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The Case for a National Catalysis Center. Catalysis continues to be vital to the fuels and chemical industries, and to the development of pollution abatement technologies
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The Case for a National Catalysis Center • Catalysis continues to be vital to the fuels and chemical industries, and to the development of pollution abatement technologies • The sharp decline in industrial research has led to a decline in the extent of long-range, fundamental research conducted in industry • Fundamental research conducted at universities and national laboratories has been impeded by flat federal budgets • The net result is a decrease in the supply of researchers educated in catalysis within the U.S.
The Vision for a National Catalysis Center • Conducts fundamental research on themes that facilitate and accelerate the discovery and development of catalysts for industrial application • Develops state-of-the art experimental and theoretical methods for the study of catalysts and catalyzed reactions • Works with industry on themes related to • Energy security • Environmental protection • Sustainable production of chemicals, polymers, pharmaceuticals • Educates graduate students, postdocs, and industrial and academic researchers
Center Capabilities and Facilities • Facilities for the synthesis and preparation of model and real catalysts • Facilities for catalyst characterization and the study of elementary processes occurring at active centers • Access to unique facilities (e.g., x-ray or neutron sources, high-field NMR, high-resolution TEM) • Facilities for simulation and modeling of catalysts and catalyzed processes • Critical mass of researchers with skills in the areas of experimental and theoretical aspects of catalysis
Center Organization • Center • Core group of researchers with skills in: • Catalyst synthesis • Catalyst characterization • Investigation of reaction mechanisms and kinetics • Theoretical simulation and modeling • Satellite Groups • Specialized facilities (e.g., x-rays, neutrons, NMR, TEM) • Focused project groups (e.g., photocatalytic splitting of water) • Advisory Board (industrial and academic members) • Advises on directions of industrial and societal interest • Advises on needed capabilities and skills
Center Funding • BES/DOE • Core funding for Center and Satellite activities • Commitment for 10 years • Sufficient to achieve critical scale efforts • Science and level of support reviewed on a regular basis • Industrial • Funded on a project by project basis and targeted to the specific interest of a given company • IP issues are resolved by having an industry-friendly policy and templates for handling patent and royalty issues