Note: This seminar is being hosted by the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Title: The Role of Heterogeneous Catalysis in the Defossilization of the Chemical Industry Abstract: In this talk I will elaborate on strategies to decouple the chemical industry from traditional fossil fuels to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses as well as to improve carbon circularity. I will showcase the discovery of new catalytic systems, illustrating how “luck favors the prepared”, and how the right tools allow us to establish molecular design principles to improve promising systems. The team practices a convergence research approach, combining materials synthesis and characterization, kinetics and reaction engineering, in situ spectroscopy and computational description and prediction. One powerful tool that I will highlight is Modulation Excitation Spectroscopy, a dynamic technique where the concentration of one of the reagents is periodically altered. By studying the response of the system to this perturbation we can filter out noise and signals stemming from spectator species and obtain kinetic insights in the activation and transformation of reagents over participating sites at the fluid-solid interface. The overarching scientific principles of active site restructuring and site cooperation will be illustrated for chemical transformations of contemporary interest. Bio: Ive Hermans obtained his PhD under the supervision of Profs. Pierre Jacobs and Jozef Peeters (2006; KU Leuven, Belgium). In addition to his scientific education, Ive Hermans also holds a postgraduate degree in Business Administration (KU Leuven, 2006). After post-doctoral research on in situ spectroscopy and reaction engineering with Prof. Alfons Baiker, he became assistant professor (spring 2008) at the Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering of ETH Zurich in Switzerland. In January 2014, Prof. Hermans joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison, holding a dual appointment in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. He was co-founding editor-in-chief of ChemistryEurope (Wiley) and currently serves as editor for ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering. A selection of recent awards includes the 2017 inaugural Robert Augustine award by the Organic Reaction Catalysis Society and the 2019 Ipatieff Price by the American Chemical Society. He was selected as a 2021 Alexander von Humboldt Professor but declined the offer to remain in the US. Dr. Hermans is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI) will host a webinar about PhD opportunities in sustainable energy at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The webinar will cover a range of topics and disciplines spanning across PhD programs at various JHU Divisions and Departments. Successful PhD applicants will be enrolled in respective PhD programs and will join ROSEI as student members. ROSEI is a community of researchers at JHU that is committed to advancing sustainable energy through inter-disciplinary research and education. The webinar is set to take place on November 6 at 8 PM ET and requires registration. If this date/time does not work for the student, there is another seminar covering the same topics on November 7 at 12 PM (noon) ET. The webinar will cover a variety of topics, including:

• An overview of ROSEI
• An overview of departmental admission process in participating departments
• Funding support: guaranteed support for RAs and Fellowship opportunities (ROSEI, VSTI, Percy Pierre, departmental and other fellowships)
• Networking with faculty from different JHU departments that lead ROSEI’s research pillars – Carbon, Storage, Wind and Grid – and ROSEI’s research centers – EPICS, ARROW, NZPL –  and speaking with them about their respective research areas
• A Q&A session

See below to learn more about some of the research being conducted in each of ROSEI’s four pillars. Questions about the webinar can be sent to [email protected] with the subject line “Prospective PhD Applicant Webinar Question.”

Carbon

Our work in carbon management, particularly in partnership with the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program, has already spun out two companies – one working on cleanly converting natural gas to hydrogen at point of use, and one working on direct air capture of carbon.

     

Storage

Our work in energy storage spans a remarkable partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL), the largest university-affiliated research center in the country. The ROSEI-APL partnership is investigating more sustainable storage solutions and looking at integrated solar-storage solutions.

     

Wind

ROSEI is leading Maryland’s presence in a new national center – titled Academic Center for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind (ARROW) – that aims to expand the local offshore wind industry and provide greater opportunities for Maryland residents and businesses to participate in the growing clean energy economy.        

Grid

ROSEI is leading a new global center – titled Electric Power Innovation for a Carbon-free Society (EPICS) – with a total budget of $15 million that is focused on helping society transition towards 100% renewable energy for power grids.

The Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI) will host a webinar about PhD opportunities in sustainable energy at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The webinar will cover a range of topics and disciplines spanning across PhD programs at various JHU Divisions and Departments. Successful PhD applicants will be enrolled in respective PhD programs and will join ROSEI as student members. ROSEI is a community of researchers at JHU that is committed to advancing sustainable energy through inter-disciplinary research and education. The webinar is set to take place on November 7 at 12 PM (noon) ET and requires registration. If this date/time does not work for the student, there is another seminar covering the same topics on November 6 at 8 PM ET.

• An overview of ROSEI
• An overview of departmental admission process in participating departments
• Funding support: guaranteed support for RAs and Fellowship opportunities (ROSEI, VSTI, Percy Pierre, departmental and other fellowships)
• Networking with faculty from different JHU departments that lead ROSEI’s research pillars – Carbon, Storage, Wind and Grid – and ROSEI’s research centers – EPICS, ARROW, NZPL –  and speaking with them about their respective research areas
• A Q&A session

See below to learn more about some of the research being conducted in each of ROSEI’s four pillars. Questions about the webinar can be sent to [email protected] with the subject line “Prospective PhD Applicant Webinar Question.”

Carbon

Our work in carbon management, particularly in partnership with the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program, has already spun out two companies – one working on cleanly converting natural gas to hydrogen at point of use, and one working on direct air capture of carbon.

     

Storage

Our work in energy storage spans a remarkable partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL), the largest university-affiliated research center in the country. The ROSEI-APL partnership is investigating more sustainable storage solutions and looking at integrated solar-storage solutions.

     

Wind

ROSEI is leading Maryland’s presence in a new national center – titled Academic Center for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind (ARROW) – that aims to expand the local offshore wind industry and provide greater opportunities for Maryland residents and businesses to participate in the growing clean energy economy.        

Grid

ROSEI is leading a new global center – titled Electric Power Innovation for a Carbon-free Society (EPICS) – with a total budget of $15 million that is focused on helping society transition towards 100% renewable energy for power grids.

The mission of the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative (BSEC) is to contribute to climate action plans for Baltimore that also improve the well-being of those who live in historically underserved neighborhoods. This means co-designing with communities climate solutions that respond to community concerns. BSEC scientists work in close partnership with Baltimore residents to guide the scientific questions being asked. As data is gathered and findings are made, the work continuously evolves in response to community needs and input. Ben Zaitchik, a professor of earth & planetary sciences and an associate faculty member with the Ralph O'Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI), serves as the institutional PI for Johns Hopkins University for BSEC. He researches the variability of our climate and environment, seeking ways to predict variability and improve how people cope with changing conditions and disasters. Zaitchik uses a combination of observation—both on the planet’s surface and via satellite—and computer modeling techniques. Please note for this event: The discussion is happening in the same building as La Cuchara. To find the entrance of the event: When you are facing La Cuchara, walk to the left - the entrance is about 100 feet to the left, you'll walk up to the 4th floor and turn left when facing the elevator.

The Ralph O'Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI) is tentatively planning to host its next annual summit for sustainable energy research at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) on January 15, 2025. Please check this page in the future for more updates about event. And feel free to click here and here to read about the previous two ROSEI Summits.