My DVR told me to watch this and it was right.

I love This Old House and Ask This Old House. They did a 30 minute home energy special this past week that, whether the show producers knew it or not, shows off electrochemistry and solid state science in the most practical terms.

Richard and Kevin take a trip to Germany to discover how the country has become a world leader in energy efficiency. They find answers in the mechanical rooms of a home and a bed and breakfast. Plus, Kevin and Ross head to Texas to install a residential wind turbine in Texas.

Dinia, who is ECS’s graphic designer, helping register attendees at the 228th ECS Meeting

I should have guessed Germany would be the focus for energy after attending the 228th ECS Meeting in Phoenix a couple of weeks ago. For the first time we brought along one of our staff members, Dinia, who is German. It seemed like she was talking to every other attendee in her native language. I had no idea how many German speakers we had at our meetings.

The wind turbine part of the show from Texas is equally interesting and equally electrochemical.

You’ll be hearing a lot more about energy and electrochemistry/solid state science. The Electrochemical Energy Summit was part of the 228th ECS Meeting. We interviewed seven major players in the alternative energy field in between their talks. They made the point repeatedly that electrochemistry is at the forefront of energy production and the sustainability of our planet. There is a video in the works on the topic.

Watch the energy episode of Ask This Old House.

With the transportation sectors of industrialized countries on the rise and greenhouse gas emissions at an all-time high, many scientists and engineers are searching for the next-generation of transportation. From hybrid to electric to hydrogen, alternative energy sources for vehicles are being explored and tested throughout the scientific community. Now, many are wondering which technology will win in the race between battery- and hydrogen-powered cars.

A recent open access paper published in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society (JES) explores this topic. Authors Hubert A. Gasteiger, Jens-Peter Suchsland, and Oliver Gröger have outlined the technological barriers for next-generation vehicles in “Review—Electromobility: Batteries or Fuel Cells?” This paper comes as part of the recent JES Collection of Invited Battery Review Papers.

The majority of today’s vehicles depend on petroleum-based products in internal combustion engines to operate. The burning of these fuels results in the emission of greenhouse gasses. The majority of these transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions do not come from large modes of transportation such as aircrafts or ships—but are primarily produced by cars, trucks, and SUVs.

In the recently published review, the authors describe the possibilities of extended range electric vehicles, the challenges in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and the potential for new materials to be used in these applications.

Read this open access paper and read the rest of the JES Collection of Invited Battery Review Papers.

The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) recently awarded the Power of A Gold Award to ECS for the Society’s exemplary humanitarian efforts. Though a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Society was able to establish the Science for Solving Society’s Problems Challenge to leverage the brainpower of some of the top scientists in the world in an effort to solve global issues in water and sanitation.

The ASAE Power of A Awards are presented annually to associations that use their resources to instill a positive change in the world. Receiving the award denotes an association’s commitment to improve world conditions, solve some of the most pressing global issues, and kick start innovation.

Other associations honored include the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for their Future Engineers 3D Space Challenges, the American Association for Clinical Chemistry for LabTestsOnline.org, and the Emergency Nurses Association for their Ebola Crisis Response.

Learn more about our Science for Solving Society’s Problems Challenge and ECS’s other humanitarian efforts, such as the ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship.

First, I want to introduce myself! My name is Amanda Squicciarini, ECS’s newest intern. I am a junior Marketing major and Communications minor at The College of New Jersey. I’ve only been with ECS for a couple of weeks but I already feel that I have gained skills and experiences that will help me further my career. But more importantly, did you hear we have SEVEN new student chapters?!

At ECS’s 228^th Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, seven new student chapters were approved, growing our total student chapter number to 54! Expanding is a focus for ECS, the more members, the more people who have access to the science. Our student chapters are especially important since they are the scientists of our future.

Here are our seven new student chapters:

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The following guidelines were constructed by Petr Vanýsek, the Co-Editor of Interface.

Interface encourages submissions of news from student groups. Therefore, we try to keep the “rules” to a minimum. However, some guidance will help in preparing the material.

Timeliness:  Interface is published every three month, therefore a report on something that happened no more than 6 months makes sense. Waiting more than six months will make it “old news.”

Details: Be specific. If you describe an activity, state Where, When, Who.  Give the names of the speakers and other actors in the story. Double check the spelling of the names, both persons and places. Consider, whether someone may prefer to be referred to (in a publication) by Ms., Dr. of Prof., instead of a first name.

Formatting: Do not format your documents, except for paragraphs and italics, etc., if you need them. The text will be reformatted anyway. If you are submitting your newsletter, it is better to remove the layout. And please, do not embed pictures in the text. Give only the picture caption and send the pictures separately as individual files.

Photographs: They are fairly easy to take with modern electronics and we like contributions with pictures. They tell a better story.

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Every ECS student chapter is eligible to receive up to $1,000 USD in funding per year!

A great way to take advantage of this funding is to use it towards new member recruitment meetings and events. Increasing your chapter size with dedicated students is important because it can help your chapter work towards earning the ECS Outstanding Student Chapter Award with fresh ideas and minds!

1. Consider having an open meeting a couple of times a year for recruitment.
2. At these meetings offer free food and drinks as an incentive to coming.
3. Offer a giveaway. A giveaway could be something like an ECS t-shirt or pen.
4. Bring in a guest speaker that may spark interest in your ECS chapter on campus.
5. Free food and drinks.

Most importantly, let them know what ECS is all about!

A couple of key benefits to joining ECS to focus on for recruitment:

• Eligible for student grants, fellowships and awards
• Generous discounts to present abstracts at biannual ECS meetings
• Networking opportunities
• Complimentary article processing waiver to publish an open access paper in an ECS journal

All of these incentives can be fully paid for by ECS with approval by submitting an ECS Reimbursement Form.

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.

Poster session winners Andrew Akbashev, Axel Gambou-Bosca, Andrew Durney

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.

The 2014 Outstanding Student Chapter Award Plaque with Prof. Arumugam Manthiram (front left) and UT-Austin Student Chapter Members.

Did you know that ECS offers over ten different awards that students in your chapter can be nominated for?  These awards include division awards, section awards and fellowships. Each award has unique qualifications and deadlines. Learn more on our website!

Upcoming Award Nomination Deadlines:

Corrosion Division Morris Cohen Graduate Student Award – December 15, 2015

ECS Summer Fellowships – January 15, 2016

Battery Division Student Research Award – March 15, 2016

ECS Outstanding Student Chapter Award – March 31, 2016

For more information, contact awards@electrochem.org.

The Brno Chapter’s participants at the 16th ABAF meeting.

The spotlight is on the Brno Student Chapter from the Czech Republic! The Brno Student Chapter was established in 2006. The focus of their activities is on batteries, electrochemical conversion and the storage research field.

On September 3, 2015, members of the Brno Chapter presented at the 16^th International Conference on Advanced Batteries, Accumulators and Fuel Cells, also known as ABAF. Proceedings of this meeting will be published in an edition of ECS Transactions. In addition, four members have submitted dissertation theses this year, which are scheduled to be presented and defended early 2016. Great job, Brno!

Want your student chapter in the spotlight? Send an email to beth.fisher@electrochem.org to tell us what makes your chapter stand out!

From solar energy to biofuels to hydrogen cars—sustainable solutions have become some of the hottest topics in the scientific community. While much of the focus in alternative forms of transportation has been automobiles (see Tesla and Toyota), ECS member Telpriore Gregory Tucker is shifting his attention in another direction: electric bikes. While Tucker’s bikes hold promise for the future of sustainable transportation, they could also potentially have a much greater impact.

“I don’t just sell electric bikes, I actually provide people with sustainable solutions,” says Tucker, founder of the Southwest Battery Bike Co.

Inspiration through education

The idea behind Tucker’s Phoenix, Arizona-based electric bike company started back in 2010 when he began volunteering with the youth at his church. As a mentoring program began to emerge, Tucker volunteered to addresses topics in STEM education.

“One of my personal goals is helping kids. I’ve been in a lot of programs as a child to help me get to where I am now,” says Tucker. “Giving back is important to me because I see a lot of kids in situations I’ve been in or environments that I’ve come from where a lot of the time, you don’t get that opportunity.”

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