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SUMMARY:MechE Colloquium: Sunlight to Sustainability: Innovations in Solar
  Fuel & Functional Materials
DTSTART:20240514T120000
DTEND:20240514T130000
DTSTAMP:20260526T053512Z
UID:3368dae17426eefb5cc32c459434420cd7845fad75ad81eb1827a5eb
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof Francesca Toma\, Hiemholz Centrum Hereon\nAbstract: \nCa
 rbon-neutral energy sources that are scalable\, deployable\, and cost-effe
 ctive will be required at an unprecedented scale to halt irreversible clim
 ate change. To design novel materials for solar fuel generation that can e
 fficiently produce energy with minimal impact on the environment\, few fac
 tors are of primary importance: i) a complete understanding of the propert
 ies of the most selective and efficient reaction microenvironments\, and i
 i) correlative characterization of their behavior under operating conditio
 ns. Here\, I will demonstrate the synthesis and advanced characterization 
 of integrated semiconductors and catalysts for (photo)electrocatalytic sys
 tems\, as they can be used under realistic operating conditions for solar 
 fuel production. Additionally\, I will present a forward-looking perspecti
 ve on the development of functional materials with sustainability at their
  core\, envisioning their application across various fields of daily life\
 , including renewable energy and biomaterials. These materials are designe
 d with full recyclability and (bio)degradability in mind\, fostering a cir
 cular economy mindset where resources are conserved\, and environmental im
 pact is minimized.\n\n\nBiography: \n\nProf. Toma is the Director of the 
 Institute of Functional Materials for Sustainability at Helmholtz Zentrum 
 Hereon and a Distinguished Helmholtz Professor at Helmut Schmidt Universit
 y. Her research centers on the synthesis and characterization of sustainab
 le materials for renewable energy and biological applications. She also ho
 lds a position as a Visiting Professor at Lawrence Berkeley National Labor
 atory.\nShe earned her Ph.D. in Biophysics from the International School o
 f Advanced Studies in Italy in 2009\, and acquired postdoctoral experience
  at the University of Trieste\, before moving to the University of Califor
 nia\, Santa Barbara as a Marie Curie Researcher in 2011\, and to the Unive
 rsity of California\, Berkeley in 2013. For nearly a decade\, she was as a
  Staff Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab\, where she served as t
 he Program lead of the Liquid Sunlight Alliance and as the Photoelectroche
 mistry Technology Lead for HydroGEN. In 2022\, she also served for a year 
 as a Detailee in the Catalysis Science Program of the Basic Energy Science
  of the Department of Energy.\nProf. Toma's has co-authored 100 publicatio
 ns\, focusing on (photo)electrocatalysis\, drug delivery\, and tissue engi
 neering. Her work has garnered international recognition with several awar
 ds. She was honored as one of the "100 Women of Materials Science" by the 
 Royal Society of Chemistry in 2018 and received the "Rising Star" Award fr
 om the American Chemical Society in 2021. She was also awarded the “Alfr
 edo di Braccio Award” by the Italian Academy of Science. Her achievement
 s culminated in her selection as an Oppenheimer Fellow by the US National 
 Laboratory Directors' Council in 2022\, underscoring her contributions as 
 a leader to advancing scientific research.\n
LOCATION:MED 0 1418 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==MED%200%201418 https://epf
 l.zoom.us/j/61626448592
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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