Rational Design of Materials for Energy Conversion and Propulsion

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Rational Design of Materials for Energy Conversion and Propulsion

Cluster Leaders: Patrick Schelling, Associate Professor, Physics, College of Sciences, and AMPAC Nina Orlovskaya, Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Computer Science and Engineering. Steering Committee Patrick Schelling (Physics) Nina Orlovskaya (MAE) Talat Rahman (Physics) James Fenton (FSEC, MSE) Jay Kapat (MAE) Fernando Uribe-Romo (Chemistry) Core Faculty Abdelkader Kara (Physics) Seetha Raghavan (MAE) William Kaden (Physics) Nazim Muradov (FSEC) Sergey Stolbov (Physics) Haiyun Hu (CS) Laurene Tetard (NSTC) Ali Raissi (FSEC) Paul Brooker (FSEC) Annie Wu (CS) Participating UCF Faculty Masa Ishigami (Physics) Kevin Mackie (Civil Eng.) Mubarak Shah (CS) Morgan C. Wang (Statistics) Subith Vasu Sumathi (MAE) Sumit Jha (CS) Jihua Gou (MAE) Stephen Kuebler (Chemistry) 1. Brief overview of the Rational Materials Design (RMD) cluster

The production of electricity from intermittent renewable resources, such as solar, is cost-competitive with fossil fuel generated electricity, and alternatively-powered transportation (e.g. biomass-derived fuels, electricity, and hydrogen) are rapidly gaining acceptance. Materials research for catalytic production and storage of energy is essential for increased market penetration of renewable energy sources. The proposed cluster is designed to transform UCF into a nationally- and internationally-recognized leader in energy-related research, specifically in the discovery and application of materials for catalysis. Several cluster members already have significant funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) in this area. However, we are missing expertise at UCF in several key areas, which seriously limits our ability to succeed in obtaining large grants in catalysis-related research and begin to address important societal and economic issues related to energy and the environment.

We are proposing five new faculty hires into a cluster of material scientists, engineers, and computer scientists who have already started to work together with the objective of accelerating the discovery and development of new materials for the energy economy. The new hires will be made in critical areas related to chemical/electrochemical means for energy storage and conversion, with a particular focus in chemical catalysis. At the most fundamental atomic scale, the team will employ physics-based computer models to develop a large database of materials properties. This database will then serve as input for computational-thinking and data-mining

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techniques developed by computer scientists to discover promising new materials. Finally, insight developed from this accelerated discovery process will be realized into applications that will have a large societal and economic impact. The proposed hiring plan targets faculty in critical experimental areas who are needed to generate the seamless expertise within the cluster to translate the accelerated discovery process to devices and applications in energy conversion and propulsion technology.

Figure 1, graphically depicts how the proposed hires will interact with existing strengths at

UCF. The colored wedges represent areas where we have strength. The white areas represent areas where there is virtually no effort at UCF. These areas are targeted by the proposed cluster hires, with more specific details of the proposed hires in these areas also included in Fig 1. We envision that new faculty in these areas will form a bridge between the fundamental computational work on campus, and more applied work at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) and the Center for Advanced Turbine and Energy Research (CATER).

Figure 1 Strengths of current UCF groups and how they link together in the proposed cluster. The colored wedges show the paths for interaction between different components of the cluster. The white wedge indicates the current vacancies that the cluster hire will fill.

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Where we are strong In the Physics Department, we are particularly strong in the area of computational modeling,

especially in areas of catalysis and surface science. This includes the cluster lead (Schelling), as well as other core members (Rahman, Stolbov, and Kara). There are also strengths in materials synthesis and characterization within Physics (Kaden, Ishigami), Chemistry (Uribe-Romo), MAE (Orlovskaya), and NSTC (Tetard). FSEC has research faculty who have strengths in development and use of catalysts for a variety of energy applications (Raissi, Muradov, Brooker and Fenton). Especially within the computational group, the research focus is on fundamental science at the atomic scale. Within FSEC, the focus is usually directed more towards development and implementation of new energy technologies, and somewhat less on fundamental science. This includes several areas where FSEC is competitive on a national stage, including electric vehicles, energy storage, fuel cells, and photovoltaics. In addition to these strengths, we have assembled a team of computer scientists and a statistician who can team with the group in the physics department to enhance our ability to predict new materials using data mining and computational thinking. The idea is to extract patterns from large amounts of data, which includes data mining (Wang), machine-learning (Hu, Wu), algorithm development (Jha), and computer-vision, where UCF has strength (Shah).

The core faculty members in our cluster have demonstrated the ability to lead in large projects. This is especially true of FSEC, which has managed many large projects with complex interactions of interdisciplinary faculty and researchers at multiple universities, DOE national laboratories and industry (Fenton, Raissi, and Brooker). From the Basis Energy Sciences (BES) division of DOE, Rahman has been funded since 2003 (Catalysis Program with non-UCF Co-PIs) and Kara since 2011. Many other large proposals have been led by Physics, often in collaborative efforts with FSEC and other US institutions and National Labs. Orlovskaya (MAE) has recently submitted a major proposal to NSF (Materials Innovation Program) with Rahman and Uribe-Romo as Co-PIs. Rahman is the PI on a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) proposal (Data Enabled Science and Engineering initiative) in which 9 of our team members are either Co-PI or senior personnel. In addition, Kapat (MAE) leads the Center for Advanced Turbine and Energy Research (CATER) at UCF. This center plays an important role in turbine research for energy and propulsion applications, and has made many important links to local industries. Both FSEC and CATER have a significant economic impact within Florida. Finally, Mubarak Shah is the Director of the Center for Research in Computer Vision, which includes several faculty members and a large number of graduate students. What we are missing

The areas that are missing are those that would act to enhance ties between more fundamental studies undertaken primarily on campus, and more applied research at FSEC and CATER. The shared realization of our shortcomings has emerged out of several years’ worth of discussions amongst our core faculty, often stemming from collaborative proposals. For example, within the FSEC members of the cluster, it has been realized that a lack of more fundamental efforts, including in areas of computation, is a severe limitation. Similarly, Physics members have relied on external collaborators to carry our experimental catalysis science research for their sustained funding. For example, we do not yet have anyone who does systematic experimental research in chemical reactions either at the fundamental level or the scale-up engineering level. The proposed hires are intermediate between fundamental studies

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and applications, and would help to forge a stronger link between the current and new hire material energy tenure-track/tenured faculty with the research faculty (non-tenure) of FSEC. 2. Short and long-term cluster objectives

The short-term objectives of the cluster are to: • Enhance interactions among cluster members already at UCF • Develop stronger ties between Computer Science, Chemistry and Physics at UCF to

pursue opportunities in computational materials in response to the Materials Genome Initiative

• Identify five new faculty in key areas that form strong links between more fundamental and applied areas of energy and propulsion research

• Create a new seminar series on energy research, which will lead to the formation of a “virtual institute” which can help link FSEC with the main campus, and more broadly connect energy-related research across UCF

The long-term objectives are to: • Achieve international prominence in energy and propulsion research • Enhance partnerships with industry (locally and nationally) • Develop an academic program that encourages interdisciplinary education based on

a common focus on data and computational approaches linked to energy applications • Train the next generation of leaders in energy and propulsion science and technology • Compete successfully for large research grants at a national level, including DOE,

NSF, and DoD as potential funding sources 3. Achieve international prominence in energy-related research

The strengths identified above create a unique opportunity for UCF to become a top-ten institution in energy-related research. For example, FSEC is already regarded as extremely competitive in a number of key areas, but one weakness has been a lack of interaction with campus, which is partly due to a lack of UCF faculty in critical areas. Due to this weakness, FSEC also is limited in its ability to identify students who might be supported by grants. The computational team within the Physics Department is also very successful, but has not been able to connect its research as effectively as it might to applications. The cluster plan we will pursue must address these issues.

To begin our path towards preeminence in energy research, the plan followed by the computational group reflects the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI), which has been an area of national focus (http://www.whitehouse.gov/mgi). The MGI was launched with $100 million in the President’s FY2012 budget, with the goal of accelerating materials discovery by a factor of two. Several agencies, including those with major investments in energy research, have been impacted by the MGI, including DOE, NSF, and NIST. The team is already developing these approaches and competing for funding at a national level. In the short term, we plan to enhance our collaborations with UCF computer scientists to improve our chances for successful proposals.

This new paradigm for materials discovery, enabled by federal funding reflecting the MGI, employed by the computational group in the Physics Department, and working in tandem with UCF strengths in computer science and energy research (FSEC, CATER), represents an exceptionally promising opportunity for UCF to become a leader. The breadth of experience

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within FSEC and CATER for industrial interactions represents an important asset to impact the local economy. This proposed synergy between computation, experiment, and implementation in applications, promises to create a set of strengths and capabilities that will be unique. Significant interactions and economic impacts that already exist are documented in the appendix. We expect those to accelerate with the new cluster focus.

4. Alignment between cluster objectives and UCF strategic priorities

The cluster objectives align quite closely with the strategic priorities of the departments (Physics, Chemistry, MAE), colleges (COS, Engineering), Centers (FSEC), and the University. Specifically, by training undergraduate and graduate students in the emerging paradigm of computationally-guided materials discovery and application, we can provide the very best in educational opportunities. Students will also have the opportunity to interact and collaborate across the disciplines, from fundamental science, to engineering, and development of applications. The MGI represents a national priority with a clear economic impact, and it is essential for UCF to become preeminent in this area if we want to continue to be an important research university. Finally, there is a significant potential to enhance the ability of Centers, including FSEC, to strengthen ties to local and national industries, and more fully realize our potential as a leading partnership university.

The specific direction of the cluster hire is also aligned with the UCF priority of addressing the issue of climate change. Energy research is critical in slowing growth in carbon emissions without slowing economic growth. Within the past few years, it has been demonstrated that increases in carbon emissions are now less than the rate of economic growth, due in large part to new renewable energy sources coming on line. By addressing this trend, the cluster will impact this important UCF and national priority. The UCF focus in this area is found in the online document (http://rs.acupcc.org/site_media/uploads/cap/448-cap.pdf). 5. Evidence-based impact

Energy plays a central role in all economic activity. In the past, energy shortages and price spikes have driven national and statewide investments in new technology. For example, FSEC was founded by the state legislature in 1975 in response to the energy crisis. Initially the role of FSEC was primarily in testing and certification, but since it has become a leading player in energy research, and yet still plays an important role in the local economy. Similarly, CATER has played a key role in supporting turbine technology for energy and propulsion. This has been an important economic driver for several companies located in Florida as indicated in Figure 2. Faculty affiliated with CATER (Kapat) have been instrumental in preparing students for employment in these local industries. Some additional evidence of the impact of FSEC and CATER in the local economy are further described in the appendix.

More recently, increased awareness of the potential societal and economic impacts of climate change have driven clean energy research (e.g. solar PV, wind, hydrogen fuel cells, etc.), and FSEC is playing an important role there. National investments have begun to yield important advances, and clean energy is becoming economically competitive. In fact, utility solar and rooftop solar power are actually cheaper than electricity generated fossil fuels. For example, the U.S. currently has about 20 GW of installed solar capacity, with another 20 GW is anticipated to come on line in 2015-16. Here, Florida Power and Light has plans to bring three new 75 MW solar arrays online by 2016. However, there are still critical obstacles that require investment, especially in areas related to energy conversion and storage.

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UCF and Florida already have large investments in energy and propulsion technologies (Siemens, Mitsubishi, Lockheed Martin, GE/Alstom, Pratt & Whitney, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Space-X, ATK), and more recently the Florida Advanced Manufacturing Research Center, with an initial investment of $70 million, which partners with UCF and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. These local investments, already partnering with UCF in many areas, will be expected to benefit by closer connections to fundamental research on campus, enabled by existing links to FSEC and CATER. In the appendix, details for an Industry Consortium are presented.

6. Curriculum plan, and plans for strengthen our education mission

The data-driven approach enabled by the MGI represents a new paradigm for materials discovery. It is therefore critical that our students be trained to be leaders in this area. In addition, the nature of research, both in industry and academia, increasingly involve interactions across disciplines. The interdisciplinary structure of our cluster, along a focus on the new paradigm for materials discovery, will be critical to providing students with experiences that are competitive.

To enable this shift in how research is done, and how researchers reach across disciplines, we are already in the process of designing three courses (Fig. 3) we expect to offer to our NSF Trainees should our proposal be funded. Graduate students will take a series of courses that integrate experimental and theoretical techniques, providing them hands-on experience and training in the scientific process of data acquisition and its rationalization. Our interdisciplinary team will develop these courses and offer them to students from several departments in the physical sciences and engineering. Students will be required to take two courses in the physics department which would serve as the prerequisite for the courses that we develop. The first course will focus on providing students the basics of data acquisition and its interpretation in materials science. The second course will center on data visualization. The third and capstone course, will invite students to develop modules to provide a seamless framework for interpretation of experimental data using related computational techniques. We will develop these courses and offer them in the near future.

7. Hiring plan

We plan to make a senior-level hire as a first step, starting in the Fall 2016. This will be an open hire, but we have already identified at least one potential candidate. The purpose of making

Figure 2 Interactions of CATER with local industries dependent on turbine technology in energy and propulsion. The total revenue of companies associated with CATER is over $200 billion. Many of the ~10,000 engineers employed by these companies were educated at UCF.

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a senior hire early on is to add another outside perspective towards the direction of the cluster, including future hires. The proposed hiring areas are:

1. Open-rank position in alternative fuel and its performance 2. Open-rank position for an experimentalist in catalysis (nanoscale) 3. Open-rank position for an experimentalist in catalysis (scale-up engineering) 4. Open-rank position for an experimentalist in photocatalysis 5. Open-rank position for an experimentalist in electrochemistry/electrochemical

engineering

The plan is to hire 3 scientists and 2 engineers engaged in catalysis research and application, who may join any of the departments home to present cluster members. These five positions can be housed in the College of Sciences (Physics, Chemistry), or the College of Engineering (MAE, MSE). Due to the intensely interdisciplinary nature of energy-related research, it is critical that search committees represent these disciplines.

The hiring plan has been developed with significant consultation with the core faculty members of the cluster. Specifically, we have gathered input from the faculty about how the proposed cluster would impact just their careers, with the objective of better understanding what interactions will occur as a result of the cluster hire. Here we provide some selected inputs from our core team that has guided the development of the proposed cluster: Ali Raissi (FSEC, Advanced Energy Research Division (AERD)) It is a well-known fact that properties of the catalyst’s surface affect performance and the surface electronic structure determines the catalytic properties… Interaction between FSEC and faculty with expertise in the computer-based design of catalysts will greatly enhance and strengthen AERD’s research activities in the general areas of renewable energy production and storage and increase our chances of obtaining future federal research dollars. Bill Kaden (Physics) The addition of new collaborators working in the areas of heterogeneous catalysis with emphases in applied benchtop and industrial scale-up reactor studies will synergistically strengthen the viability of my research and thereby enhance my likelihood of winning federal grants on behalf of UCF. Paul Brooker (FSEC) An experimentalist who is able to create novel oxygen reduction or hydrogen oxidation catalysts (as defined by computer modeling) would greatly enhance FSEC’s fuel cell research.… Novel

Figure 3 Courses will be integrated with research to develop expertise in the emerging paradigm for materials discovery. The education plan is currently the focus of an NSF-NRT training proposal.

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catalysts, identified through computer modeling and synthesized by the new cluster hire, could be evaluated using FSEC’s flow battery system. Fernando Uribe-Romo (Chemistry) Collaboration with a scale-up engineer would allow a practical understanding on the larger scale production of highly designed porous materials for potential commercial use, either in solar photocatalysis, energy harvesting, or electrocatalysis.

Finally, it should be noted that we anticipate some flexibility in the specific hiring areas. This might depend arise based on input (e.g. possibly from our first proposed senior hire) that comes after the cluster is selected for Provost support. The important factor is to continue to reevaluate, in consultation with the entire team, what kinds of faculty would result in the largest complementary impact. Salary estimates and start-up costs

The senior hire proposed would be at the associate to full professor level, and it would be expected that the nine-month salary would be ~$100-120K/year. . For the other four positions, probably predominantly assistant-professor hires, we estimate a salary ~$80K/year. The total salary commitment from UCF is then about $420-440K/year.

The estimated total start-up costs for the 5 faculty are ~$3M. This is then ~$600K per faculty, with a significant share going towards development of a shared collaborative lab that might serve the needs of other faculty at UCF, including those already in the cluster. As noted elsewhere, the plan to attract top faculty includes this very competitive start-up package, plus leveraging of existing research facilities and equipment from FSEC and the Materials Characterization Facility (MCF). Space needs

In the short term, research space for the new faculty might be found in the PSB building, which houses both Physics and Chemistry departments. A typical hire requirement would be 1-2 600 sq. ft. labs, which have generally been fitted with hoods for chemistry research. Over a longer term, we propose housing the new faculty in lab space in the Interdisciplinary Research Building for 2017 and beyond. Some of the equipment that might be of general use for energy-related research could be located there for shared use within the interdisciplinary cluster. As noted below, some useful equipment already purchased by FSEC could be relocated for general use by cluster faculty. Finally, FSEC has 5000 sq. ft. of laboratory space available at its own facility which currently houses some of the most important pieces of equipment, and would be available for use by the new hires, or at least used by FSEC scientists in collaborative work within the cluster. Attracting the most promising faculty to UCF

In planning our proposed cluster hires, we have placed an emphasis on how to maximize that attractiveness of UCF to prospective hires. Specifically, the Physics Department at UCF is recognized as an important player in computational catalysis and surface science research. FSEC is a recognized leader in several energy-research areas (e.g. fuel cells, hydrogen, solar PV, etc), with demonstrated ability to lead large efforts. We believe that this will be extremely attractive to future hires who want to conduct research in a university environment, supervise students, but also have the possibility of playing a role or even leading large-scale research projects in

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collaboration with FSEC. Moreover, FSEC employs several non-tenured scientists, who are themselves extremely accomplished people, who can be important collaborators for future faculty hires. Finally, grants run through FSEC might also be used to support UCF graduate students supervised by faculty hired into the cluster. This mechanism has been used successfully by FSEC to support graduate students, but here we propose that it should be used as a way to make UCF attractive to future hires.

Below, we describe other aspects of our plan to leverage existing strengths and resources at UCF, in addition to competitive start-up packages, that will enhance our ability to hire top candidates to UCF. Enhancing research capacity, leverage existing facilities and equipment, and shared research space

To maximize our ability to attract top faculty hires, we have developed a plan to leverage existing facilities and equipment, in addition to equipment purchased in competitive start-up packages. In order to maximize interaction and collaboration between new and existing members of the cluster, including their students, equipment that is broadly applicable to several researchers will be located in shared space. Some shared equipment may be located at FSEC, while some may be relocated on campus at the new Interdisciplinary Research Building (IRB). A model for equipment support to enable shared interests has been pursued in the past by FSEC. Specifically, the cluster leader Orlovskaya uses fuel-cell test stands originally purchased by FSEC in her laboratory on campus. Similar arrangements are envisioned for future hires.

Cluster core members of the cluster have key equipment that may be used in collaboration with new faculty. These include Uribe-Romo, Kaden, and Tetard. In the appendix, we list some of the equipment already here at UCF that can be used in collaborative cluster projects, including FSEC equipment that might be used to augment starting packages and potentially be moved to campus. We will also explore potential opportunities for large equipment grants emerging from the cluster hire. Some additional equipment that would be broadly useful for the cluster would include a scanning electrochemical microscope, which might be part of a startup package. We will develop a plan for maintenance costs, which may involve some combination of user fees (e.g. typical of clean rooms around campus, and also the MCF) and also overhead funds generated from grants. Larger equipment may require separate consideration, and some equipment likely will remain within the labs of individual faculty (e.g. as part of the their startup packages).

Establish a symposium series and “Virtual Energy-Research Institute”

We plan to establish a “Virtual Energy Research Institute” (VERI), and begin the symposium series in Summer 2015 (whether the proposed cluster hire is successful or not) starting with the core members describing their own research interests. The core team has toured FSEC facilities and had numerous discussions, but continued discussions will be critical in the next few months. In Fall 2015, we plan to begin inviting external speakers that might lead to candidates for the cluster hires. We have already had extensive discussions about the potential hires (especially between the Physics Department and FSEC), and we believe that a symposium series would be an effective way to facilitate these interactions. Speakers might themselves be potential hires, or more likely their students and postdocs.

The symposium series addresses another obstacle for interactions between campus faculty and FSEC. Specifically, the fact that FSEC is a 40-minute drive from the main UCF campus

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creates an additional challenge. We will take advantage of new remote conferencing equipment in the UCF physics department that was originally funded by NASA for the CLASS SSERVI at UCF. This is used mainly in the Physics Department and FSI to support CLASS activities, but is generally available to all faculty in the Physics Department. Similar facilities exist at FSEC. Enabled by Adobe Connect software, the system allows for remote participation in talks. It is even convenient to have the presenter located remotely (e.g. using his/her own desktop computer). The talks will be recorded and archived. As an example of this, please see the archived FSI seminars (http://fsi.ucf.edu/seminars/). In addition to connecting FSEC better with campus, this idea can serve to connect any energy-related research to the entire campus and beyond.

By developing VERI, we will establish an effective tool to collaborate across institutions, and effectively lead the kinds of large proposal initiatives and projects that we envision. Moreover, by making our seminars available on the web interface, the activities of the cluster will be extremely visible both within and outside of UCF. Recruitment plan

The recruitment plan is based first on effective leveraging the strengths of UCF to make the positions as attractive as we can. To attract a top senior hire, we will offer the opportunity to play a role in the future direction and hiring in the cluster along with the existing Steering Committee (see appendix). Other aspects to recruit top faculty include elements described previously, including leveraging shared space and existing equipment, and the strength of interactions between FSEC and the tenure-earning faculty on Campus, facilitated by the Virtual Energy Research Institute (VERI).

The Steering Committee will work to draft the advertisement for placement in the relevant chemistry, engineering, and physics journals, and identify members of the Search Committee(s). Representation on the Search Committee(s) will include representation from each relevant department and center. Increase scholarly and creative works and ensure interdisciplinary publications

The cluster will increase collaborative scholarly works beyond the increase to be expected by adding five new tenure-earning lines. The research areas proposed are highly interdisciplinary. The energy research proposed will be directed in part by physics-based models, but the results are largely applicable to areas traditionally in the chemistry discipline. Many of the publications from the core group within the Physics Department are already found in what are usually considered to be chemistry journals. By more effectively linking fundamental work to engineering efforts and applications, the breadth of journals spanned by our work will be enhanced, and the number of collaborative articles will increase.

The science focus of the hires and the group will benefit from interactions with an external Scientific Advisory Committee. The people we plan to involve on this committee represent top Universities, National Labs, and industry. The current list includes: Mark Barteau (U. Mich.), Tony Heinz (Columbia), Ulrike Diebold (U. Vienna), Michael Henderson (PNNL), and Susan Vogel (Saint-Gobain Advanced Ceramics Corporation).

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Appendix

I. Leadership and organizational plan The leadership of the cluster will consist of a Steering Committee with the cluster leads,

(Schelling, Orlovskaya), along with representation from FSEC/MSE (Fenton), CATER/MAE (Kapat), Chemistry (Uribe-Romo), and Physics (Rahman). We anticipate that the steering committee will also involve the senior hire as soon as possible. The primary goal of the steering committee will be to guide the direction of future hires. The Steering Committee will work with potential hiring departments (most likely Physics, Chemistry, MSE, and MAE), department Chairs, and college Deans to identify potential candidates for future hires. Finally, it is also anticipated that the steering committee will identify and lead in larger grant proposals.

The leadership will also include a broader Technical and Program Committee, which will be comprised of all cluster faculty, and potentially others. The role of this committee will be to develop a working model for shared space within the IRB, including shared equipment, as described below, with the objective of facilitating interactions and leveraging existing resources for future hires.

With the collaboration and support of Department Chairs, the Technical and Program Committee will work to develop interdisciplinary curriculum to support activities in the cluster. Some of these areas have been outlined earlier in the proposal, and are currently the topic of an NSF-NRT proposal being prepared by the Physics Department (PI Rahman). Depending on how this goes, it may make sense to spin off a separate Curriculum Committee to support future directions for curriculum development.

Finally, we plan to develop an Industrial Consortium to advise the technical direction of the cluster, and to best connect the work of the cluster with interested industrial partners. The directions for future hires will be developed by the Steering Committee in consultation with the Industrial Consortium. We have several avenues and contacts available to develop this aspect of our plan. Specifically, we will interact with Dan Holladay who leads similar activities at ICAMR, and who participated as a team member in the UCF led “BEST Storage Hub” proposal. We will also build on the current model used by PV Manufacturing Consortium and Fuel Cell Membrane Program at FSEC. At FSEC, Fenton will help lead in this area, including identifying industry partners. Finally, we will use existing contacts and partners who interact with CATER as members of our Industrial Consortium (e.g. see Fig. 2).

Structured in this way, the leadership and organizational plan will involve all major stakeholders best positioned to provide direction to the cluster. Future funding will be secured by developing a plan for shared space and resources, as well as a plan for large proposals to major agencies. By making best use of our industry contacts and developing the Industrial Consortium, we will maximize our impact on the local economy, identify the most promising research directions, and potentially even find industrial funding sources that will be essential to the success of the new faculty and the cluster at large. Finally, by structuring the plan in this way, we will be able to address future needs of local industry, which will be critical for placing graduating students (at all levels) after graduation.

II. Relevant past funding and projects, and potential future funding sources

CATER (Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research) – The funding that lead to CATER started with NASA Glenn Research Center funding of $2.76M. Several UCF faculty participated in this effort, including Schelling and Kapat. The center was awarded $1.7M in 2008 from the Florida Board of Governors as a State Center of Excellence. This was followed by

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$640K from AFRL, and $350K from the FAA Center for Excellence in Commercial Space Transportation. As a result of this success in obtaining external funding, CATER was officially formed as a center under the College of Engineering in 2012. Since 2012, funding for CATER has included strong connectivity and interaction with industry, including GE, Siemens, Florida Turbine Technologies, and Pratt and Whitney to name a few, with a strong pipeline for graduate employment. At time of the latest annual assessment: 49 undergraduate and 58 graduate research assistants (with 24 and 10, respectively, from the underrepresented groups) are being specially trained in the various research laboratories affiliated with CATER. Kapat is the founder and current director of CATER. Several UCF faculty are affiliated with CATER, including Sumathi, Raghavan, Gou, and Mackie.

DOE-High Temp Membrane for PEM Fuel Cells – Fenton was the PI and lead of this $19 million ($3 million to UCF) 5 year project involving BekkTech LLC, Scribner, Giner Inc., Fuel Cell Energy, Colorado School of Mines, Case Western Reserve University, Vanderbilt University, University of Tennessee, Penn State University, Arizona State University, and Clemson University, to develop novel membranes for PEM fuel cells. Fenton also was the Technical Lead of the U.S. DOE’s High Temperature Membrane Working Group (HTMWG) (http://energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/high-temperature-membrane-working-group). Brooker was heavily involved in this activity, applying electrodes to the membranes and testing their performance in a standardized performance test.

DOE-U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium (PVMC) – The PVMC is an industry-led consortium for cooperative R&D among industry, university, and government partners to accelerate the development, commercialization, manufacturing, field testing and deployment of next-generation solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. UCF’s FSEC manages the $10M dedicated to the c-Si PVMC programs and activities within the PVMC, currently with 14 collaborative projects being carried out in collaboration across the c-Si PVMC member base. There are currently 39 members in the PVMC, 12 specifically signed up for the c-Si activities, with more than 50 additional collaborative and non-member participants. Members and participants span the entire supply chain (e.g., cell/module manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, materials suppliers), with c-Si PVMC members currently offering greater than $500K per year of cash and in-kind support to collaborative consortium projects. It is potentially a critical element of a new UCF manufacturing center initiative in Osceola County. FSEC was awarded $10 M in DOE, UCF and Industry funds, to run c-Si PVMC for five years starting September 1, 2011. http://www.uspvmc.org/technology_csi_PVMC.html

DOE-EFRC (Energy Frontier Research Center) This was an unsuccessful UCF proposal lead by Talat Rahman in the area of computationally-guided catalyst development (Tailoring Properties of Two-Dimensional Defect and Hybrid Materials for Catalysis). This was a very large proposal that included participants at other US institutions, including UC Riverside, U. Nebraska, SUNY Stony Brook, ORNL, BNL, USC, Duke, and Northwestern University. Several members of the cluster team were also part of the EFRC proposal, including Orlovskaya, Brooker, Kara, and Sumathi. The UCF budget for this proposal was for approximately four years with $2400K each year. The proposed cluster hire would bring many important pieces to UCF to help the chances of success, and would strengthen the local effort and make the proposal less dependent on external collaboration and more convincing to the DOE.

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Battery and Electrochemical Storage Technology (BEST) Hub. This was a large proposal to DOE led by UCF’s FSEC with several academic, national lab, and industry partners. The theme of the proposal was energy storage and conversion, with focus areas including fuel cells, flow batteries, electrochemical capacitors, and metal-air batteries for storage of energy. Specifically, the BEST Hub was to: Create a Bell Laboratories type facility that promotes face to face as well as virtual collaboration; Engage and integrate the best and brightest minds from Universities, National Labs, and Industry; Encourage high risk/high reward research; Expand the base of scientific and engineering fundamentals underpinning electrochemical approaches to energy storage while producing the next generation workforce; Ensure wide dissemination of research results; Develop paths to rapid commercialization of new technologies. While the proposal was unsuccessful, it was extremely competitive, and demonstrated the ability of UCF to organize and lead a large effort involving top institutions. Ultimately this type of large effort would be helped by better integration of campus activities with FSEC, and also bring more research money to campus to support cluster faculty members. The partners in the BEST proposal are shown graphically in Fig. 4.

NSF-DMREF (Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer Our Future) Two proposals recently went to this program from NSF, including one from Rahman and one from Schelling (DMREF: Collaborative Research: Computationally-Driven Design of Nanoscale Interconnect Materials, $770K). Both pending proposals focus on materials discovery via computational approaches, including iterative approaches with experimental design. Schelling’s pending grant is to work with experimental groups at UCF and Columbia to identify new materials for metallic interconnects. Rahman’s pending proposal is particularly relevant for the proposed cluster hire.

NSF-IPP (Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships) Orlovskaya had one past and one active project from IPP (I-Corps: Robust and Efficient Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Clean Energy Generation, $50,000, 10.01.12-03.31.13. The project was devoted to learning on how to commercialize the energy conversion technology of efficient and robust solid oxide fuel cells developed in the PI’s Laboratory of Ceramics for Energy Conversion. The CeraPower, UCF spin out company was formed as an outcome of the performed project. Another currently active IPP project (AIR Option 1: Technology Translation - Superadiabatic Combustion in Porous Media for Efficient Heat Production, $150,000, 09.01.13-08.28.15). The idea originated from the previous I-Corps project and is now moving to the next state for development of the prototype water heater. DOE (Kara, Rahman) Kara has a current grant from the DOE ($500K) to study the adsorption of organic molecules on metal surfaces. This has direct implications and relevance for the development of organic solar

Figure 4 Partners for the UCF-led BEST proposal to DOE, including academic institutions and Nation Labs, and an industrial consortium.

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cells. Rahman has had more than one grant from DOE over the past several years that are relevant to the cluster hire (Controlling Structural, Electronic, and Energy Flow Dynamics of Catalytic Processes Through Tailored Nanostructures. $600K per year to UCF; Theoretical and computational studies of functional nanoalloy and other nanomaterials, $405K for three years). Total funding to Rahman since 2007 is over 5 million dollars. Energy Whiz Olympics. FSEC has many outreach activities, including the Energy Whiz Olympics offered to K-12 students. In addition to serving an important educational mission, this would be an area that cluster faculty at UCF could become more involved with, including for new faculty to include with NSF-CAREER proposals. III. Leveraging existing resources

In addition to competitive startup packages, we expect to leverage existing facilities and equipment at UCF to attract top candidates to the new positions. Some of this equipment is currently at FSEC, but we will explore relocating some items to shared space in the IRB. This will generate a centralized facility, broadly usable by the cluster and other faculty, and generate a shared space for communication and interaction. Some equipment that might attract faculty include: FSEC: Perkin Elmer Diamond TG/DTA-MS; Altamira AMI 200 TPD/MS; Perkin-Elmer Spectrum 100 FTIR with Universal ATR Accessory (UATR), Shimadzu UV/VIS; Rotating Disc Electrode (RDE); Dionex DX 500 Gradient Ion Chromatograph/ HPLC (cation and anion columns available); Perkin Elmer Diamond Differential Scanning Calorimeter; Multiple Scribner 850C fuel cell test stands; 8-channel Membrane Electrode Assembly Durability Test Station (MEADS); Electrode application capabilities; Multiple potentiostats; Ball-mill; Light source (for photocatalysis using a standard light spectrum). Chemistry (Uribe-Romo Lab): Micromeritics ASAP2020 with water vapor adsorption capability; Rigaku Miniflex Powder X-ray Diffractometer; CH-Instruments Bipotentiostat Galvanostat with AC capabilities; MBraun Ar-filled glovebox (for Li-battery research); 300 W Xe-lamp. Physics (Kaden Lab): 30 ft3 Ar-filled glove-box; Custom-built multi-chambered UHV surface-science apparatus; Specs dual-anode X-ray photoemission spectroscopy; Specs tunable ion gun for low energy ion scattering spectroscopy, sputtering, and depth-profiling analysis; Stanford Research Systems residual gas analyzer 0-200 AMU mass-spectrometer for surface reactivity studies; RHK Pan-Freedom continuous flow low temperature (~15 K) scanning tunneling/atomic force microscope/spectrometer for sub-atomic-scale surface analysis. CATER: Micro-turbine for fuel testing; CT X-ray; Fuel coking rig for thermal stability characterization; Fuel distillation rig Cyclic oven for long-term thermal stability of fuels NSTC (Tetard lab/shared facilities): Witec AFM Raman Confocal microscope Alpha 300AR; Visible lasers (514nm, 532nm, 405nm, 633nm); fiber coupled solar simulator and monochromator; IR black body light source; Multimode and Dimension 3100 shared NSTC AFM facility including conductive AFM and electrostatic force microscopy.

UCF Faculty Cluster Initiative

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Provide the following information for all the core cluster personnel. Follow this format for each person.

DO NOT EXCEED TWO PAGES PER INVESTIGATOR.

Associate Professor, Physics and AMPAC, College of Sciences:

EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education, include postdoctoral training if applicable. Add/delete rows as necessary.)

INSTITUTION AND LOCATION DEGREE (if applicable)

Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

University of Minnesota BS 1992 Physics University of Minnesota PhD 1999 Physics Argonne National Lab 2003 Materials

Science (postdoc)

NOTE: The Biographical Sketch may not exceed two pages. Follow the formats and instructions below.

A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster My work is in computational materials physics, including areas closely related to MGI type research. My focus, in contrast to other computational people in physics and elsewhere at UCF, has focused primarily on transport phenomena. This is complementary to the expertise of some of the other faculty in the core, and highly relevant, because all practical devices involve transport of matter (ions, electrons, etc), as well as heat. I have also worked on surface science and catalysis. This includes research related to electrochemical phenomena, where we have develop quantum-dynamical models of water-oxide interfaces that are unique.

B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities Since 2008, I have been awarded as PI two major grants from NSF, both in materials –related research. I have also lead a NSF-REU initiative supported by NSF at UCF. I have significant collaborations with UCF faculty in areas of evolution of metal alloys (Sohn, MSE), planetary science (Britt), and electron transport in metallic nanowires (Coffey and Mucciolo). My primary contributions are quantitative modeling of transport phenomena. I have developed the first practical method to compute thermodiffusion coefficients in materials. I have also developed a program in linking computational methods to surface chemistry and defect evolution related to planetary science.

NAME: Patrick Schelling Cluster Lead: Yes


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C. Evidence of Impact & Support I have been supported by two major NSF grants, both from DMR. For the current grant (NSF-DMR $390K), I am the PI and Sohn is a coPI. In my previous grant (NSF-DMR $150K), I was the sole PI. These works have generated ~10 publications in top journals by Schelling, and two invited talks at international meetings. My work on transport theory has lead to numerous papers, including one that has over 500 citations and represents a key work in using molecular simulation for heat transport. I have also developed the only practical computational technique for computation of thermodiffusion transport parameters, which has been an unsolved problem for over 50 years. We have developed the first method to use empirical potentials to simulate the interaction of lasers at very high power with materials, specifically silicon. We demonstrated how first-order phase explosion may occur, even during a high degree of electronic excitation, which was a new observation that has generated some attention and an invited talk at athe HPLA/BEP meeting in New Mexico last year. I have been the PI or coPI on two grants from the Semiconductor Research Foundation, both with Kevin Coffey. These have lead to one important paper that has demonstrated systematic deviations of experiment from simple theories, which has subsequently lead to a major proposal to NSF-DMREF. Locally, I have been supported by the Florida Space Institute in two small grants, in collaboration with Dan Britt. These grants have led so far to one publication, several presentations including at the Lunary and Planetary Science Conference. One important impact that we have had is to suggest a new mechanism for the generation of organic molecules on asteroid surfaces due to space weathering phenomena. Currently we are waiting final word on a NASA proposal to the astrobiology program.


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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

DO NOT EXCEED TWO PAGES PER INVESTIGATOR. POSITION TITLE, DEPT, & UNIT and or COLLEGE: Chair, Distinguished Professor, Physics

EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education,


Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

Karachi University BS (Hons) 1969 Physics Islamabad University MS 1970 Physics University of Rochester PhD 1977 Physics University of California –Irvine postdoc 1977-1979 Surface Physics

A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster My unique value to the cluster can be traced to the following:

• extensive record of interdisciplinary research in catalysis and functional materials • strong collaborations with some of the leading experimentalists in field • sustained funding from Chemistry, Physics and Materials divisions of NSF and DOE • invited to DOE panels which led to the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) • 2014-15 program chair for American Vacuum Society’s focused sessions on MGI • served on panel at the MGI Western Regional Workshop, Los Angeles, April 2014 • served on many DOE and NSF panels evaluating proposals for establishing centers for

catalysis and rational material design. • mentor to a large number of graduate students and post-docs, several of whom have

succeeded in pursuing interdisciplinary or non-academic physics careers. While the cluster proposal “Rational Material Design” is the result of synergistic interactions of a good number of participants, I would take some credit for sowing its seeds through 8 years of discussions with colleagues at UCF. Soon after arrival, I was able to assemble a good group of UCF scientists and engineers to submit a preproposal for an NSF Material Engineering and Science Research Center (MRSEC) in 2007. I was part of another interdisciplinary MRSEC effort in 2010, led by Dr. Seal. In 2014, motivated by being on a review panel (2009) on the first round of DOE Energy Frontier Center (EFRC) on Catalysis, I assembled another team (several are in the present cluster) to submit an EFRC proposal to DOE. The lessons that I have learned from the written reviews of these proposals and discussions with NSF and DOE program managers is that we do not have the optimal size of core researchers in the area of catalysis to win a Center proposal. The cluster proposal is based to some extent on our 2014 EFRC proposal, since the five faculty members that we hope to hire would cover the holes that we were faced with. I am a firm believer in interdisciplinary research and education as a result of the tremendous progress that I have witnessed in my years of working in the very interdisciplinary area of surface science which eventually led to the revolution of nanoscience and technology.

NAME: Talat S. Rahman Cluster Lead: (yes or no)no


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B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities 250 publications; present about 12-14 invited talks per year at conferences and academic institutions worldwide; students/post-docs present > 30 contributed talks and posters per year Five Selected Publications: 1. S. Islamuddin Shah, S. Hong and T.S. Rahman, “A Combined DFT+KMC Study of

Selective Oxidation of NH3 on rutile RuO2 (110) at Ambient Pressures,” J. Chem. Phys. C 118, 5226 (2014).

2. E. A. Lewis, D. Le, A. D. Jewell, C. J. Murphy, T. S. Rahman, and E. C. H. Sykes, “Segregation of Fischer-Tropsch Reactants on Cobalt Nanoparticle Surfaces,” Chem. Commun.50, 6537 (2014).

3. V. A. Kazakova, A. S. Wu, and T. S. Rahman, “Cluster energy optimizing genetic algorithm,” GECCO '13 Proceedings of the 15th annual conference on Genetic and evolutionary computation, Pages 1317-1324 (2013); doi:10.1145/2463372.2463536.

4. S. I. Shah, G. Nandipati, A. Kara, and T. S. Rahman, "Self-diffusion of small Ni clusters Ni(111): A self-learning kinetic Monte Carlo study," Phys. Rev. B 88, 035414 (2013).

5. 199S. Stolbov, M. Alcantara Ortigoza and T. S. Rahman, “Application of density functional theory to CO tolerance in fuel cells: a review,” J. Phys. Conden. Matt. 21, 474226 (2009).

I am also engaged in pedagogical reforms in the teaching of undergraduate physics courses, a project funded partially by NSF. I am the site leader for a PhysTEC Comprehensive grant from the American Physical Society which aims to increase the number of physics majors who seek careers in education. I am also site leader for the Bridge Program grant of the American Physical Society which aims at enhancing the number of PhD students from under-represented minorities. Since1998 I have helped organize workshops on Nanoscience at the annual International Nathiagali Summer College, Pakistan, which was started by Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam. C. Evidence of Impact & Support Pegasus Professor 2012; UCF Research Incentive Award, 2011; Higuchi Endowment Research Award, University of Kansas, 2002, Fellow of the American Physical Society (1998); UCF- Millionaires Club 2011-12; 2012-13. TOTAL CITATIONS: 5678 HIRSCH INDEX: 41 from ~ 250 publications (Google Scholar) TOTAL CITATIONS: 4394 HIRSCH INDEX: 36 from ~ 205 publications (Web of Science) Current Funding: 1) “Controlling Structural, Electronic, and Energy Flow Dynamics of Catalytic Processes Through Tailored Nanostructure, DOE $ 600,000 (with L. Bartels as Co-PI); 09/15/13 – 09/14/15 2) “Theoretical and computational studies of functional nanoalloy and other nanomaterials,” DOE, $405,000, 01/15/2012 to 01/14/2015 3) “US-Pakistan:36th International Nathiagali Summer College oh Physics and Contemporary Needs: Islamabad, Pakistan, NSF, $40,000; 06/01/11 – 05/31/16 4) TUES: Active Learning Strategies for Algebra-based Introductory Physics Courses, NSF, $199,972, 05/01/13-06/30/15 5) “Surface Coordination Chemistry: Toward Novel Functionality via Understanding Substrate Change Transfer and Oxidation State, NSF, $268,000, 6/1/2013-5/31/2016 6) “UCF PhysTEC (Physics Teacher Education Coalition) Comprehensive Site, American Physical Society, $320,000.00, 8/1/2013-7/31/2016 7) “UCF Bridge to PhD Program,” American Physical Society, $300,000, 8/1/2015-7/31/2018 Total External Funds credited to me at UCF 7/1/2007 – present $5,936,867 (Aurora).


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Lockheed Martin Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, CECS

EDUCATION/TRAINING


Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

B.Tech. (Hons)

1992 Mechanical E.

Arizona State University MS 1988 Mechanical E. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Sc.D. 1991 Mechanical E.

A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster

My personal research is on thermal-fluids sciences as related to engines for power generation and aero/space-propulsion. Specifically my research activities involve cycle optimization of newer types of thermodynamic cycles for power generation turbines, aviation engines and rocket engines; compatibility and characterization of alternative fuels such as biofuels; fluid mechanics and heat transfer as related to advanced cooling of hot section components of those engines. There has been significant interest on producing alternative fuels from different non-petroleum feedstock in our efforts for a cleaner environment. However, in order to have market acceptability of these fuels, the fuels must be drop-in replacement of conventional fuels and the production process must be scalable in order to meet the demand. My past research has shown that neither seems to be the case. For example, as many promising alternative fuels are produced by biochemists with very similar, but not identical, molecular structures, thermal degradation of those fuels make them very poorly performing in actual engines. Such problems can only be addressed by proper collaboration between scientists with expertise in catalytic processes used to produce those fuels and engineers, such as myself, who work on the performance evaluation and characterization of those fuels in a real engine. Another example from a recently concluded Air Force project on Algal Biofuel for Aviation was that the fuel was produced at the rate of one gallon per week in a laboratory-scale reactor, whereas even a small table-top engine will consume 10 gallons every hour. Thus the production is process impractically slow to be useful for any meaningful investigation. My work will greatly complement, and enhance the productivity of, new faculty members with research expertise in catalysis for alternative fuels and scale-up engineering for catalytic processes. My laboratory equipment on various types of characterization of fuels will be valuable to, and be available for, these new hires. In addition, I am a member of the nation-wide coalition CAAFI (Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative), which will bring networking value to these new faculty members and help them to be successful in research and student placement faster.

NAME: Jay Kapat Cluster Lead: No


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B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities

Publication and Patents: 1 book chapter, 60+174 papers in journals and peer-reviewed conference proceedings, respectively. 12 patents have been issued; another 8 applications and several disclosures are pending.

Past Research Supervision Doctoral (15) & Post-Doctoral Graduates: Dr. Julie Hao, Faculty, Old Dominion Univ Dr. David Lu (VP, GEAR Solar), Dr. Ahmad Sleiti, Faculty, Embry Riddle AU Dr. Wayne Finger, VP, RS&H – Aero/Defense Dr. Mark Ricklick, Faculty, Embry Riddle AU Dr. Sylvette Rodriguez, Coleman Aerospace Dr. Umit Kursun, Faculty, Istanbul U., Turkey Dr. Eric Pu, Siemens Energy Dr. Quan Liu, Siemens Energy Dr. Vaidy Krishnan, Siemens Energy Dr. Johan Westin, Siemens Energy Dr. Humberto Zuniga, Siemens Energy Dr. Jared Pent, Siemens Energy Dr. Jeff Nguyen, Honeywell Aerospace Dr. Xiaoyi Li, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Dr. John Ling , Alstom Power Dr. Sanjeev Bharani, Caterpillar Dr. Shashi Verma, National Aeronautics Laboratory, India MS Graduates: 39, of whom 25 stayed in Florida and are engaged in high-technology engineering career. BS HIM Graduates: 14, of whom 3 have received the University-wide Best HIM Thesis Awards. All have progressed to higher studies, mostly at UCF.

Current Research Supervision: Currently supervising 2 Research Scientists, 14 Ph.D. (David Canon, Greg Natsui, Srikrishna Mahadevan, Mahmood Moghagheghi, Ahmad Saleh, Ankur Deshmukh, Jan Marsh, Jahed Hossain, Barkin Kutlu, Lumaya Ahmed, Marcel Otto, K. “Ravi” RaviKiran, Lucky Tran, Andres Curbelo), 9 MS (Justin Hodges, Cassandra Carpenter, Joshua Schmitt, Malay Shah, Joseph Tate, John Harrington, Craig Fernandes, Zackary Little, Chris Vergos, Alex Hanhold), 3 HIM students (Charlotte Pearce, Jonathan Winn, Marc Medina, Itza Beltran), 10 UG students (Brandon Ealy, Patrick Tran, M. Tyler Voet, Daniel Gonzalez, Gera Versfeld, Chris Doty, Chris Garrett, Jorge Ruiz, Christopher Klink).

C. Evidence of Impact & Support

Research Sponsorship Record: Total received: $20.6M, with individual credit of $14.3M (of which, as PI of external grants: $11.6M). Funds are from NASA, Siemens, AFRL, FAA, FCAAP, Lockheed Martin, Rini Technologies, US Army, FHTC, GE, Alstom. The above student placement record indicates the significant positive impact of external research sponsorship.

Professional / Synergistic Activities: Founding Director, Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research (CATER); Associate Director, Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion (FCAAP), funded by FL BOG; Executed broad-based partnership agreement with Siemens Energy, Alstom Power, GE, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Embraer, with active sponsorship from each; Agreement with Pratt & Whitney is underway; Siemens Energy has contributed to create Siemens Energy Center (SEC) facility, which is now designated with a preferred facility status by Siemens, and has provided $4.1M to UCF as C&G awards since July 1, 2008 (creation of SEC); UCF PI on the 9-university consortium, co-led by Stanford University and New Mexico State University, FAA Center of Excellence on Commercial Space Transportation; Member, Gas Turbine Heat Transfer Committee, ASME; Member, AIAA Gas Turbine Engine Technical Committee.


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POSITION TITLE, DEPT, & UNIT and or COLLEGE: Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, CECS

EDUCATION/TRAINING


Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

Kiev Polytechnic Institute, Ukraine BS/MS 1984 Ceramics

National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine University of Vienna, Austria Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

PhD Postdoc Postdoc

1993 1997 1999

Materials Science Fracture Mechanics Fuel Cells

A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster I work intensively in the field of energy conversion where catalytically and electrochemically active ceramic materials play a very important and often major role in design and development of fuel cells, combustors, oxygen separation membranes and chemical sensors. In my Laboratory of Ceramics for Energy Applications at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering we work on synthesis of novel ceramic materials which possess strong catalytic and electrochemical properties to be used as cathodes, anodes, and electrolytes in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, or could be used as catalysts for enhancement of superadiabatic heterogeneous combustion, or they could be used for oxygen separation or as chemical sensors for oxygen content in the environment. We also work on the manufacturing and testing of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for efficient energy conversion and we developed in the lab a module for design and testing of porous combustors for cheap heat generation. Thus, in my laboratory we could produce materials and devices for energy conversion, however the specific and badly needed knowledge and experience for the design and testing of active catalysts, for example for oxygen reduction or fuel oxidation, is lacking. Thus, I bring a strong value to the proposed cluster in the experimental research on energy conversion materials and devices, but need to have a strong collaboration with theoreticians and experimentalists focusing on the specific scientific problems of discovery, design and development of active catalysts, concentrating on chemistry of catalytically active surfaces, explaining the mechanisms of the oxygen reduction or fuel oxidation on catalytically active surfaces – which would help bringing strong interdisciplinary team to work together in the field of catalysts.

NAME: Nina Orlovskaya Cluster Lead: No


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B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities I have established numerous collaboration with a number of faculty both at the University of Central Florida and at the national and international level. I have established very productive collaboration with the Department of Chemistry where a number of ceramic compositions were successfully synthesized with three new phases are being currently patented by the IP office. I have an extensive collaboration on electrochemically active ceramics with scientists both at the US universities, such as Texas A&M University and University of South Carolina, and at the national laboratories, such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory in TN. I spend a summer 2009 at National Energy Technology Laboratory as a Summer Faculty supported by the Department of Energy ORISE fund to perform research on electrochemical performance of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells manufactured in my Laboratory of Ceramics for Energy Applications. I collaborate with Ecole Federale Polytechnique de Lausanne, Switzerland, where I spent my sabbatical in 2013-2014 as a Visiting Professor, as well as I visited the University of Santiago, Chile as a Visiting Professor to collaborate on heterogeneous combustion in 2011 and 2012. I have also established an extensive collaboration with Empa, Swiss Federal Institute for Materials Science and Technology where both me and my students spent summer months to perform joint research on electrochemically active ceramics. My last visit to Empa was supported with a travel grant from Swiss National Science Foundation. I was recognized for my research activities with UCF RIA fellowship in 2015 and UCF Lockheed Martin Faculty Fellow award in 2010-2012. I was a Director of two NATO Advanced Workshops on Boron Rich Solids and Mixed Ionic Electronic Perovskites for Advanced Energy Systems, where the most prominent US and international scientists were invited to give their talks on these important energy related subjects. I was awarded a prestigious NSF Career project to work on boron rich solids. In addition I was also a recipient of the UK Royal Society Travel Award to visit Queen Mary University of London to collaborate on reliability and durability of fuel cells related ceramics. C. Evidence of Impact & Support My research on materials design and development in the field of energy application was supported by many research projects funded both by NSF and Petroleum Research Fund. The following funding, listed below, was utilized to work on development and characterization of catalytically and electrochemically active ceramic materials for energy application:

09.2013-08.2016, $714,000, NSF, “MRI: Development of a Multi-Scale Thermal-Mechanical-Spectroscopic System for in-Situ Materials Characterization, Research, and Training” 09.2013-08.2015, $150,000, NSF, “AIR Option 1: Technology Translation - Superadiabatic Combustion in Porous Media for Efficient Heat Production” 09.2013-09.2015, $199,355, NSF, “Interactive Web-Based Visualization Tools for Gluing Undergraduate Fuel Cell System Courses” 10.2012-03.2013, $ 50,000, NSF, “I-Corps: Robust and Efficient Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Clean Energy Generation”

09.2011-08.2014, $ 100,000, PRF, “Super-Adiabatic Combustion in Porous Media with Catalytic Enhancement for Thermoelectric Power Conversion”, Co-PI – R.-H. Chen, UCF, $100,000

09.2010-08.2014, $ 240,000, NSF, “Collaborative Research: Mixed Ionic Electronic Conducting (MIEC) Cathodes for Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells”

05.2010-04.2014, $ 320,000, NSF, “Time Dependent Deformation Behavior of Nonpolar Mixed Conducting Ferroelastic Perovskites: Room Temperature Creep


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POSITION TITLE, DEPT, & UNIT and or COLLEGE: Director, Florida Solar Energy Center and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering



Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

University of California, Los Angeles B.S. 1979 Chemical Engineering University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

M.S. 1982 Chemical Engineering

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Ph.D. 1984 Chemical Engineering


A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster (Briefly describe your unique value to the cluster and describe any previous interdisciplinary activities related to this cluster.) As Director of the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), I lead a staff of 100 (40 interdisciplinary research faculty) in the research and development of energy technologies that enhance Florida's and the nation's economy and environment and educate the public, students and practitioners on the results of the research. The research faculty at FSEC have backgrounds in Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Industrial, Materials and Mechanical Engineering; Chemistry and Physical Science, Architecture, Business and Legal. The US DOE is currently funding programs at FSEC in: “Building America” energy efficient homes, Photovoltaic Manufacturing, Hot-Humid PV testing of large-scale PV to show bankability, train-the-trainers education for solar installations, and programs to decease the soft-costs of PV installation. The US DOT awarded to UCF the nation’s only University Electrical Vehicle Transportation Center (EVTC) which is being managed by FSEC. Prior to joining UCF’s FSEC in 2005, Dr. Fenton spent 20 years as a Chemical Engineering Professor at the University of Connecticut. His 20 M.S., and 17 PhDs are mostly employed in academia or industry working in areas of importance to this Cluster (i.e. Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells, PEM fuels, Automotive Fuel Cells, Redox Flow Batteries for Energy Storage, Fuel Processing Catalysis)

B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities (Briefly describe your most significant contributions to scholarship and creative activities. Include appropriate indicators for your area of scholarship and external recognition.) Dr. Fenton has over 30 years’ experience in electrochemical energy devices and education topics which include: flow batteries (zinc/bromine, zinc/chlorine and vanadium redox), proton exchange membrane fuel cells (membrane durability, CO tolerance electrocatalysts, hydrogen

NAME: James Fenton Cluster Lead: (yes or no) no


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purification processes, low-methanol crossover membranes, high temperature membranes, membranes needing no external humidification, selective oxidation catalysts, gas diffusion layer design, reversible PEM fuel cells). He has also carried out significant research in water purification, oxidizing agent generation and in biomass and landfill gas fuel processing. He is an Electrochemical Society Fellow and last May he received the Research Award of the Electrochemical Society’s Energy Technology Division where he presented "Membrane Electrode Assembly Fabrication from Membranes of the DOE High Temperature High Temperature Membrane Working Group" for his award address. He is the author of more than 120 scientific publications, a book on “Experimental Methods for PEM Fuel Cells,” a number of book chapters and holds four patents.

C. Evidence of Impact & Support (Briefly describe evidence of impact and support related to the proposed cluster (i.e. external funding, partnerships, collaborations, synergies, new policies, keynote or invited lectures).) He and Research Faculty at UCF led the 12-member university and industry research team on a $19 million U.S. Department of Energy research program to develop the next generation proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell automobile engine that would operate at 120 oC. He was the Lead for the Battery and Electrochemical Storage Technology (BEST) Hub proposal to DOE for $120 million over 5 years of which UCF was to receive 42% and the other 16 partner universities/institutions receiving funding of between 2% and 8% each. While the proposal was unsuccessful, it was extremely competitive, and demonstrated the ability of UCF to organize and lead a large effort involving top institutions. The Hub Director was to be James Fenton, University of Central Florida with Co-Principal Investigators: Robert Savinell, Case Western Reserve University; Bryan Pivovar, NREL; Trung Van Nguyen, University of Kansas; and Dan Holladay, SEMATECH Other Partners: California Institute of Technology, Florida State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Missouri University of Science & Technology, Northeastern University, Notre Dame University, University of California/Santa Barbara, University of Florida, University of South Carolina, University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University and Washington University/St. Louis. The overall goal of the BEST Hub was to advance the fundamental understanding of materials, processes, architectures, and manufacturing methods critical to realizing robust and efficient electrochemical energy storage systems that can be economically and sustainably deployed to store up to hundreds of Giga Watt-hours for either electrical or transportation applications. Specifically, the BEST Hub was to: Create a Bell Laboratories type facility that promotes face to face as well as virtual collaboration; Engage and integrate the best and brightest minds from Universities, National Labs, and Industry; Encourage high risk/high reward research; Expand the base of scientific and engineering fundamentals underpinning electrochemical approaches to energy storage while producing the next generation workforce; Ensure wide dissemination of research results; Develop paths to rapid commercialization of new technologies. The primary topic areas targeted were: Advanced Redox Flow Batteries; Conventional Non-Flow Batteries Transformed to Flow Batteries; Electrochemical Capacitors; and Reversible Aqueous Metal-Air Batteries. Additionally there are seven cross cutting thrusts identified to advance these topic areas. They include: Component Development; Fundamental Understanding; Multi-Scale Modeling and System Integration; Demonstrations and Prototyping; Commercialization and Industry Development; Market Applications; and Sustainability. Fundament R&D of the four topic areas was to be conducted by leading electrochemical scientists, researchers and engineers. The demonstration, commercialization and industry development of the new technologies was to be managed by the uniquely qualified SEMATECH and the incubator programs at UCF and the University of Florida. SEMATECH was to manage the industrial-led BEST Consortium.


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POSITION TITLE, DEPT, & UNIT and or COLLEGE: Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, COS.

EDUCATION/TRAINING


Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

Instituto Tecnologico y Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico

LCQ (BSc equivalent)

2006

Chemistry

University of California Los Angeles, USA

PhD 2011 Inorganic Chemistry

Cornell University, USA Postdoctoral 2013 Molecular electronics/Graphene nanostructures


A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster I am synthetic materials chemist and a crystallographer that focuses on the design and synthesis of porous metal-organic framework (MOFs) materials. My lab synthesizes MOFs for efficient use of energy in applications such as visible-light photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, artificial photosynthesis, solar-fuel generation, solid-state electrolytes, non-linear optics and separation of radioactive gases. These MOFs are class of novel self-assembled robust polymeric materials that have emerged over the last 15 years, targeting applications where molecular design meets solid-state self-assembled materials. The research activities in my lab involve crystal simulation/theory, organic synthesis of molecular monomers, solid-state inorganic synthesis, crystallography, materials characterization, and basic determination of performance of application. Thus in my laboratory we can synthesize highly functional organic molecules and integrate them in metal-organic frameworks, to produce prototypic amounts (multigram) for early stage performance testing. I am currently at the end of my second year as a tenure track assistant professor in the Chemistry Department at UCF. As a member of this cluster initiative, I contribute with my research activities: Basic science for the synthesis of highly designed self assembled materials for energy conversion and storage. I bring strong component of experimental materials synthesis and crystallography background to this cluster. I am in the need to collaboration with scale-up scientists/engineers for the mass potential mass production and optimization of properties in larger scale settings. Although I specifically work on photocatalysis and electrochemistry, my expertise is more in the material preparation, thus collaboration with photocatalysis/electrochemistry/nanocatalysis experts would improve the turnover time of successful results, and advancements of my research goals.

NAME: Fernando J. Uribe-Romo Cluster Lead: No


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B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities During my career as a scientist, including undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral research, and now as junior faculty in the Chemistry Department, I have published 14 publications in high impact journals, including Nature Chemistry, Journal of the America Chemical Society and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. The impact of my research is noticeable of high impact, as evidenced by my h-index of 10 (of 14 publications), and the total number of citations: 2,478 (as of April 2015, from ISI web of science). I currently have collaborations with research groups in universities such as University of California Los Angeles, UC Berkeley, University of Nevada Las Vegas, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Florida State University, and Cornell University. I have participated as Visiting Research Scientist at University of Michigan (2005), and Newcastle University in the UK (2010). In 2010, I received the Margaret C. Etter Student Lecturer Award on Powder Diffraction Crystallography, given by the American Crystallographic Association.

C. Evidence of Impact & Support As a junior faculty at UCF, am still yet to receive funding, currently pending support from NSF, DOE BES, ACS PRF, and Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. I have presented my research as national meetings such as Annual Meetings of the American Chemical Society (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012), American Crystallographic Association (2010, 2012, 2015), and Gordon Research Conference (2015).


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POSITION TITLE, DEPT, & UNIT and or COLLEGE: Associate Professor, Department of Physics, COS.

EDUCATION/TRAINING


Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

Institut Superieur de l’Electronique Et du Numerique (France)

MS Electronics

1982

Electronics

Universite de Lille (France)

MS Physics 1982 Physics

Universite de Lille (France) PhD 1985 Condensed Matter


A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster

I have thirty years of experience on physical and chemical phenomena of metal surfaces and nano-structures. I have developed a real space method to calculate the vibrational dynamics and thermodynamics of complex systems with no long-range order. This method has also been used to determine pre-factors necessary to determine accurately rates of reactions, for example. I have studied using both classical mechanics (Molecular Dynamics, MD) and quantum mechanics (Density Functional Theory, DFT) to study the reactivity of metal surfaces and nano-particles. Using MD, I have studied the dissociation of diatomic molecules on several metal surfaces. Using DFT, I have studied the adsorption of several small and large molecules on a variety of surfaces with varying surface geometries and chemistry. I have also developed a smart kinetic Monte Carlo method that is versatile and can be used to study reactions under high pressures and on large systems. This method can bridge the structural and temporal gaps encountered in the study of catalysis. With my expertise in these computational tools, I can perform multi-scale simulations of catalysis.

B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities

With my colleagues in France, I was among the very first to synthesize and determine the properties of silicene,the silicon counterpart of graphene. This has sparked a myriad of experimental and theoretical investigations worldwide. From 2 papers published on Silicene in 2009 (one of them mine), there are now 554 papers. In 2012, I was invited to write the first review paper on silicene, which was published in the very prestigious and highly selective journal Surface Science Reports (impact factor 24.5). This review is now the 3d-most-cited paper in SSR. As a pioneer in this important field, I started the series of International Meetings on Silicene (IMS), the first two held in Morocco (2010 and 2011), the third in France

NAME: Abdelkader Kara Cluster Lead: No


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(2013) and the fourth in China (2014). I am organizing the fifth (IMS-5) at UCF in December 2015. I have also developed a new research area on organic materials/metal surfaces interfaces with the inclusion of van der Waals (vdWs) interaction. These interactions have been long neglected in many DFT studies of molecules on surfaces. I have performed very detailed studies of these phenomena for a large variety of molecules on metal surfaces. Overall, I have published 120 papers with 5 reviews in high impact journals. My total citation is over 3550 and my h-index is 29.


As a single PI I secured a strong support from the Department of Energy ($420,000) to study the van der Waals effects in the interface between organic molecules and metal surfaces. I have also received support, as a single PI, $28,000 from the National Science Foundation to organize the first US-Morocco Workshop on Nano-Materials for Renewable Energies. I am a co-PI in a grant from NSF, $200,000 on Active Learning Strategies for Algebra-based Introductory Physics Courses at UCF. For my computational needs, I applied successfully for computational resources (6 million core-hours) through the ASCR Leadership Computing Challenge. I routinely apply for computing times at DOE facilities (NERSC) and secure about 5 million core-hours yearly.


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Assistant Professor, Physics, College of Sciences:



Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

SUNY Oswego BS 2002 Chemistry University of Utah PhD 2009 Analytical

Chemistry Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

2014 Materials Science (postdoc)


A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster My work is in experimental model-catalysis form a surface-science perspective, which will provide the bridge between theory and applied research within the MGI-like thrusts of this cluster. My focus, in contrast to peers within my field, is on the influence of materials effects that often go neglected by the model-catalyst surface-science community, yet may still play pivotal roles in determining the physical and catalytic properties of their industrial counterparts. Examples of this include unforeseen effects related to the presence of aqueous liquid precursors when depositing active materials on planar-oxides and dopant, structural, and electronic effects related to using a more flexible range of thickness-dependent support materials for ultrahigh-vacuum surface-science studies. The latter objective has only recently become possible through the advent of many technological advances upon conventional surface-science techniques to allow for the same degree of detail to be gleaned from previously unusable sample materials, such as wide band-gap oxides and other insulating materials.

B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities As one of the newest hires in the University, I have yet to contribute much in the way of traditional scholarship at UCF yet. To date, I have applied for a Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Award through the Oak Ridge Associated Universities funding body, and have taken strides to strengthen ties with the Office of Naval Research to do the same with them next spring.

NAME: William Kaden Cluster Lead: No


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Additional short-term plans include lead-investigator proposals to the DOE division of catalysis and the NSF division of catalysis and biocatalysis, in addition to a forthcoming proposal to NASA in conjunction with another member of the proposed hire (Schelling). In the meantime, I have a sole-authored chapter on the topic of scan-probe microscopy and spectroscopy in preparation for a book entitled “Physical Organic Chemistry,” as well as an invited sole-authored review article on topics related to my research program and two additional manuscripts stemming from previous research activities drafted for publication in the coming months.

C. Evidence of Impact & Support Prior to my recent arrival at UCF, I have been awarded a two-year Alexander von Humboldt award worth ~$100K to support a portion of my postdoctoral research in Germany. Before that, I was awarded the Cheves T. Walling award in recognition of the best PhD thesis and defense within Chemistry at the University of Utah for the year 2010. In addition, I have published several articles in top-level journals, such as Science, JACS, and Physical Review, and participated in many conferences within my field at locations throughout the US and Europe. Put into more quantitative terms, I have been accredited with 17 publications to date, and have been listed as the first author in 7 of those works, and corresponding author in 4. Over that span, I have generated an h-index of 9 when tracking references to my work since 2010, and have been cited in a total of 193 publications since the beginning of 2014. In addition, I have given a total of 24 scientific presentations throughout my career, with 7 of those being invited talks, and at least one more scheduled for the fall at this point.


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POSITION TITLE, DEPT, & UNIT and or COLLEGE: Associate Professor, Department of Physics, College of Sciences

EDUCATION/TRAINING


Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

Rostov State University, Russia BS 1975 Physics Rostov State University, Russia PhD 1982 Condensed matter

physics

A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster I have a high expertise in understanding of mechanisms underlying various electro-catalytic and photo catalytic processes, in particular, the relationship between the composition/morphology of a catalyst surface and its catalytic activity. I work on rational design of promising electro- and photo-catalysts using a computational approach. I can contribute to rationalization of experimental results related to electro-/photo-catalysis obtained by other cluster member and/or propose them to test our predictions of efficient catalysts.

B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities I have more than 50 articles published in peer-reviewed journals including those published in such reputable journals as Science, Physical Review Letters, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. Our article: K.-Y. Kwon, K. L. Wong, G. Pawin, L. Bartels, S. Stolbov, and T. S. Rahman, Unidirectional adsorbate motion on a high-symmetry surface: ``Walking'' molecules can stay the course. Phys. Rev. Lett., 95 166101 (2005) has been included in the AIP list of the Top Physics Stories for 2005, Physics News Update (AIP) No757 (2005). The article: S. Stolbov, M. Alcántara Ortigoza, Rational Design of Competitive Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Fuel Cells. J. Phys. Chem. Letts. 3, 463 (2012) had a great professional media coverage in sources such as Fuel Cell Bulletin, Advanced Fuel Cell Technology, NASA Tech Briefs, The Engineer, World of Chemicals, Nanotechnology Today, and many others. My papers are cited more than 600 times in peer-review journals.

NAME: Sergey Stolbov Cluster Lead: no (yes or no)


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C. Evidence of Impact & Support Recently I had an NSF grant CBET 1249134 EAGER: “New approach to rational design of efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in hydrogen fuel cells”, which is directly related to one of the objectives of the cluster. I am working on two proposals on electro- and photo-catalysis to submit them to NSF and DoE. I have carried out a number of works together with Dr. T. S. Rahman, who is a member of the cluster. I will search for collaboration with other current and oncoming members of the cluste


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POSITION TITLE, DEPT, & UNIT and or COLLEGE: NSTC



Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

University of Burgundy, Dijon, France BS 2004 Physics, Chemistry

University of Burgundy, Dijon, France MS 2006 Physics

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN PhD 2010 Physics

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Wigner Fellow 2011-2013 NOTE: The Biographical Sketch may not exceed two pages. Follow the formats and instructions below.

A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster The cluster will benefit from my expertise in nanoscale characterization of materials using advanced scanning probe microscope techniques to study physical and chemical properties. This will complete the Multiscale toolbox for experimental contribution to the cluster.

B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities - List of selected (10) Peer Reviewed Publications:

1. Narae Kang, Hari P. Paudel, Michael N. Leuenberger, Laurene Tetard, and Saiful I. Khondaker. Photoluminescence Quenching in Single-Layer MoS2 via Oxygen Plasma Treatment, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 118 (36), 21258–21263, 2014. DOI: 10.1021/jp506964m

2. Muhammad R. Islam, Narae Kang, Udai Bhanu, Hari P. Paudel, Mikhail Erementchouk, Laurene Tetard, Michael N. Leuenberger and Saiful I. Khondaker. Tuning the electrical property via defect engineering of single layer MoS2 by oxygen plasma, Nanoscale, 6, 10033-10039, 2014. DOI: 10.1039/C4NR02142H

3. Udai Bhanu, Muhammad R. Islam, Laurene Tetard, Saiful I. Khondaker. Photoluminescence quenching in gold - MoS2 hybrid nanoflakes, Scientific Reports 4, 5575, 2014. doi:10.1038/srep05575

4. P.Vitry, C. Plassard, E. Bourillot, Y. Lacroute, L.Tetard and E. Lesniewska. Study of metallic calibrated samples by Mode-Synthetizing AFM, Applied Physics Letters, 105, 053110, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4892467

5. B. Duong, H. Khurshid, P. Gangopadhyay, J. Devkota, K. Stojak, H. Srikanth, L. Tetard, R. A. Norwood, N. Peyghambarian, M. Phan and J. Thomas. Enhanced Magnetism in Highly

NAME: Laurene Tetard Cluster Lead: no


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Ordered Magnetite Nanoparticle-Filled Nanohole Arrays, Small, DOI: 10.1002/smll.201303809 (2014), selected for cover page

6. Z. Yu, L. Tetard, L. Zhai, J. Thomas. Supercapacitor electrode materials: nanostructures from 0 to 3 dimensions. Energy and Environmental Science, 2015. DOI: 10.1039/C4EE03229B

7. L. Tetard, A. Passian, K. T. Venmar, R. M. Lynch, B. H. Voy, G. Shekhawat, V. P. Dravid, T. Thundat. Imaging nanoparticles in cells by nanomechanical holography, Nature Nanotechnology, 3, 501-505, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2008.162

8. L. Tetard, A. Passian, T. Thundat. New modes for subsurface atomic force microscopy through nanomechanical coupling, Nature Nanotechnology, 5, 105-109, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2009.454

9. L. Tetard, A. Passian, S. Eslami, N. Jalili, R. H. Farahi, T. Thundat. Virtual resonance and frequency difference generation by van der Waals interaction, Physics Review Letters, 106, 180801, 2011. http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.180801

10. L. Tetard, A. Passian, R. H. Farahi, B. H. Davison, T. Thundat. Optomechanical spectroscopy with broadband interferometric and quantum cascade laser sources, Optics Letters, 36, 3251-3253, 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OL.36.003251

- Other professional activities:

• Patents and invention disclosures: 4 • Chair of Florida AVS and NanoFlorida (2016) • MRS symposium organizer (BBB in Spring 2014 and QQ in Fall 2014) on nanoscale

characterization of complex systems • Executive committee member for the Florida Chapter of AVS (2014-present) • Chair and organizer of the poster session including an Undergraduate Research category

for the Florida Chapter of AVS in Orlando, Fl, (March 2014) • Judge for poster competitions (UCF graduate research poster showcase, FlAVS, MRS) • Reviewer: Nature Physics, Nanoscale, Physical Review Letters, Current Opinions, RSC

Advances, Scientific Reports, Physical Review E, Nanotechnology, Ultramicroscopy, International Journal of Optics, International Journal of Nanotechnology, Applied Physics Letters, MRS proceedings.

• Outreach: Nanoscience Saturdays at the Orlando Science Center. Developed activities for children and parents (Spring 2014); Organizer of NanoFest 2015 at the Orlando Public Library, Physics Outreach programs (iSTEM, STEM Connect)

C. Evidence of Impact & Support - Pending NSF proposals relevant to the cluster: NSF CHE “SusChEM Defect-laden

2D Catalysts for Carbon Sequestration and Safer Hydrogenation” and NSF DMREF “Rational Design of Doped 2D Transition Metal Dichalcogenides for Device Applications”, Tetard as Co-PI

- Pending DOE proposal: “Multimodal Nanoscale Imaging and Analysis of Cell Wall

Biosynthesis and Degradation in plants”, Tetard as Co-PI


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POSITION TITLE, DEPT, & UNIT and or COLLEGE:

Assistant Research Professor, Florida Solar Energy Center

EDUCATION/TRAINING


Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

Brigham Young University B.S. 2004 Chemical Engineering

University of Connecticut Ph.D. 2009 Chemical Engineering


A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster (Briefly describe your unique value to the cluster and describe any previous interdisciplinary activities related to this cluster.) I will contribute an understanding of electrochemical energy storage devices (e.g. fuel cells, flow batteries supercapacitors), together with the capability of testing these devices. My background in electrode application and performance, together with durability and degradation, allow me to provide unique insight into the novel catalysts that will be developed by this cluster. Furthermore, the electrochemical capabilities at FSEC allow us to interact with a wide variety of researchers, whether they’re interested in lithium-ion batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. Previous to this cluster, we worked with Talat Rahman to develop an EFRC proposal that was declined.

B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities (Briefly describe your most significant contributions to scholarship and creative activities. Include appropriate indicators for your area of scholarship and external recognition.) In my role as a research professor, opportunities for direct interaction with students are limited. However, during my time at FSEC, I have mentored several high school science fair projects, assisted a mechanical engineering senior design project, and supervised an undergraduate intern from the University of Bath, UK. Furthermore, Nina Orlovskaya has routinely brought students from her fuel cell class to tour our labs. We provided the students a brief tutorial in how we manufacture, assemble and test fuel cell components and assemblies. Recently, we hosted a booth at an Earth Day event where we showcased a fuel cell-powered remote controlled car and how one could export power from a vehicle to supply energy to a home. While these activities are not directly related to the classroom, I would certainly be a resource for curriculum development for future energy-related courses.

NAME: Paul Brooker Cluster Lead: no


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C. Evidence of Impact & Support (Briefly describe evidence of impact and support related to the proposed cluster (i.e. external funding, partnerships, collaborations, synergies, new policies, keynote or invited lectures).) External Funding FSEC led the DOE High Temperature Membrane Working group, which was a partnership between several universities and industry leaders, to develop novel membranes for fuel cell applications. The DOT-funded Electric Vehicle Transportation Center is funding FSEC to investigate the various factors related to electric vehicle adoption, which includes energy storage. Partnerships/Collaborations There are several groups that we have directly interacted with in developing proposals for external funding, mainly within electrochemical-related applications. For example, we have a close relationship to Giner, a successful electrolysis company that is currently supplying lab-scale hydrogen production, with plans to develop large (1MW) electrolyzers. We also have interacted with General Motors with respect to fuel cells for transportation applications.


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Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, CECS



Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)

ENSAE (SUPAERO, France) Purdue University

B. Eng MS, A.E PhD

1995 1997 2008

Mechanical Engineering Aeronautical Engineering Aeronautics & Astronautics


A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster Dr Raghavan’s primary area of research is in the elucidation of the mechanics of structures and materials through innovative characterization techniques with goals to revolutionize and engineer their capabilities. Research efforts include investigating the mechanics of high temperature coatings on turbine blades for propulsion and energy technology as well as developing sensing materials to monitor structural integrity and detect damage for enhanced safety. From experimental discoveries of the fundamentals of load transfer with nanoparticle reinforcements to “seeing” stress evolution in a turbine blade coating under engine operating conditions, the outcomes will engineer materials and structures and lead to game-changing technology.

B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities Dr Raghavan’s research has contributed significantly to the scientific community, adopting a transformative approach marked by distinct, high impact achievements as follows: • Pioneering in situ synchrotron measurements that capture strain evolution in thermal

barrier coating layers in a recreated engine environment. Published in Nature Communications 2014. This work received media coverage in the Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory websites, the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) tech-today news and in UCF today. The achievement has been featured in the ACerS Bulletin in January 2015.

NAME: Seetha Raghavan Cluster Lead: No


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• Breakthrough in developing stress-sensing nanomaterials with tunable sensitivity through the innovative use of fundamental piezospectroscopic properties. Presented in NanoLetters 2011 and development of the mechanics of these sensing materials as coatings in Acta Materialia 2014.

• Innovation of stress sensing nanomaterial, applied as high spatial resolution, non-invasive coatings on structures for stress and damage detection. Patent filed Sept 2012 (U.S. Patent Application No.: 13/630,236).

• Her original work has received recognition from world leaders in the field of spectroscopy and thermal barrier coatings through invited talks from Prof. David R. Clarke, Harvard University (March 2011), Prof. Robert Vaßen, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich (June 2012) and Prof. Marion Bartsch, German Aerospace Center, Cologne (June 2012) and the Canadian Space Agency, Montreal (October 2013).

• First of a kind instrumentation development that recreates the engine operating conditions incorporating thermal gradients with mechanical loads at the synchrotron, shedding new light in a research area that has been investigated for over 2 decades and published in Review of Scientific Instruments, 2013.

• Novel coupling of a mechanical testing system with a fiber optic probe for in situ piezospectroscopy and portable piezospectroscopy instrumentation. Published in the Journal of Instrumentation, 2010 and 2014 and featured as technology that “Pushes the Boundaries of Noninvasive Materials Characterization” in an MTS Force & Motion Newsletter, Volume 19, 2010

C. Evidence of Impact & Support The distinct originality of Dr Raghavan’s research ideas and approach is what sets her outcomes apart from the norm and earns her recognition from experts in the field. Redefining current research boundaries Through creative ideas and technical ingenuity, Dr. Raghavan has successfully achieved first of a kind in situ experiments in a replicated engine environment that have game-changing implications to the scientific community. The outcomes, first of which has been published in Nature Communications and Review of Scientific Instruments have gained the attention of leaders in the field with invited talks from Prof. David Clarke at Harvard University and Prof. Robert Vaßen, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich. Her work on stress-sensing nanomaterials has taken an equally revolutionary approach. The results have been published in Nanoletters. Two conference publications on the research won awards and a patent has been filed for the invention of a novel stress sensing nanomaterial. The mechanics of these sensing coatings are published in Acta Materialia. From laboratory to industry Dr Raghavan’s research has captured the attention of the industry and national laboratories leading to collaborative research with Boeing Research and Technology, Siemens Energy and Argonne National Laboratory. The appeal of her research to the industry attests to the transformative potential of her research findings as seen in her NSF funded GOALI project with Boeing Research and Technology. This is further reiterated by her patent portfolio, which includes an apparatus for Ultrasonic Inspection of Flawed Materials. The invention was recognized with a Flight International award under the Maintenance category. Global Research to break new ground The reach of Dr Raghavan’s work goes beyond the US. Her NSF funded Catalyzing new international collaborations award started with a summer research experience for her research team in Germany and came full circle with the successful initiation of in situ synchrotron measurements at Argonne National Laboratory in the US. Over the last 4 years, she has published her research with 10 graduate and about 20 undergraduate students demonstrating that these achievements are accompanied by successful training of the next generation of scientists.


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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

POSITION TITLE, DEPT, & UNIT and or COLLEGE: Research Professor, FSEC

EDUCATION/TRAINING


Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

Institute of Oil and Chemistry

BS/MS

1970

Petrochemical engineering

Institute of Chemical Physics (Russia)

Ph.D.

1975

Kinetics and Catalysis

Institute of Chemical Physics (Russia)

D.Sc. 1990 Physical Chemistry

A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster 40 years of experience in catalysis and photocatalysis area. In particular, conducted catalytic studies related to reforming, cracking, Fisher-Tropsh, gasification, pyrolysis, and hydrocarbon oxidation processes. Conducted pioneering works on synthesis of novel CdS-based visible-light activated photocatalysts and fundamental studies of solar-driven photocatalytic systems and their application to production of hydrogen and environmental remediation (e.g., radiant detoxification of hazardous wastes). Carried out studies of catalytic and photocatalytic aspects of solar-powered water-splitting cycles and thermal energy storage systems. Published close to 100 publications and has been awarded more than 40 patents in catalysis and photocatalysis area. Other areas of research include advanced biofuels, hydrogen sensors, and nanostructured carbon materials.

B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities Dr. Muradov’s research in the areas of catalytic and photocatalytic hydrogen production, solar energy conversion, advanced biofuels and carbon nanostructures is well known nationally and internationally. He has authored and co-authored 2 books, 5 book chapters, one Encyclopedia article, close to 100 refereed papers in archival journals and books, close to 100 conference proceedings and 43 awarded patents. His works are widely cited: his citation record since 2008 is 1302, and h-index is 20. (Scopus database). He is a lead author in about 90% of all publications. Most of the papers have been published in archival journals with the Impact Factor of 4 and higher. His paper “From hydrocarbon to hydrogen-carbon to hydrogen economy” published in the International Journal of

NAME: Nazim Muradov Cluster Lead: No


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Hydrogen Energy (IJHE) in 2005, was identified by Thomson Reuters’ Essential Science Indicators to be one of the most cited papers in the research area of Hydrogen Economy, and it was featured as a Fast Moving Front paper on the ScienceWatch website. http://sciencewatch.com/dr/fmf/2009/09mayfmf/09mayfmfMura/. According to Science Direct, in 2006-2010, it was the fourth most cited paper in the area of hydrogen energy. His review paper “Green path from fossil-based to hydrogen economy: An overview of carbon-neutral technologies”, was ranked 9th most downloaded article in the IJHE (years 2009-2010).

Awards and Honors: • 2014 R&D100 Award (as a member of UCF-NASA team) • UCF (Institutes and Centers) Excellence in Research Award, 2012 • Honorary title of International Association for Hydrogen Energy Fellow, 2010. • UCF Research Incentive Award, 2003 • UCF (Institutes and Centers) Distinguished Researcher of the Year Award, 1996. Evidence of Recognition: • Member of the Board of Directors of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy • Member of the Board of Trustees and Scientific Council of Madrid’s Institute for Advanced

Studies (IMDEA) “Energia”, Spain (since 2007) • Associate Editor of the “International Journal of Hydrogen Energy” (since 2007) • Member of several International Advisory Boards and Scientific Committees: 5th International

Forum on New Materials, 2010, Italy; 2nd European Hydrogen Energy Conference, Zaragoza, Spain, 2005; HYPOTHESIS IX conference, Costa Rica, 2011; Clean Energy Conference, Taiwan, 2011, European Hydrogen Conf., Seville, Spain (2013).

• Invited lectures and seminars: MIT, Cambridge; Vrije University, Amsterdam; Ray Juan Carlos University, Madrid; Tokyo Science University; Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Universal Oil Products.

• Member of the national panels of reviewers for the US Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture.

• Session chair and co-chair at international meetings: WHEC-1998, Argentina; WHEC-2012, Germany; WHEC-2014, Gwanju, S. Korea, 2014.

C. Evidence of Impact & Support Dr. Muradov has been PI and co-PI of close to $6 million in externally funded research projects from such funding sources as US DoE, US DoD (Navy), NASA (GRC), EPA, Florida-DACS, Chevron, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Australia), Qatar National Priorities Research Program, Science Applications International Corp., Harris, PetroAlgae, and others. He has collaborated with researchers from nearly 20 countries in the area of catalysis and environmental remediation. He was invited to give a plenary lecture at the international conference HYPOTHESIS, Toledo, Spain, September, 2015


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POSITION TITLE, DEPT, & UNIT and or COLLEGE: associate professor, EECS, CECS



Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

B.S. 1996 Artificial Intelligence

University of Washington, Seattle, WA

M.S. 2001 Industrial Engineering

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Ph.D. 2006 Computer Science


A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster (Briefly describe your unique value to the cluster and describe any previous interdisciplinary activities related to this cluster.) As a computer scientist, I will be able to collaborate with others using my data mining and machine learning expertise towards rational material design. As a computational biologist, I have been working in the interdisciplinary area of computational biology/bioinformatics that needs expertise from multiple disciplines including computer science, biology, statistics and mathematics.

B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities (Briefly describe your most significant contributions to scholarship and creative activities. Include appropriate indicators for your area of scholarship and external recognition.) I founded the Data Integration and Knowledge Discovery Lab at UCF to create novel computational methods to integrate large-scale data for knowledge discovery, currently focusing on solving biological and biomedical problems. My work in recent years has turned out a number of very important scientific discoveries. My lab has been the first to make systematic discovery of regulatory elements in microalgae genome, the first to discover the potential co-regulation between chloroplast and nuclear genes, and the first to discover thousands of regulatory elements are shared by Arabidopsis and Poplar. Our recent discoveries have resulted in twenty-one high impact journal papers, five peer-reviewed conference papers and two book chapters. My recent publication is in Nucleic Acids Research (impact factor 8.8). I have also published in excellent journals such as Plant Physiology (the most highly cited plant

NAME: Haiyan Hu Cluster Lead: (yes or no)no


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Journal with impact factor 7.9). I have developed a dozen software packages that are useful for bioinformatics community.

C. Evidence of Impact & Support (Briefly describe evidence of impact and support related to the proposed cluster (i.e. external funding, partnerships, collaborations, synergies, new policies, keynote or invited lectures).) Because of our high-impact work in computational biology, I have been supported with approximately $1.8M grants from national funding agencies including NSF and NIH in the past six years. As the sole PI, I have been awarded three NSF research grants amounting over $1.3M from 2011 to 2014. I have won the NSF CAREER award (2012-2017) the project titled “a computational framework for epigenetic regulation”. I have also been involved as a co-investigator in a NIH funded project titled “Discovery of Cis-Regulatory Modules in the Human Genome” with 25% share after I join UCF. This project is the only pure computational work participating in NIH Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project. Besides, I have been awarded the in-house grant on computational modeling of non-coding RNAs in 2013.


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Director, Advanced Energy Research Division, UCF-Florida Solar Energy Center

EDUCATION/TRAINING


Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

University of Tehran, IRAN B.S. 1975 Mechanical Engineering

Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA

M.S. 1978 Mechanical Engineering

University of California at Berkeley

Ph.D. 1982 Mechanical Engineering

Renewable Resources Research Lab., Hawai’i Natural Energy Institute, University of Hawai’i at Manoa

Post-Doc 1986 Solar fuels and hydrogen production R&D

Harvard University, JFK School of Government

Graduate 2003 Leadership for 21st century


A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster Raissi’s contributions to the proposed cluster will be in the areas of thermos- and photo-catalysis for energy conversion and environmental remediation applications. Ali’s research is focused on the discovery of the materials for the production of solar fuels and chemicals, energy storage, third generation bio-fuels, catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, and hydrogen sensors. Dr. Raissi established and staffed FSEC’s first renewable energy research lab in 1988 which has been extensively refurbished and expanded since – now, encompassing three fully equipped labs (Class B & C – totaling 5,000 square feet), and a 1,500 square feet field facility. These facilities and advanced analytical equipment they house will be made available for use by the cluster hires.

NAME: Ali T-Raissi Cluster Lead: No


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B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities In 2005, Raissi led a team of FSEC and NASA-KSC researchers to develop a novel chemochromic hydrogen sensor. This invention received an R&D 100 Award in 2014 – first ever for the University of Central Florida. Ali has also received UCF's Distinguished I&C Researcher of the Year Award in 1993 and again in 2003 as well as the Research Incentive Award in 2002. Dr. Raissi is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. He was the only U.S. researcher receiving the New Technology Award at the 15th World Hydrogen Energy Conference held in Yokohama, Japan in 2004. Ali has presented numerous invited lectures in the US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, France, Australia, Republic of South Korea and Japan. Dr. Raissi has published extensively with more than 150 original research articles and technical reports (including three book chapters), and has been granted more than 30 patents -- issued in the US, Canada, Korea, Japan, Germany, and International PTO. A short list Ali’s recent post-docs and visiting scholars include: Prof. Kyu Dae Hwang, Dept. of Industrial Japanese, Yuhan University, Seoul, Korea; Dr. G. Sean McGrady, University Research Professor & Director of Graduate Studies, Dept. of Chemistry, Univ. of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada; Dr. Nan Qin, SUNY-Syracuse; Dr. Amit C. Gujar, Mississippi State University; Prof. Liqun Mao, Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Henan University, China; Dr. Weifeng Yao, Advanced Materials Group, Photocatalytic Materials Center, National institute for Material Science, Tsukuba, Japan; Daniel Braeuning, Process & Environmental Engineering, Heilbronn Univ., Germany.

C. Evidence of Impact & Support Raissi’s research has been funded by both governments and private industry, among them: US DOE-EERE & BES, NASA, US Navy (NSWCIHD & NSWCC, ONR, DLA), US Army-ARO, EPA, Chevron Corp., DuPont Corp., Radian Corp., ASRC Aerospace Corp.; FHI, FL DACS, SAIC, Protonex Technology, Inc., PetroAlgae, Inc., Cella Energy Systems, Harris Corp. and TAPPI Foundation. As a PI or Co-PI of more than 55 research projects, Raissi has secured more than $35M in funded research. Ali’s NASA funded research on hydrogen sensors was recognized by an R&D 100 Award to UCF in 2014. Following is a list of his synergistic activities: Advisory Board – Chemical Engineering Department, Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, 2007-present Editorial Board – International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2003- present Board Member – AIAA Hydrogen Committee on Standards Visiting Scholar – Tokyo University of Agriculture & Technology, 1995 Professional Memberships – ACS (1987- present); AIChE (1988-2007); ASME (1977-2005) Journal Review – ASME J. of Mechanical Design; International J. of Hydrogen Energy; Solar Energy J.; J. of Solar Energy Engineering; J. of Physical Chemistry; Energy & Fuels; Catalysis Today; Applied Physics Letters; ACS – Environmental Science & Engineering; Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research; Chemical Engineering Science; ACS – Langmuir; J. of Power Sources; Chemistry of Materials

Proposal Review – U.S. DOE (EERE & ARPA-E); USDA (CSREES & NIFA SBIR); NSF; NASA; EPA; Oak Ridge Associated Universities; State Department; The National Academies; American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund; Ontario Centers of Excellence Inc., Centre for Materials and Manufacturing; CRC Press, ETH Zurich-Institute of Energy Technology.


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Associate Professor, EECS, Computer Science, CECS

EDUCATION/TRAINING


Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

University of Michigan BSE 1990 Computer Engineering

University of Michigan MSE 1992 Computer Science & Engineering

University of Michigan PhD 1995 Computer Science & Engineering


A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster My contribution to the cluster is research experience in the areas of genetic algorithms (GAs) and multi-agent systems (MAS). Previous work includes collaboration with Dr. Talat Rahman on using genetic algorithms to evolve nanocluster structures. I am interested in the use of GAs and other evolutionary computation algorithms to solving complex open-ended design problems and understanding the evolutionary mechanisms that can support both creative and practical design. In addition, I am interested in coordination of distributed, decentralized teams of agents to achieving cooperative team goals including structural design.

B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities My research experience in the area of genetic algorithms includes analysis of the effects of problem representation on evolvability, examination of redundancy in problem representations, and application of genetic algorithms to control and design problems. Research experience in the area of multi-agent systems has focused on distributed task allocation and team formation and coordination. Publications include papers in the primary journals and conferences for GA and MAS research. I am on the Editorial Board of the Evolutionary Computation Journal and Memetic Computing Journal, and served on the Executive Board of the ACM Special Interest Group for Genetic and Evolutionary Computation (previously the International Society for Genetic and Evolutionary Computation) from 2002 to 2009.

NAME: Annie Wu Cluster Lead: no


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C. Evidence of Impact & Support I have received research funding from both government and industry sources including ONR, NSF, US Army Research Laboratory, SAIC, NAWCTSD, ITT Corporation, Soar Technology, Praxis Inc., and General Dynamics. Collaborations have included joint projects with the Naval Research Laboratory, UCF Institute for Simulation and Training, and various faculty members from other academic institutions. I have given invited presentations at multiple universities, industry labs, government research labs, conferences, and workshops.


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Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, CECS

EDUCATION/TRAINING


Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

Chongqing University BS 1993 Materials Science & Engineering

Chongqing University MS 1996 Materials

Science & Engineering

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

PhD 1999 Materials Science & Engineering

Florida State University PhD 2002 Industrial &

Manufacturing Engineering

A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster Dr. Gou will contribute his research expertise in high temperature ceramic matrix composites

(CMC) towards energy conversion and propulsion applications. Particularly, his research experience and capabilities in fiber-reinforced polymer derived ceramic (PDC) composites can play a critical role in the cluster. Recently, the low-cost and scalable PDC composites have attracted significant interests of energy conversion and propulsion industries. He completed one project with NASA KSC to develop the basalt fiber reinforced PDC composites for launch pad application. The other on-going project with FAA Center of Excellence in Commercial Space Transportation (FAA COE CST) is to develop high temperature CMC thermal protection systems (TPS) for space vehicles, rocket engines, and missile systems. The PDC composites can also be applied for energy production/conversion such as gas turbines, aircraft engines, and nuclear applications.

NAME: Jihua Gou Cluster Lead: No

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B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities Dr. Gou’s research group at UCF has being continuously develop high performance

composite materials and structures for structural and multifunctional applications. His composite materials research is highly productive, leading to 5 book chapters, 80 peer-reviewed journal papers and 110 conference articles. 17 publications appear on high quality scientific journals (IF>3), including 1 on ACS Nano (IF: 12.062), 1 on Nanoscale (IF: 6.233), 1 on Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (IF: 4.198), 1 on IOP Nanotechnology (IF: 3.979), 1 on Soft Matter (IF: 3.909), 6 on Applied Physics Letters (IF: 3.794), 2 on Composites Science and Technology (IF: 3.818), 1 on Science and Technology of Advanced Materials (IF: 3.513), 2 on Composites Part A (IF: 3.160), and 1 on Journal of Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials (IF: 3.048). His publications have been cited more than 1,247 times with an h-index of 19 (from Google Scholar). Dr. Gou received Best Poster Award from American Society of Ceramics (2014), UCF CECS Distinguished Researcher Award (2012), Best Paper Award from American Society of Civil Engineers (2010), and UCF MAE Researcher of the Year (2010 & 2009).

C. Evidence of Impact & Support As a PI or Co-PI of 30 projects, Dr. Gou has received funding of more than $3M in total from

diverse resources, including NSF for nanopaper-making process ($197K), vibrational damping (GOALI with Boeing Company, $45K) and ceramic nanocomposites ($86K), FAA Center of Excellent in Commercial Space Transportation ($282K) and Space Florida ($242K) for thermal protection systems, ONR ($250K) and ACS PRF ($55K) for fire retardant composites, NASA ($779K) and FSGC ($25K) for cryogenic composite tank, AFRL ($100K) for lightning strike protection, Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion ($181K) for energy absorption, HB Polymer Company ($340K) and Florida High Tech Corridor ($200K) for shape memory polymer composites. He has developed strong collaboration/partnership with NASA KSC and MSFC, AFRL, Boeing, HB Polymer, and other universities through multiple funded research projects. He was invited to give distinguished seminars at many universities/industries and keynotes/invited talks at several conferences such as International Conference on Composites/Nano Engineering.

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POSITION TITLE, DEPT, & UNIT and or COLLEGE: Assoc. Prof. of Chemistry and Optics

EDUCATION/TRAINING


Completion Date

YEAR FIELD OF STUDY

Tulane University, New Orleans BA 1991 Chemistry

University of Oxford, UK D.Phil. 1998 Chemistry


A. Personal Statement- your value to the cluster Chemistry is a key-stone discipline for addressing the technological challenges at the heart of energy conversion and propulsion. To consider just one example, exploiting the power of the sun for energy generation, storage, and cost-effective utilization requires new advances in organic and semiconductor materials that provide competitive advantage in solar energy harvesting and energy storage. Kuebler brings to the cluster a background in inorganic chemistry, polymer chemistry, optics, and nano-photonics. His group is currently developing a complementary technology for low-cost solar-energy harvesting based on large-area light-capturing plastics, called luminescent solar concentrators. He has an established track record in nano-photonics, in which chemistry and optics are combined to make new materials and devices with advances optical function. This work has been continuously funded by NSF and industry. B. Contribution to Scholarship and Creative Activities

• Development of new material systems and processes for multi-photon 3D direct laser writing and their use in creating functional nano-photonic materials and devices.

• Microfabrication of switchable diffractive micro-optical devices • Use of two-photon absorbers for optical limiting in liquid crystal charge-transport media.

1. J. L. Digaum, J. J. Pazos, J. Chiles, J. D' Archangel, G. Padilla, A. Tatulian, R. C. Rumpf, S. Fathpour, G. D. Boreman and S. M. Kuebler*. "Tight control of light beams in photonic crystals with spatially-variant lattice orientation." Opt. Express, 2014, 22(21), 25788 - 25804.

2. S. M. Kuebler*, D. A. Narayanan, D. E. Karas and K. M. Wilburn. "Low-distortion surface functionalization of polymeric microstructures." Macromolec. Chem. Phys. 2014, 215(16), 1533-1542. This work was featured on the journal's cover.

3. C. J. Clukay, C. N. Grabill, M. A. Hettinger, A. Dutta, D. J. Freppon, A. Robledo, H. Heinrich, A. Bhattacharya, S. M. Kuebler*. "Controlling formation of gold nanoparticles generated in situ at a polymeric surface." Appl. Surf. Sci., 2014, 292, 128-136.

4. A. Dutta, C. J. Clukay, C. N. Grabill, B. Yuan, D. J. Freppon, A. Bhattacharya, S. M. Kuebler, H. Heinrich*. "Nanoscale characterization of gold nanoparticles for electroless deposition on

NAME: Stephen M. Kuebler Cluster Lead: No


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polymeric surfaces." J. Microscopy, 2013, 251, 27-34.

5. S. M. Kuebler*, H. E. Williams, D. J. Freppon, R. C. Rumpf, M. A. Melino. "Creation of three-dimensional micro-photonic structures on the end-face of optical fibers." J. Laser Micro Nanoeng. 2012, 7, 293 - 298.

6. D. Restrepo, K. E. Lynch, K. Giesler, S. M. Kuebler, and R. Blair*. "Low-temperature (210 ºC) deposition of crystalline germanium via in situ disproportionation of GeI2." Mater. Res. Bull., 2012, 47, 3484-3488.

7. A. Robledo, C. N. Grabill, S. M. Kuebler, A. Dutta, H. Heinrich, and A. Bhattacharya*. "Morphologies from slippery ballistic deposition model: A bottom-up approach for nanofabrication." Phys. Rev. E, 2011, 83, 051604-1 - 051604-9.

8. A. Tal, Y.-S. Chen, H. E. Williams, R. C. Rumpf, and S. M. Kuebler*, “Fabrication and characterization of three-dimensional copper metallodielectric photonic crystals,” Opt. Express 2007, 15, 18283-18293.

9. Y.-S. Chen, A. Tal, D. B. Torrance, and S. M. Kuebler*. “Fabrication and characterization of three-dimensional silver-coated polymeric microstructures.” Adv. Funct. Mater. 2006, 16(13), 1739-1744. This work was featured on the issue cover.


Kuebler credit-share of contracts and grants totals $1,317,719.29 (external = $1,188,786.00; internal = $128,933.29). Key awards are listed below. "CAREER: Three-Dimensional Multi-Scale Metallodielectric Materials." S. M. Kuebler; NSF-DMR-0748712; $574,840 (2/1/08 - 1/31/15). "MRI: Development of a Multi-Scale Thermal-Mechanical-Spectroscopic System for in-Situ Materials Characterization, Research, and Training." N. Orlovskaya, S. M. Kuebler, S. Raghavan, A. Gordon, M. Ishigami; NSF DMR-1337758; $714,333; 8/16/2013 - 8/15/2014. "Electroless Metallization onto Polymeric Surfaces: Synthesis, Analysis, and Modeling for Achieving Controlled Nanoscale Morphologies." S. M. Kuebler, H. Heinrich, A. Bhattacharya; NSF-CHE-0809821; $470,000; 7/1/08 - 6/30/11. "ARRA: Purchase and Development of a Cyber-Enabled Broadly Tunable kHz Femtosecond Laser System." K. D. Belfield, S. M. Kuebler, F. E. Hernandez, A. Gesquiere; NSF-CHE 0840431; $500,000; 08/01/2009 - 07/31/2012. "Chalcogenide Materials and Functional Optics." S. M. Kuebler, K. C. Richardson; $25,000 (01/02/2013 - 11/27/2013) and $20,000 (06/07/2012 - 11/30/2012) "UCF Component of Phase I with Prime Research LC for DARPA SBIR Awarded under Proposal D082-007-0736.” S. M. Kuebler; DARPA via sub-contract through Prime Research; $31,952; #D082-007-0736; 3/16/09 - 9/15/09.

Rational Design of Materials for Energy Conversion and Propulsion

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