News

We are thrilled to recognize the outstanding contributions of our poster competition winners at the CD4DC 2024 All-Hands Meeting. From left to right, they are congratulated by Professors Laura Gagliardi and Jenny G. Vitillo:

Jan Hoffman (Stony Brook University)
Dana Sanchez (Stony Brook University)
Haomiao Xie (Northwestern University)
Huy Nguyen (University of Minnesota)
Hilal Daglar (University of Chicago)

Congratulations to all! Your work is driving the future of clean energy.

The Catalyst Design for Decarbonization Center (CD4DC) held its annual All-Hands Meeting on September 24-25, 2024, at the David Rubenstein Forum of the University of Chicago. Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, the center brings together researchers from the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Argonne National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Minnesota, Stony Brook University, Ohio State University, and University of Illinois at Chicago. This year’s event focused on advancing catalyst design to accelerate decarbonization efforts and featured presentations from Principal Investigators, Senior Scientists, and Junior Investigators.

Building on last year’s meeting held in October 2023, the 2024 gathering provided a platform for sharing the latest research breakthroughs and brainstorming future strategies. Led by Professor Laura Gagliardi, the center’s work is key to developing clean energy technologies, with a strong emphasis on hydrogen as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. Attendees also discussed the roadmap for future projects, reinforcing the CD4DC’s commitment to combating climate change through scientific innovation.

Renowned chemist Prof. Laura Gagliardi of the University of Chicago has been featured in Italy’s prominent newspapers, La Stampa and Il Messaggero, for her groundbreaking work on a high-tech sponge that absorbs water vapor from the air and generates water.  Originally developed with military applications in mind, the sponge has the potential for wider uses, including air pollution cleanup and providing water in arid environments like deserts.  The prototype developed by Gagliardi’s research group showcases innovative solutions to global challenges and is a testament to her visionary scientific leadership.

You can read the full articles here:

La Stampa
UChicago News
Il Messaggero (pictured below)

The Anderson, Gagliardi, and Wuttig groups, operating under the Catalyst Design for Decarbonization Center (CD4DC), have led to significant progress in the development of sulfur-based metal-organic frameworks. Their recent achievements include the publication of two groundbreaking papers in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. These studies delve into the potential applications of these frameworks in catalysis and electrocatalysis, marking crucial advancements in sustainable energy research. Read the article here.

We’re thrilled to announce that Mónica Lugo has officially joined CD4DC as our new Managing Director! She brings a wealth of experience in administration and a heartfelt dedication to community development.

Before stepping into her role at CD4DC, Mónica served as the Executive Assistant to Maestro Riccardo Muti at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where she expertly managed his extensive agenda and fostered global stakeholder relationships since 2017. Additionally, Mónica has led the Alegre Strings Program at Merit School of Music for over a decade, guiding hundreds of students from underserved communities to achieve remarkable success in music and beyond.

With certifications in Net Zero and Sustainability Analysis, along with a Master of Music from Johns Hopkins University, Mónica brings a unique blend of skills and vision to her new position. Join us in welcoming Mónica as she leads CD4DC in creating positive change and impact within our community!

Laura Gagliardi has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 Linus Pauling Medal Award for outstanding achievements in Chemistry. Gagliardi is honored for the development of groundbreaking electronic structure theories and combined classical/quantum methodologies that have accelerated the design of new materials, including reticular frameworks. 

The Catalyst Design for Decarbonization Center (CD4DC), a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC), is based at the University of Chicago. PIs, senior scientists, junior researchers, and the Scientific Advisory Board gathered at The Study at University of Chicago for the All-Hands Meeting on October 17 -18, 2023.

The Illinois Science & Technology Coalition (ISTC) has announced its fifth annual list of Researchers to Know from universities across Illinois. Omar Farha has been highlighted as a leading researcher in complex materials and processes. This annual list showcases the groundbreaking research being done on Illinois’ campuses, and provides a detailed look at some of the researchers that are driving innovation in the state. This year’s cohort includes those working to protect the environment and mitigate climate change; advancing energy & sustainability; pioneering cybersecurity and analytics; and advancing medical technology and life sciences. Congratulations Omar!

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded researchers at the University of Chicago $12.5 million to advance work aimed at finding innovative solutions for long-lasting hydrogen energy research — potentially offering a zero-emission alternative to fossil fuels.

“Meeting the Biden-Harris Administration’s ambitious climate and clean energy goals will require a game-changing commitment to clean energy — and that begins with researchers across the country,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The research projects announced today will strengthen the scientific foundations needed for the United States to maintain world leadership in clean energy innovation, from renewable power to carbon management.”

The Catalyst Design for Decarbonization Center, or CD4DC, will be the first center of its kind based at the University of Chicago and will be led by Laura Gagliardi, the Richard and Kathy Leventhal Professor at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, the Department of Chemistry, and the James Franck Institute. Gagliardi also is the director of the Chicago Center for Theoretical Chemistry. Six other UChicago investigators will join Gagliardi — John Anderson, Chibueze Amanchukwu, Andrew Ferguson, Ian Foster, Juan de Pablo, and Anna Wuttig.

The call to decarbonize the chemical and energy industries requires the reduction and eventual elimination of fossil fuels. Accomplishing that goal will require the adoption of radically new approaches for producing chemicals and storing electric power harvested from the wind and sun.

“By expanding our fundamental understanding of these chemical processes, we will be able to help address one of humanity’s biggest global challenges—climate change,” Gagliardi said. “Collectively, we must invent new, renewable sources of energy. The mission of the CD4DC is to offer an efficient, pragmatic solution that will impact society for the better, sooner.”

Hydrogen may serve as an ideal alternative, being abundant and far more energy dense. Future applications may also include converting electric power to chemical energy through electrolysis. However, new catalysts (substances that increase the rate of a chemical reaction) are needed to facilitate those transformations. The central mission of the CD4DC is to discover and develop such catalysts to optimize the catalytic reactions involved.

Based at the University of Chicago, the CD4DC will partner with researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, Clemson University, Northwestern University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Minnesota.

The Energy Frontier Research Center program was established by the Department of Energy in 2009 and designed to bring together creative, multi-disciplinary scientific teams to tackle the toughest scientific challenges preventing advances in energy technologies.

Funding for the CD4DC comes from the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

Source:
U.S. Department of Energy awards $12.5 million to UChicago for new Energy Frontier Research Center