Proposal Submission Deadline: January 31, 2020
ECS, in partnership with the Toyota Research Institute of North America (TRI-NA), a division of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA), requests proposals from young professors and scholars pursuing innovative electrochemical research in green energy technology for the ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship for Projects in Green Energy Technology.
Today’s automotive industry faces three environmental and energy issue challenges: finding a viable alternative energy source as a replacement for oil; reducing CO2 emissions; and preventing air pollution. While the demand for oil alternatives—i.e., natural gas, electricity, and hydrogen—is expanding, oil remains the main source of automotive fuel. Further research and development of alternative energies can offset alternatives’ drawbacks and bring change.
Fellowship Objectives and Content
The ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship encourages young professionals and scholars to pursue battery and fuel cell research. Areas of particular interest:
- Novel materials and technologies that can substantially improve the durability of the membrane electrode assembly of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC).
- Theoretical studies, advanced characterization methods, and reaction mechanism investigations anticipated to lead to deeper understanding and possible new strategies to overcome the “scaling rule” of the ORR reaction.
- Novel material design concepts that can provide additional insight and present an opportunity to overcome the scaling limit of the ORR reaction.
- Fundamental research and novel material design for high temperature PEMFCs that can operate in the absence of liquid water and at temperatures exceeding 100°C.
- Novel analytical methods that enable the study of the SEI on metal anodes.
- Solid state electrolytes that facilitate the use of metal anodes.
- Synthesis of new solid electrolyte including both polymer and inorganic.
- Lowering the interfacial resistance for electrodes with a solid electrolyte.
At least one fellowship—a restricted grant of no less than $50,000 to conduct the proposed research within one year—is awarded annually. Winners also receive a one-year ECS membership, and the opportunity to present and publish their research with ECS.
Application Guidelines
Candidates must be under 45 years of age and work in North America. Previous awardees may re-apply. The recipient need not be an ECS member. There are no restrictions or reservations regarding age, sex, race, citizenship, or place of origin or residence.
The candidate must submit an original research proposal for review by the ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship Committee. The proposed research may not overlap with other research grants or other funded research projects. The proposal format is open, however, it must include the research target, technical approach, budget, and schedule in no more than three pages. The proposal submission deadline is January 31, 2020.
Submit your proposal now!
Information about the fellowship includes rules, selection process, and timeline. Read carefully as some information has changed since last year. The application instructions and nomination form are available now. Learn about previous fellowship winners and their projects.
