass and chemical creations to patches of sunlight by a nearby window and see the voltage they generated. Educators attending the demonstration learned that they could adapt this renewable energy science experiment for use in their own classrooms.
Bill Nye, best known as TV’s “Bill Nye, the Science Guy” and keynote speaker for the day, stopped by Venkataraman’s workshop, traded his jacket for an apron and a pair of gloves, and put together his own solar cell. As he built the cell, he interacted with the audience, posing questions and sharing information about the science of alternative energy. When he finished making his solar cell, he declared to Venkataraman, “Professor, that’s a lot of fun!”
Professors Scott Auerbach and Justin Fermann, also with UMass Amherst’s Fueling the Future Center, brought a traveling energy exhibit to the meeting, displaying molecular models, a computer simulation of fuel cell science and a model of a fuel cell car, demonstrating to a diverse audience how hydrogen fuel cells work. Joining in, Bill Nye quizzed both students and adults about the science behind this new technology. By the end of the day, those who came got a feeling for the adventure of science and discovered how new research is leading the way forward to clean energy solutions.
Kale Wins Isenberg Scholarship
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Graduate student Tejaswini Kale
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Tejaswini Kale, a fourth-year graduate student in the lab of Prof. Thayumanavan, is a 2009-2010 recipient of the prestigious Isenberg Scholar Award. Funded by a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Eugene M. Isenberg to encourage the integration of science and/or engineering with management, the scholarship supports students whose academic study and plans reflect the highest academic standards of the university. Kale has recently been an active researcher in the Fueling the Future Center for Chemical Innovation, where she is working on "inverted molecular wires" of dendronized polymers for accelerated movement of electrons in organic photovoltaic cells, providing direct applications in the future generation of solar electric devices. The Isenberg Fellowship will give her the opportunity to learn more about technology management, innovation and entrepreneurship as it applies to her research.
Middle School Students Learn About “Molecular Photography”
What do the iPhone and green plants have in common?
That was the question posed to 25 eighth-grade science students of “Team Mahogany” from Amherst Regional Middle School, during a visit to the laboratories of chemistry professor Mike Barnes on March 26, 2009. The answer, according to Barnes, is that both rely on chemical processes that involve light and electrical energy. In the case of the iPhone, organic light emitting diodes (LEDs) use electrical energy to make light, while in plants light is converted into electrical energy, which in turn drives the synthetic machinery for making sugars.
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Graduate student Michael Odoi explains single molecule spectroscopy of quantum dots to eighth-graders from Amherst Regional Middle School
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The theme of the students’ visit was "molecular photography," a look at some of the tools scientists use to view individual molecules as they study chemical phenomena. Following a talk by Professor Barnes, the students toured his laboratory where they got to see live demonstrations of an atomic force microscope, wavelength-resolved fluorescence images of quantum dots, and time-resolved images showing single-molecule blinking.
Barnes is an investigator in the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Center for Chemical Innovation known as “Fueling the Future.” The National Science Foundation-supported research center focuses on how protons and electrons are transported through membranes and other materials that are used in sustainable energy devices such as hydrogen fuel cells and solar cells. Dr. Barnes and his students are contributing to this research effort by documenting the physical chemistry occurring at the level of single molecules. As a result of this basic research, researchers hope to develop innovative materials that will give tomorrow’s devices as much as a ten-fold efficiency increase.
FTF Public Outreach: Sowing Knowledge, Reaping Leadership
A group of young California agricultural leaders recently spent an afternoon at the University of Massachusetts Amherst hearing from Fueling the Future scientists involved in chemical energy research. Dr. Scott Auerbach provided a public outreach seminar for twenty-four members of the California Agricultural Leadership (CAL) Foundation on “Renewable Chemical Energy” on March 26, 2009 as part of the group’s one-week tour of Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. aimed at learning about public policy issues and understanding emerging scientific developments relevant to today’s food and agriculture industry. Complementing this talk, fellow FTF investigator Dhandapani Venkataraman answered questions on solar energy, while another FTF investigator, Dr. Mark Tuominen, addressed the group on “Nanotechnology: Small Things With a Big Future,” in his capacity as co-director of the NSF Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing NSEC program.
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Professor Scott Auerbach explains chemical energy concepts to young business leaders in the California agriculture industry at a public outreach seminar at UMass Amherst on 3/26/09.
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“Scientific innovation has a huge impact on agricultural production our nation’s food system, of which California is a vital part. It is important for leaders in agriculture to have a full understanding of the potentials and pitfalls of new technologies and policies. As a premier research institution and one of the nation’s oldest land-grant universities, UMass Amherst is a natural stopover for the CAL Foundation’s national seminar tour,” said Dan Lass, professor of resource economics at UMass Amherst, who served as the university’s liaison for the CAL Foundation visit.
The CAL Foundation selects a diverse group of mid-career industry leaders for its annual leadership academy, capped by an out-of-state visit to a center of interest, this year being Massachusetts’ turn. Through on-going interaction with faculty and peers, participants are better prepared to assess and to deal effectively with the complicated, evolving strategic issues that influence agriculture, society, community, family and government. They are exposed to issues and topics that they would not normally hear about. For example, California agriculture leaders have met with hard-core gang members in East Los Angeles to discuss gang culture, and will also visit death row at a state prison to discuss issues related to the death penalty, criminal psychology, criminal behavior, and victim and prisoner rights.
“The goal is to get the delegation to see the world from a broader perspective than most of them currently have. Exposing them to emerging science and associated issues helps to develop their critical thinking skills,” according to Charlie Crabb, Director of Education and Operations at the CAL Foundation.
As Auerbach explained, renewable chemical energy involves solar cells, hydrogen fuel cells, and biofuels; in each case, the energy exists as excited electrons in chemical bonds. After a brief introduction into the present energy crisis, he touched on each of these renewable sources with the perspective that each source has its "pros" and "cons," and that each source has or will have its niche regime. In other words, no one source of renewable energy can be a "magic bullet," but rather all sources must be cultivated and studied to address projected global needs and environmental impacts. For each energy source, Prof. Auerbach touched on present technological problems and on specific examples of UMass research going on right now to address those problems. He also remarked on impediments to renewable energy research, and how new synergies may be sought.
Chemistry Launches NSF funded "Center for Fueling the Future"
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Greg Watson, Prof. S. Thayumanavan, UMass President Wilson, Chancellor Cole, NSM Dean Langford
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The center's kick-off event was held November 27th, 2007 at the Lincoln Campus Center. Congressman John W. Olver, UMass President Jack M. Wilson, Interim UMass Amherst Chancellor Thomas W. Cole Jr., Dr. Katharine Covert from the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C., Greg Watson, Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Technology at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs, and Professor S. Thayumanavan all spoke of the importance of future energy solutions. Scientists from Massachusetts Center for Renewable Energy Science and Technology(MassCREST) are working together towards clean energy through chemistry. The Center focuses on the chemistry of proton conduction via site-to-site jumps on well-defined scaffolds, which is important to the design of better membranes for fuel cells. ... more
Pictured on the home page: Congressman John Olver, Dr. Katharine Covert (NSF), Professor S. Thayumanavan
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