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Renewable Energy: Solar Fuels

Gordon Research Conference

May 13 - 18, 2012
Chairs Wolfgang Lubitz and Thomas E. Mallouk
Vice Chairs Michael R. Wasielewski and Stenbjorn Styring
Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco
Via Giovanni Pascoli
Lucca (Barga), Lucca, Italy
 Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

The 2012 Gordon Conference on “Renewable Energy: Solar Fuels” will explore new ideas and progress in the problem of generating chemical fuels from water and other renewable feedstocks using sunlight as the energy source. The Conference will cover topics ranging from advances in understanding natural photosynthetic and enzymatic processes, to synthetic model systems for artificial photosynthesis, nanomaterial-based approaches, and system concepts based on semi-synthetic organisms and solar thermal/chemical conversion. The Conference will bring together young and established investigators who are at the forefront of their fields to explore these interdisciplinary themes. Participants, including students and postdocs, are encouraged to present their results in poster sessions, and some poster presenters will be selected for short talks. The collegial atmosphere of this Conference, with programmed discussion sessions and informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, provides a unique international forum in which the academic and industrial scientists can exchange ideas to advance the field of renewable energy.

Graduate students and postdocs are encouraged to apply to the GRS and GRC. Some funds are available to support registration expenses of students and postdocs.

Related Meeting

This GRC will be held in conjunction with the "Renewable Energy: Solar Fuels" Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRS in addition to an application for the GRC. Refer to the associated GRS program page for more information.

Conference Program

SUNDAY
4:00 pm - 8:00 pmArrival and Check-in (Check-in Desk Closed 6:00 pm - 7:45 pm)
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmWelcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff
7:40 pm - 9:30 pmEmerging Ideas in Solar Fuels Research
Discussion Leaders: Wolfgang Lubitz (Max Planck Institute for Bioinorganic Chemistry) and Tom Mallouk (Pennsylvania State University)
7:40 pm - 8:20 pmJosef Michl (University of Colorado / Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic)
"Designed Singlet Fission"
8:20 pm - 8:35 pmDiscussion
8:35 pm - 9:15 pmHeinz Frei (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
"Inorganic Core-Shell Assemblies for Artificial Photosynthesis"
9:15 pm - 9:30 pmDiscussion
MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmNative and Modified Biological Systems
Discussion Leader: Ben Hankamer (University of Queensland)
9:00 am - 9:30 amJohannes Messinger (Umea University)
"Solar Water Oxidation by Photosystem II"
9:30 am - 9:45 amDiscussion
9:45 am - 10:15 amJohn Golbeck (Pennsylvania State University)
"Squeezing the Last Bit of Energy from a Solar Photon"
10:15 am - 10:30 amDiscussion
10:30 amCoffee Break / Group Photo
11:00 am - 11:30 amThomas Happe (Ruhr University Bochum)
"Construction of a Hybrid Photocatalytic System for Hydrogen Production"
11:30 am - 11:45 amDiscussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pmBärbel Friedrich (Humboldt University Berlin)
"Enzymatic Hydrogen Production Driven by Oxygen-Tolerant Hydrogenases"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 5:30 pmPoster Session I
5:30 pm - 7:30 pmMolecular Catalysis: Theory and Mechanisms
Discussion Leader: Tom Meyer (University of North Carolina)
5:30 pm - 5:55 pmSharon Hammes-Schiffer (Pennsylvania State University)
"Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer in Molecular Catalysts for Solar Energy Conversion"
5:55 pm - 6:10 pmDiscussion
6:10 pm - 6:35 pmJean-Michel Savéant (Paris Diderot University)
"Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer: Recent Advances"
6:35 pm - 6:50 pmDiscussion
6:50 pm - 7:15 pmFrank Neese and Dimitrios Pantazis (Max Planck Institute for Bioinorganic Chemistry, Muelheim/Ruhr)
"Insights into Biological Energy Conversion from a Combination of Theory and Spectroscopy: Photosystem II and Nitrogenase"
7:15 pm - 7:30 pmDiscussion
8:00 pmDinner
TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmCatalysis of Water Oxidation and Hydrogen Production
Discussion Leader: Fraser Armstrong (University of Oxford)
9:00 am - 9:30 amLeone Spiccia (Monash University)
"Manganese Water Oxidation Catalysts"
9:30 am - 9:45 amDiscussion
9:45 am - 10:15 amMarcella Bonchio (University of Padova)
"Water Oxidation Catalysis by Metal Oxides"
10:15 am - 10:30 amDiscussion
10:30 amCoffee Break
11:00 am - 11:30 amJoep Pijpers (Sun Catalytix)
"Light-Induced Water Splitting at Functionalized Silicon Solar Cells"
11:30 am - 11:45 amDiscussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pmPhilipp Kurz (University of Kiel)
"Bioinspired Heterogeneous Catalysts: Layered Calcium Manganese Oxides for Water Oxidation"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 5:30 pmPoster Session II
5:30 pm - 7:30 pmCarbon-Containing Solar Fuels
Discussion Leader: Michele Aresta (University of Bari)
5:30 pm - 5:55 pmJudy Hirst (University of Cambridge)
"An Enzyme Paradign for the Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to Formate"
5:55 pm - 6:10 pmDiscussion
6:10 pm - 6:35 pmOsamu Ishitani (Tokyo Institute of Technology)
"Highly Efficient Photocatalysis for CO2 Reduction"
6:35 pm - 6:50 pmDiscussion
6:50 pm - 7:15 pmEmily Cole (Liquid Light)
"Catalytic Reduction of CO2 to Multi-Carbon Chemicals and Fuels"
7:15 pm - 7:30 pmDiscussion
8:00 pmDinner
WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmSolar Energy Conversion in Molecules and Nanostructures
Discussion Leader: Leif Hammarström (Uppsala University)
9:00 am - 9:30 amDunwei Wang (Boston College)
"Solar Water Splitting by Heteronanostructures: Case Studies of Nanowires, Nanotubes, and Nanonets"
9:30 am - 9:45 amDiscussion
9:45 am - 10:15 amBruce Parkinson (University of Wyoming)
"Photoelectrochemistry: Can it Contribute to the Global Energy Future?"
10:15 am - 10:30 amDiscussion
10:30 amCoffee Break
11:00 am - 11:30 amFranco Scandola (University of Ferrara)
"Supramolecular Routes to Photochemical Water Splitting"
11:30 am - 11:45 amDiscussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pmCurtis Berlinguette (University of Calgary)
"Rational Design of Homogeneous Water Oxidation Catalysts"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 5:30 pmPoster Session III
5:30 pm - 7:30 pmNew Materials and Architectures for Solar Fuel Production
Discussion Leader: Hermenegildo Garcia (Polytechnic University of Madrid)
5:30 pm - 6:00 pmAkihiko Kudo (Tokyo University of Science)
"Photocatalytic and Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting for Solar Hydrogen Production"
6:00 pm - 6:15 pmDiscussion
6:15 pm - 6:45 pmCan Li (Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics)
"Understanding the Roles of Co-Catalysts and Junctions in Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Utilizing Solar Energy"
6:45 pm - 7:00 pmDiscussion
7:00 pm - 8:00 pmBusiness Meeting
Nominations for the next Vice Chair; Fill out Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss future Site & Scheduling preferences; Election of the next Vice Chair
8:00 pmDinner
THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmPhotoelectrochemical, Solar Thermal, and Hybrid Systems
Discussion Leader: Ellen Stechel (Sandia National Laboratory)
9:00 am - 9:30 amSophia Haussener (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory/Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
"Design Criteria for Solar-Driven Electrochemical Water-Splitting Devices"
9:30 am - 9:45 amDiscussion
9:45 am - 10:15 amDaniel Lincot (EDF-CNRS-Chemistry Paris Tech)
"Recent Advances in Thin Film Photovoltaics and Prospects for Using Them for Solar Fuel"
10:15 am - 10:30 amDiscussion
10:30 amCoffee Break
11:00 am - 11:30 amStuart Licht (George Washington University)
"Solar Thermal Electrochemical Production of Energetic Molecules"
11:30 am - 11:45 amDiscussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pmAldo Steinfeld (ETH Zürich)
"Thermochemical Production of Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels from Water, CO2, and Concentrated Solar Energy"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 5:30 pmPoster Session IV
5:30 pm - 7:30 pmSolar Fuels: Outlook, New Ideas, Breaking News
Discussion Leaders: Stenbjörn Styring (Uppsala University) and Michael Wasielewski (Northwestern University)
5:30 pm - 5:45 pmIvelina Zaharieva (Free University, Berlin, Germany)
"Electrodeposited water-oxidizing manganese oxides"
5:45 pm - 5:50 pmDiscussion
5:50 pm - 6:05 pmPeter H. Dinolfo (Rensselear Polytechnic, USA)
"Synthesis and characterization of a dimanganese bis-salen water oxidation catalyst"
6:05 pm - 6:10 pmDiscussion
6:10 pm - 6:25 pmMatthew Kanan (Stanford University, USA)
"Copper nanoparticle catalysts for CO2 electroreduction"
6:25 pm - 6:30 pmDiscussion
6:30 pm - 6:45 pmThomas Hamann (Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA)
"Photocatalytic water oxidation with hematite"
6:45 pm - 6:50 pmDiscussion
6:50 pm - 7:05 pmVincent Artero (CEA, Grenoble, France)
"A Janus cobalt-based material for electro-splitting of water"
7:05 pm - 7:10 pmDiscussion
7:10 pm - 7:25 pmAaron Appel (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA)
"Molecular catalysts for CO2 reduction and formate oxidation"
7:25 pm - 7:30 pmDiscussion
8:00 pmDinner
FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture

Contributors

Conference Links

Conference History Renewable Energy: Solar Fuels (GRS)
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