REMRSEC Research Highlights

The Renewable Energy Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (REMRSEC) has made substantial progress in its research mission of identifying, launching and advancing innovative research directions in materials for renewable energy, and in its human resource mission of educating the next generation of renewable energy professionals, reaching out to students and the general community, and promoting diversity among faculty, research associates, staff, students, and future students. The Center has exploited the vibrant energy vision of the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), the extensive energy resources of the nearby National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and the growing wave of interest in energy as a national challenge to advance the global energy agenda. The Center has integrated forefront basic research with education and outreach, a powerful, timely and complementary mix. It has identified two promising and rich research directions, silicon nanostructures for next generation photovoltaics, and next generation ionic conducting membranes for battery, fuel cell and other applications. These themes effectively combine theory and experiment to drive new research frontiers. The Center’s seed program has been especially successful in exploring high-risk, high-payoff innovative research that can be integrated within the Center’s Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) or translated to independent funding. Four of the Center’s IRG or seed projects have leveraged additional funding, reflecting the vibrancy and fullness of its research agenda. The Facilities program has undergone a dramatic increase in breadth and depth, with significant advances in its Characterization Laboratory, Semiconductor Processing Laboratory, Synthesis Laboratory, Clean Room, and associated Atom Probe Development Laboratory. The new capabilities provided by these laboratories are a major boost to Center programs. The level of the technical staff of the Center, CSM and NREL has been raised with two Center hires that are joint with NREL, establishing a paradigm for leveraging cooperation and diversity. In three short years, the Center converted a vision for renewable energy into a vibrant and successful organization that engages NREL, CSM, the student body and the public in addressing a national priority, developing new materials for sustainable energy for the future.