AUSTIN, TX - The University of Texas at Austin's (UT Austin) U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Energy Frontier Research (EFRC) Center for Materials for Water and Energy Systems (M-WET) Launch Meeting started with a presentation by Director, Benny D. Freeman, titled "Welcome and M-WET Overview/Management Plan/Expectations". Each Associate Director followed with a presentation titled "Introduction to the University Membrane Chemistry Platform (UMCP)" by Rachel Segalman, University of California at Santa Barbara, and "Introduction to Model Fluid Platform (MFP)" by Lynn Katz (UT Austin)". An overview of each Gap Attack Platform (GAP) was presented by Songi Han (GAP 1), Mahdi Abu Omar (GAP 2) and Rachel Segalman (GAP 3).
This was followed by a working lunch with 15 minute presentations by each GAP of first projects to be executed in Year 1 and staffing plans.
For the GAP/IF (Integrating Framework) Parallel Research Planning Sessions were attended to help us have a balanced representation of synthesis, characterization, and modeling expertise to contribute to project definitions:
GAP 1: Emergent Properties of Fluids and Interfaces. Molecular design of surfaces to control and tune water properties at interfaces
Songi Han, GAP Co-Lead (Attending remotely)
Nate Lynd, GAP Co-Lead
Scott Shell
Baron Peters (Attending remotely)
Ethan Crumlin
Lynn Katz
Mukul Sharma
GAP 2: Designing Specific Interactions
Mahdi Abu-Omar, GAP Co-Lead
Benny Freeman, GAP Co-Lead
Mike Doherty
Chris Bates
GAP 3: Mesoscale Structures to Tailor Fluid Flow
Rachel Segalman, GAP Co-Lead
Venkat Ganesan, GAP Co-Lead
Glenn Fredrickson (Attending remotely)
Todd Squires (Attending remotely)
Craig Hawker
Des Lawler
Tom Truskett
Alex Hexemer
Then four parallel sessions to refine GAP research planning and IF research planning to define projects and staffing for Year 1 were completed.
Finally, IF research plans and refinements to GAP research plans and other points needing further discussion were completed. The meeting adjourned with each member of the M-WET team, present and virtually present, having a clear direction of their research goals.
The meeting was held at the Engineering Education and Research Center (EER) building on The University of Texas at Austin campus, http://www.engr.utexas.edu/eerc.