The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering is hosting a workshop about the engineering aspects of electrolysis of chemicals and water that will attract industry and academic experts from across the country.

Titled Research Needs in Engineering of Electrochemical Conversions and sponsored by the US National Science Foundation-CBET, the workshop will be held November 11–13 at the Hilton Knoxville. UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair for Electrical Energy Conversion and Storage Tom Zawodzinski is the lead organizer.

Among the topics being discussed are:

• Systems considerations: from electrochemical cells to grid-integrated electrochemical plants.
• Processes in electrolysis and electrosynthesis.
• Generic ‘counter-electrodes’ for use in electrosynthesis, such as oxygen evolving electrodes.
• Materials for conversions, including membranes and porous electrode structures.
• Advanced catalysis for conversions.
• Computational Chemistry and Materials Science, Machine Learning (ML), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods to accelerate electrochemical system development: from materials discovery to process optimization.

David Sholl, executive director of the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute and a joint faculty professor in CBE, and UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair of Advanced and Nanostructured Materials Rigoberto Advincula will be hosting discussions. Weston Fulton Professor Sergei Kalinin of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering will be on a panel discussion.

Contact

Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, rpotkey@utk.edu)