Center for Accelerated Innovation through Materials (AIM): Enabling the Transition to a Clean Energy Economy (AIM for CleanEnergy)

PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS WORK IS TO ESTABLISH AN ACCELERATED INNOVATION THROUGH MATERIALS (AIM) PLATFORM TO ACCELERATE THE DESIGN OF MATERIALS FOR CLEAN ENERGY APPLICATIONS. ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE AIM CENTER PLANS TO BE INNOVATION HUB TO ADVANCE MATERIALS COMPATIBILITY FOR CLEAN ENERGY AND LOW-CARBON MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES. THEY WILL DEVELOP NOVEL METHODS TO PROBE THE STRUCTURE AND REACTIVITY OF THE FLUID-SOLID INTERFACE FROM ATOMIC TO MOLECULAR LEVEL, IN REAL-TIME, AND AT CONDITIONS RELEVANT TO CLEAN ENERGY SYSTEMS. THE AIM CENTER WILL NEED TO DEVELOP THE HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW FOR NEW MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES AND DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS NEEDED TO CHARACTERIZE MATERIALS AND CHEMICAL PROCESSES FOR THESE TECHNOLOGIES. WE WILL BUILD A NOVEL INSTRUMENTATION COMPLEX AROUND THE CONCEPT OF IN-OPERANDO TECHNIQUES, TO MONITOR AND MEASURE MATERIALS BEHAVIOR IN REAL TIME UNDER DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS (GAS, TEMPERATURE, ETC.). EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AIM CENTER WILL INCREASE THE CAPABILITIES OF U. BUFFALO TO INVESTIGATE NOVEL MATERIALS FOR SOLAR CELLS AND HYDROGEN PIPELINES/STORAGE, BOTH IMPORTANT TECHNOLOGIES FOR MOVING TO A LOW-CARBON ECONOMY. ADDITIONALLY, THE AIM CENTER IS WORKING TO DEVELOP A "BENIGN-BY-DESIGN" MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT PHILOSOPHY, WHICH COULD BE TRANSFERRED TO OTHER R&D ENTITIES. INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: IN ADDITION TO BENEFITING THE UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO, AND THEIR RESEARCH PORTFOLIO, IT WILL ALSO BENEFIT THE STUDENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE RESEARCH, OTHER PARTIES THAT INTERACT WITH THE AIM CENTER, INCLUDING MEMBERS OF THE (TO BE ESTABLISHED) AIM R&D NETWORK. ADDITIONALLY, THE AIM CENTER IS PLANNING ON DEVELOPING AN 'OPEN CAMPUS', PROVIDING PARTNERING INSTITUTIONS AND INDUSTRIES WITH ACCESS TO ITS UNIQUE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY. SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS.