MMAE Seminar - First Principles Modeling of Renewable Energy Materials and Integration with Experimental Characterization

Armour College of Engineering's Mechanical, Materials & Aerospace Engineering Department will welcome Dr. Maria Chan, staff scientist at the Center of Nanoscale Materials of Argonne National Laboratory, on Wednesday, October 21st to present her lecture, First Principles Modeling of Renewable Energy Materials and Integration with Experimental Characterization.

Abstract

Developing renewable energy materials for energy storage, solar energy, catalysis, and thermal management applications is a key component of the nation's energy strategy. Characterization and computational modeling are crucial for the understanding and improvement of these materials. In this talk, I will focus on the challenges and approaches involved in integrating first principles modeling with experimental characterization, using examples from high capacity battery materials and solar energy conversion.

Biography

Dr. Maria Chan obtained her BSc in Physics and Applied Mathematics from UCLA and PhD in Physics from MIT. Since 2012, Dr. Chan has been a staff scientist at the Center of Nanoscale Materials, part of Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. Dr. Chan's research focuses on the computational prediction of materials properties, using first principles, atomistic, and data mining methods, particularly in applications towards materials relevant to energy technologies, such as energy storage, photovoltaics, and heat management.