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Image courtesy of Professor Ullrich Steiner
Organised by Professor Laura Herz, Professor Richard Friend FRS and Professor Peter Edwards FRS
Bulk nanostructures have a phenomenal impact on many different areas of science and application as they offer large functional areas per material volume. This interdisciplinary meeting will bring together leading scientists working on diverse subjects such as organic and inorganic semiconductors, electrochemistry and materials morphology to discuss the development of such structures and their implementation in renewable energy technologies.
Professor Laura Herz, University of Oxford, UK Organiser
Laura Herz is a Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford and a Tutorial Fellow at Brasenose College. She received her PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge in 2002 and was a Research Fellow at St John's College Cambridge from 2001 - 2003 after which she moved to Oxford. Her research interests lie in the area of organic and organic/inorganic hybrid semiconductors including aspects such as self-assembly, nano-scale effects, energy-transfer and light-harvesting for solar energy conversion.
Professor Sir Richard Friend FRS FREng Organiser
Professor Peter Edwards FRS, University of Oxford, UKOrganiser
Peter P Edwards is Professor and Head of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Oxford. His research interests include metal-insulator transitions, high temperature superconductivity, metals in non-aqueous solvents, small metallic particles and energy materials, with a particular emphasis on new-generation, high-performance materials for hydrogen production and storage, CO2 activation and utilisation, inorganic semiconductor thin films for solar energy applications and advanced catalytic materials.
Following BSc and PhD degrees at Salford University, Edwards spent periods at Cornell (Fulbright Scholar and National Science Foundation Fellow)), Cambridge (Lecturer and Director of Studies in Chemistry, Jesus College), Birmingham (Professor of Chemistry, and of Materials), before assuming his present position at Oxford in 2003. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1996 and to the German Academy of Sciences in 2009.
He has been the recipient of the Corday-Morgan, Tilden and Liversidge Medals of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Hughes Medal of the Royal Society. In 2012 he is to present The Bakerian Prize Lecture of the Royal Society; the Society’s premier lecture in the physical sciences.
Selection of Publications:
Professor Ullrich Steiner, University of Cambridge, UK Interplay of phase separation and crystallisation in polymer solar cells
Dr Natalie Stingelin, Imperial College London, UKBringing conjugated polymers to order
Natalie Stingelin is a Senior Lecturer in Organic Functional Materials at the Department of Materials, Imperial College London, UK. Prior to this appointment she conducted research at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, the Philips Research Laboratories, Eindhoven, and as junior staff at Queen Mary, University of London. She obtained the degree of Engineer in Materials Science in 1997, and in 2001 completed her doctoral studies in the Polymer Technology Group, for which she was awarded the ETH Medal. She has published more than 60 papers and 7 patents and patent applications. Her current research interests encompass the broad field of organic functional materials, including organic electronics, multifunctional inorganic/organic hybrids, and smart, advanced optical systems based on organic matter. She received a 1.2 Million Euro ERC Young Investigator Award in 2011.
Professor Joachim Loos, University of Glasgow, UKA vision on functional nanostructures
Joachim Loos has received his PhD in Physics from the University of Dortmund, Germany, in 1996. Since 1997 he was appointed at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry of the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), first as Research Fellow of the Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI), later as Assistance and Associated Professor. He has initiated and established the Soft Matter Cryo-TEM Research Unit at TU/e and was its principal investigator. He is seriously involved in the research program of the DPI and other national and international institutions. Since 2010 he is appointed as Prof. in Materials and Condensed Matter Physics and Director of the Kelvin Nanocharacterisation Centre at the Glasgow University, Scotland, UK.
His research focus comprises understanding and control of organisation or assembly of polymer nanostructures, i.e. semi-conducting polymers and polymer based conductive nanocomposites. Ultimately, the organisation of the polymer systems is tuned by applying physical principles at various length scales from (sub-) nanometer (intra- and inter-molecular organisation) up to hundreds of nanometers (eg phase separation and crystal superstructures) towards advanced performance of functional devices. Moreover, he develops advanced microscopy methodologies, mainly based on TEM, SEM and SPM.
Professor Wilhelm Huck, Radboud University Nijmegen and University of Cambridge, The NetherlandsStrategies for controlling morphology and interfacial properties in nanopatterned polymer blends
Professor Wilhelm T S Huck is Professor of Physical Organic Chemistry at the Radboud University Nijmegen. He received his PhD (promoter Professor David Reinhoudt) in 1997 from the University of Twente. After postdoctoral research with Professor Whitesides at Harvard University, he took up a position in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, where he was promoted to Reader (2003) and Full Professor of Macromolecular Chemistry (2007). He became Director of the Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis in 2004 and in 2010 he moved to the Radboud University Nijmegen. His new group is focused on the chemistry of the cell and aims to elucidate, using model systems, the influence of the special nature of the cellular environment on complex reaction networks in cells. His remaining group in Cambridge (until Dec. 2012) works on polymer photovoltaics and polymeric surfaces to sustain cell growth.
Professor Adam Lee, Cardiff University, UK Nano-engineering the active site in clean catalytic technologies
Adam Lee holds a BA (Natural Sciences, 1992) and PhD in Surface Science and Catalysis (1995) from the University of Cambridge. He subsequently worked as a Research Scientist for Johnson Matthey, before appointment as a Lecturer in Physical Chemistry at the University of Hull in 1997, and then Senior Lecturer at the University of York where he established a new catalysis and materials group.
Adam was awarded the 2000 CR Burch Prize by the British Vacuum Council for outstanding contributions to surface and vacuum science and the 2004 Fonda-Fasella Prize of the Italian National Synchrotron for outstanding experiments by a young international researcher. He represented the UK as a leading green chemist at the inaugural meeting between the Catalysis Society of Japan and RSC/EPSRC, and serves on the Editorial Boards of Catalysis Communications, the Open Catalysis Journal, and Catalysts. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, and will receive the 2011 McBain Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Society of Chemical Industry for contributions to colloid and interface science. Adam was appointed a Professor of Physical Chemistry at Cardiff University in 2009, and holds a five-year EPSRC Leadership Fellowship developing nanoengineered materials for clean catalytic technologies. His expertise spans heterogeneous catalysis, nanoparticles and nanoporous solids, and synchrotron science.
Professor Lee Cronin, University of Glasgow, UK Directed self-assembly of nanoscale and microscale polyoxometalates for solar fuel cells
Lee Cronin FRSE is the Gardiner Chair of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, a Royal Society-Wolfson Research Merit Award holder, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He runs a group of around 30-40 people, has around £8 M in research income, and his research interests range from the mainstream e.g. inorganic molecules, energy applications, nanoelectronics to trying to engineer ‘inorganic-biology’, understanding self-assembly at the nanoscale, as well as investigating the design / emergence of complex self-organising chemical systems. He is also interested in novel electronic molecules and frameworks and is developing novel routes to new computing architecture e.g. ‘Crystal Computing’. His ultimate research aim is nothing less than the development of inorganic biology and evolution perhaps even leading to intelligent systems. To date he has published over 200 papers and given over 150 lectures around the world.
Professor Alexei Kornyshev, Imperial College London, UKElectrical phenomena in ionic liquids and supercapacitors: what happens at the nanoscale?
Alexei Kornyshev received his Master’s degree from Moscow Physical Engineering Institute in theoretical nuclear physics. After defending his PhD in Physical and Mathematical Sciences (under the guidance of R R Dogonadze), he worked as Research Scientist at the Frumkin Institute of Electrochemistry (Acad Sci), Moscow (1973 - 1991), where in 1986 he defended his DSci dissertation and became Leading Scientist. In 1991 he spent a year at TU Munich, as Humboldt Guest Professor. He was then invited to the Research Centre Juelich, Germany, to lead a Theory Group in a new Institute for Energy Processing with a focus on fundamentals of fuel cells, where in 1997 he was promoted to Head of Division of Theoretical Physical Chemistry, having later received a joint appointment between the Research Centre Juelich and University of Dusseldorf as Professor of Theoretical Physics. In August 2002 he moved to Imperial College for a Chair of Chemical Physics.
He is an expert in theoretical condensed matter chemical physics and its applications to biophysics, electrochemistry, nanoscience, and energy generation and storage. Through the years his areas of research were electron and proton transfer reactions and processes, hydration, metal/electrolyte and liquid-liquid interfaces, transport phenomena in solid electrolytes and polymer electrolyte membranes, interaction and aggregation of helical biopolymers and the structure of chiral liquid crystals, theory of modern fuel cells (PEFC/DMFC, SOFC) and super-capacitors. His current research interests focus on DNA biophysics, optofluidics and nanoplasmonics, molecular electronics and machines, ionic liquids and their applications. He has published over 200 original papers and 25 review articles, filed several patents, edited 5 multi-author books and a number of special issues.
He was a recipient of 1991 Humboldt Prize in Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, 2001 Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award, RSC 2006 Geoffrey Barker Electrochemistry Medal; RSC 2010 interdisciplinary Prize, Medal, and Lectureship; he is a Fellow of International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, International Society of Electrochemistry, Institute of Physics, Society of Biology, and Royal Society of Chemistry – which reflects interdisciplinary character of his research. He is a Foreign Member of Royal Danish Academy of Science.
Professor James Durrant, Imperial College London, UKThe role of film microstructure on charge separation and recombination in organic solar cells
James Durrant is Professor of Photochemistry in the Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, and Deputy Director of Imperial College’s Energy Futures Lab. Following undergraduate studies in Physics, his PhD and postdoctoral studies focused on the primary processes of plant photosynthesis. He joined the Chemistry Department in 1999, where he established an interdisciplinary research group focusing upon chemical approaches to solar energy conversion – harnessing solar energy either to produce electricity (photovoltaics) or molecular fuels (e.g.: hydrogen). His research is based around employing photochemical studies to elucidate design principles which enable technological development. His group is currently researching organic and dye sensitized nanostructured solar cells, as well as photoelectrodes for solar fuel generation. He has published over 220 research papers and 5 patents, and was recently awarded the 2009 Environment Prize by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Professor Paul Blom, University of Groningen and Holst Centre, The Netherlands Charge transport and recombination in organic bulk-heterojunction solar cells
Paul W M Blom was born in Maastricht, The Netherlands, in 1965. He received his Ir Degree (Physics) in 1988 and his PhD Degree in 1992, respectively, from the Technical University Eindhoven, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. His thesis work was on picosecond charge carrier dynamics in GaAs quantum wells. At Philips Research Laboratories he was engaged in the electrical characterization of various oxidic thin-film devices, the electro-optical properties of polymer light-emitting diodes and the field of rewritable optical storage based on phase-change and magneto-optical recording using blue laser diodes. In May 2000 he was appointed as a Professor at the University of Groningen, where he was heading a group in the field of electrical and optical properties of organic semiconducting devices. The main research focus was on the device physics of polymeric light-emitting diodes, transistors, solar cells and memories. He co-authored nearly 200 papers in these research fields. In September 2008 he has been appointed as the Scientific Director of the Holst Centre in Eindhoven where the focus is on the realization of electronic systems in foil.
Dr Henry Snaith, University of Oxford, UKNanostructured electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells
Professor Ralph Nuzzo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USAFunctional materials and enabling fabrication methods for high performance, low-cost energy systems
Ralph G Nuzzo is the G L Clark Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a faculty he joined in 1991 and where he also holds an appointment as a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. He received an AB degree with High Honors and Highest Distinction in Chemistry from Rutgers College in 1976 and earned a PhD in Organic Chemistry from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980. He accepted the position of Member of Technical Staff in Materials Research at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ in 1980, where he was named a Distinguished Member of the Staff in Research in 1987. He joined the Illinois faculty in 1991. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Chemical Society, the World Innovation Foundation, and the American Vacuum Society. He awards include the Forschungspreis of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in 2011, co-recipient of the George E Smith Award of the IEEE in 2008, the Wall Street Journal Innovators Award for Semiconductors in 2006, and the Adamson Award of the American Chemical Society in 2003 for original discoveries leading to the development of self-assembled monolayers. He currently serves as a Senior Editor of Langmuir as well as a member of numerous advisory boards for both public and private entities. He is a cofounder of Semprius—a company developing new forms of high performance electronics.
Professor Sarah Tolbert, University of California LA, USANanostructured materials for supercapacitors and organic PV
Professor Peter Bruce FRS, University of St Andrews, UK Intercalation compounds for energy storage
Peter G Bruce FRS, FRSE, FRSC, is Wardlaw Professor of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews. His research interests embrace materials chemistry and electrochemistry and include the synthesis and characterisation of new materials (extended arrays and polymers) with new properties or combinations of properties for new generations of energy conversion and storage devices, especially lithium batteries. Recent work has focussed on nano-intercalation materials, new methods of structure determination and the Li-air battery. His research has been recognised by a number of awards and fellowships, including from the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Electrochemical Society and the German Chemical Society.
Professor Clare Grey FRS, University of Cambridge, UKNew materials for lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors
Clare P Grey is the Geoffrey Moorhouse-Gibson Professor of Materials Chemistry at Cambridge University. She received a BA (1987) and a DPhil (1991) in Chemistry from the University of Oxford. She was a Junior Research Fellow at Balliol College (1990), before spending a year at the University of Nijmegen, as a Royal Society postdoctoral fellow (1991), and two years as a visiting scientist at DuPont CR&D in Wilmington, DE (1992–1993). She joined the faculty at Stony Brook University (SBU) as an Assistant Professor in 1994. She was promoted to Associate and then Full Professor in 1997 and 2001, respectively. She currently maintains a part-time position at SBU, where she is the Associate Director of the Northeastern Chemical Energy Storage Center, a Department of Energy, Energy Frontier Research Center. She served as the Director from 2009-2011. She was the recipient of an NSF National Young Investigator Award (1994), a Cottrell Scholarship (1997), a Dupont Young Professor Award (1997), a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1998), an Alfred P Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship (1998), an NSF POWRE award (2000), a NYSTAR Award (2007), the 2007 Research Award of the Battery Division of the Electrochemical Chemical Society, the 2010 Ampere and RSC John Jeyes Awards, and the 2011 Royal Society Kavli Lecture and Medal for work relating to the Environment/Energy. She was elected to the Royal Society in 2011. Her research interests include the use of solid state NMR and diffraction methods to investigate structure and dynamics in materials for energy storage and conversion.
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