The PhD Student Poster Awards of the PEFC 15 Symposium held at the 228th ECS Meeting in Phoenix, AZ, Oct. 2015 were presented to (pictured left to right) Shuntaro Takahashi (Tohoku University, Japan), Yuji Chino (Yamanashi University, Japan), and Peter Dudenas (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab) for their excellent scientific contributions in the field of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Research.

PEFC 15 symposium organizers, Thomas Schmidt and Hubert Gasteiger, are also pictured.

Twenty-three posters were entered. See them all here.

The Electrochemical Society (ECS) and the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE) are working together to co-sponsor symposia at each other’s respective conferences. The joint effort will start with “Modeling: From Elucidation of Physical Phenomena to Applications in Design” at the 229th ECS Meeting.

The symposia organizers include Mark Orazem, past president of ISE and chair of the ECS Education Committee; and Johna Leddy, ECS Vice President and member of ISE.

“Through society publications, conferences, and other activities, ECS and ISE both provide essential service to the international electrochemical community,” says Orazem. “As an active member of ISE and ECS, I am very pleased to see these two societies work together in forming jointly sponsored symposia.”

The symposium at the 229th ECS Meeting will cover areas from fundamental theory to modeling of electrochemical technologies and devices, exploring all aspects of modeling electrochemical phenomena and physical effects in electrochemical systems.

“Electrochemistry and electrochemical engineering are central to fundamental research in dynamics and thermodynamics, fundamentals that implement technologies across wide areas that include energy, the environment, and healthcare,” says Leddy. “Because electrochemistry and electrochemical modeling are central to all electrochemists and electrochemical engineers, worldwide, electrochemical modeling provides an excellent venue for this, the first joint symposium of ISE and ECS.”

Abstracts for the “Modeling: From Elucidation of Physical Phenomena to Applications in Design” symposium will be accepted for the 229th ECS Meeting up until December 11, 2015.

“Personally, I am very pleased with the modeling topic and look forward to excellent interactions and discussions with friends of long standing and new colleagues not yet met,” says Leddy. “I look forward to the opportunity that this joint symposium of ISE and ECS provides to exchange ideas and to create new knowledge and new questions.”

Following the 229th ECS Meeting, the “Education for Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering” symposium will be co-organized by both ECS and ISE as part of the 2017 Annual Meeting of ISE.

“This is a new venture, being tested first at the 2016 ECS Meeting in San Diego and then at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the ISE in Providence, Rhode Island,” says Orazem. “I believe that this venture will strengthen both societies and may lead to new levels of cooperation that will benefit electrochemical research and education. I appreciate sincerely the engagement of the ISE and ECS leadership.”

Over 2,080 people from 46 different countries attended the 228th ECS Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, October 11-15, 2015. This was ECS’s first return visit to Phoenix since 2008. Participants could choose among 1,977 presentations.

Check out tons of photos from the meeting on our Facebook page.

Plenary Session
ECS President Daniel Scherson opened the meeting with an update on the Society’s Free the Science initiative, a major endowment campaign allowing all ECS content to be open access—providing it at no cost to anyone—free to all authors, readers, and libraries. Attendees also got some insight into the fifth international ECS Electrochemical Energy Summit and a look at the Society’s plans for Open Access Week.

The ECS Lecture
“Wealth, Global Warming and Geoengineering” was the title of the ECS Lecture given by Adam Heller, Research Professor and Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin’s McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering. His talk focused on the underlying cause of the rapid rise in carbon dioxide emissions and increased energy consumption, which Heller states is due to the rise in global wealth and growth of the world’s population. Additionally, Heller stressed the need for research and development in areas of geoengineering—specifically altering the albedo to reflect more sunlight and iron fertilization of the southern oceans—in order to stop the ever-increasing effects of climate change.

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Electrochemical Energy Summit
The fifth international ECS Electrochemical Energy Summit (E2S) took place during the 228th ECS Meeting. The main topic was solar critical issues and renewable energy. Acknowledging population and industrial growth paired with economic and environmental issues, E2S was designed to foster an exchange between leading policy makers and energy experts about society’s needs and technological energy solutions.

Franklin Orr, U.S. Under Secretary for Science and Energy, delivered the keynote address. His talk set the tone for the summit, focusing on environmental security, the critical role of energy storage, and how we can move towards a more sustainable future.

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With our 228^th meeting in Phoenix just completed, ECS is calling for abstract submissions for our 229^th meeting in San Diego, California. By submitting an abstract, you have the opportunity to present a paper or participate in a poster session and are eligible to apply for a division-sponsored travel grant. Travel grants are intended is to assist students, postdoctoral researchers, and young professionals with the travel costs of attending an ECS biannual meeting. These grants are specific to each division.

How to submit an abstract:

To submit your abstract for the 229^th meeting in San Diego, please visit here.

The deadline for submitting an abstract is DECEMBER 11, 2015.

How to apply for a travel grant:

Apply for a travel grant after submitting your abstract by visiting www.electrochem.org/travel_grants.

The deadline for travel grant submissions for the San Diego meeting is FEBRUARY 12, 2016. 

If you have any additional questions please contact travelgrant@electrochem.org.

How to enter the General Poster Session:

Students are eligible for the biannual meeting general student poster awards by submitting their abstract to the Z01- General Society Student Poster Session. To submit your abstract for the San Diego meeting, please visit https://ecs.confex.com/ecs/229/cfp.cgi and then scroll to the “Z-General Topics” section.

 

Deadline for Submitting Abstracts
December 11, 2015
Submit Today!

Topic Close-up #5

SYMPOSIUM I05: Heterogeneous Functional Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage.

FOCUSED ON the science that controls emergent properties in heterogeneous functional materials as a foundation for design of functional material devices with performance not bounded by constituent properties.

PROVIDING a unique venue for both contributed and invited speakers to present the latest advances in novel modeling approaches, advanced 3-D imaging and characterization techniques, novel material synthesis and manufacturing methods to create highly ordered material structure, and applications of heterogeneous functional materials in devices for energy conversion and storage. This symposium especially encourages and welcomes contributed presentations.

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Deadline for Submitting Abstracts
December 11, 2015
Submit today!

Topic Close-up #3

SYMPOSIUM A02: Future and Present Advanced Lithium Batteries and Beyond – a Symposium in Honor of Prof. Bruno Scrosati.

FOCUSED ON the most innovative concepts, materials and designs for the advancement of the science and technology of secondary batteries.

SPECIAL INVITED TALKS will be delivered by highly respected scientists in this field.

SELECTED papers on the synthesis of the materials, battery assembly and testing, modeling and simulation will be invited to talk from the submitted abstracts. Learn about all the topics!

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Topic Close-up #4

SYMPOSIUM B02: Carbon Nanostructures in Medicine and Biology

FOCUSED ON the biomedical applications and biological interactions of carbon nanomaterials, including studies in toxicology, imaging, research tools, sensors, therapeutics, bioenergy, and theranostics.

FEATURING Lon Wilson of Rice University on Carbon Nanomaterials for MRI Contrast, Mohammed Islam of Carnegie Mellon University on Sub-cellular Partitioning and Analysis of Ultra-Short Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes, and Ardemis Boghossian of EPFL on Plant Nanobionics Approach to Augment Photosynthesis and Biochemical Sensing.

SELECTED papers on the most promising bio-application of carbon nanostructures will be invited to talk from the submitted abstracts. Learn about all the topics!

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Deadline for Submitting Abstracts
December 11, 2015
Submit today!

Topic Close-up #1

SYMPOSIUM E02: Three dimensional electrodeposition and electroless deposition

FOCUSED ON efforts to extend electrochemical deposition methods to three dimensions, and to find synergies with other additive manufacturing methods, such as deposition onto 3D-printed structures.

NOTING THAT additive manufacturing methods, many of which are called “three-dimensional printing”, are undergoing rapid development due to their ability to create material forms that are not accessible to conventional machining techniques, and due to their capacity for rapid prototyping and optimization when combined with powerful new design software. Learn about all the topics!

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Topic Close-up #2

SYMPOSIUM Z02: Nanotechnology General Session featuring Nanoscale Luminescent Materials 4

FOCUSED ON those characteristics of nanoscale materials that relate to their luminescent properties.

RELEVANT TOPICS INCLUDE effects of quantum confinement, the role of surface states, loss mechanisms, methods to improve luminescence efficiency, bulk vs. nanoparticle luminescence, and the role of phonons in nanomaterials.

FEATURING more than 30 invited and keynote speakers from the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

SELECTED papers on the luminescent properties of nanoscale materials may be added to the list of invited talks from among the submitted abstracts. Learn about all the topics!

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The fifth international ECS Electrochemical Energy Summit (E2S) will take place October 12-14, 2015 during the 228th ECS Meeting. This year’s program will be focused around solar critical issues and renewable energy. One of the invited talks is from the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP).

JCAP is pioneering revolutionary methods of synthesizing transportation fuels simply by combining three of Earth’s most abundant resources: carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight.

The goal is to generate liquid hydrocarbon or alcohol fuel products whose heating value equals or exceeds that of methanol, using selective and efficient chemical pathways.

Achieving a Technological Breakthrough

Any technological breakthrough of this sort requires multiple simultaneous advances in mechanisms, materials, and components—from novel catalysts and protection coatings to concepts for self-sustaining integrated systems—and JCAP, under its five-year renewal project, will continue to act as a hub for accelerated discovery and integration of these developments.

The project’s first two years will focus on an accelerated campaign of discovery and development, while years three to five will see a ramped-up emphasis on the integration of JCAP’s materials, catalytic mechanisms, and testbeds with advances made by JCAP, in close consultation and collaboration with the broader scientific community and industry.

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The first international ECS Conference on Electrochemical Energy Conversion & Storage with SOFC-XIV convened in Glasgow, July 26-31, 2015, at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. More than 800 attendees, from over 40 countries explored three main symposium topics.

More than 400 oral presentations and 300 poster presentations added great depth to the scientific material presented in Glasgow.

The Organizers
Subhash Singhal (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, U.S.) and Koichi Eguchi (Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan) organized the section on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, which covered all aspects of research, development, and engineering of solid oxide fuel cells.

Section B focused on Batteries and was led by Peter Bruce (University of Oxford), Clare Grey (ALISTORE-European Research Institute), Stefan Freunberger (Graz University of Technology, Austria), and Jie Xiao (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, U.S.).

The Low Temperature Fuel Cells track, featuring presentations on low-temperature fuel cells, as well as electrolyzers and redox flow cells, was organized by Hubert Gasteiger (Technische Universität München, Germany), Deborah Jones (CNRS – ICGM – AIME – University of Montpellier, France), Thomas Schmidt (Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland), and J. Herranz (Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland).

About the Meeting
The ECS Conference on Electrochemical Energy Conversion & Storage with SOFC-XIV served as a major forum for the discussion of interdisciplinary research from around the world through a variety of formats, such as invited and keynote oral presentations, poster sessions, and exhibits. This was the first of a series of planned biennial conferences in Europe by ECS on electrochemical energy conversion/storage materials, concepts, and systems, with the intent to bring together scientists and engineers to discuss both fundamental advances and engineering innovations.

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The ECS Conference on Electrochemical Energy Conversion & Storage with SOFC-XIV in Glasgow is right around the corner. With Scotland on our minds, we thought it’d be fitting to look at some of the greatest Scottish scientists, inventors, and engineers. In spite of being a relatively small country, Scotland has produced a group of prolific and esteemed scientists. Take a look at our list and join us in Glasgow, July 26-31.

John Logie Baird (1888-1946)
Engineer, Inventor
Baird was one of the inventors of the mechanical television and was the first person to publicly demonstrate the color television system.

Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)
Engineer, Scientist
One of Scotland’s most eminent scientists, Bell is credited with inventing the first practical telephone. Bell established the Volta Laboratory and Bureau in the late 19th century, which would eventually become known as Bell Labs. (Check out our podcast on Bell Labs!)

Joseph Black (1728-1799)
Chemist, Physician
Black is best known for his discoveries of latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. Chemistry buildings at both the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow are named after him.

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