TcSUH In The News
Congratulations to Prof. Zhifeng Ren Honored for Achievement in Research and Innovation
November 11, 2024
UH Physics Professor Among First-Ever Big 12 Conference Faculty of the Year Award Winners
The Big 12 Conference named University of Houston physics professor and world-renowned researcher Zhifeng Ren as one of its first-ever Big 12 Faculty of the Year Award winners.
“I am honored to have received this inaugural Big 12 award and accept it on behalf of all my colleagues at UH who devote their lives to teaching and research,” Ren said. “We work to give our students cutting-edge opportunities as they journey toward their eventual careers in the hopes that they will leave the world a better place.”
Ren is the first Paul C.W. Chu and May P. Chern Endowed Chair in Condensed Matter Physics at the UH College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the 2024 recipient of UH’s highest faculty honor, the Farfel Award. He was recognized along with outstanding faculty from the other Big 12 member institutions who have excelled in areas of innovation and research. Each honoree was nominated by their institution in conjunction with athletics representatives, provosts and other university leaders.
“Professor Ren’s contributions to our students, scientific research and society at large are immeasurable,” said UH President Renu Khator. “I am incredibly proud of his accomplishments, which elevate the University and inspire the next generation of scholars. He truly embodies our spirit of innovation.”
Ren, who came to UH in 2013, is a prolific researcher and director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH whose groundbreaking work has been featured in scientific journals around the world. He holds more than 65 U.S. patents and eight foreign patents, and he is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the Materials Research Society, the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also the recipient of the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Science from the Academy of Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas, and the Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
According to the Big 12, the award was established as a way to highlight the honorees’ incredible work along with the research and educational opportunities afforded to students attending Big 12 institutions.
“Academic success is at the core of the mission of the Big 12, and that success is only possible with the help of excellent educators dedicated to advancing education and innovation at our institutions,” said Big 12 Chief Impact Officer Jenn Hunter. “This year’s first-ever recipients highlight the diversity of educational opportunities across the conference.”
For more information, read the original news release.
Congratulations to Profs. Paul C. W. Chu and Liangzi Deng for IV project continued funding
October 22, 2024
Congratulations to Profs. Paul C. W. Chu and Liangzi Deng for IV project continued funding
Researchers at the Texas Center for Superconductivity and the Department of Physics at the University of Houston have received second-year funding from Intellectual Ventures, a global leader in the business of invention, to continue their important study of the retention at atmospheric pressure of high-pressure-induced/enhanced superconductivity.
The project, which has been awarded $767,000 to date, is led by Paul C. W. Chu, T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science, professor of physics and founding director of the TcSUH, and Liangzi Deng, assistant professor of physics and a new TcSUH principal investigator.
“Intellectual Ventures funded this research because Paul Chu is one of the acknowledged thought leaders in the area of superconductivity with a multi-decade track record of scientific innovation and creativity,” said Brian Holloway, vice president of IV’s Deep Science Fund and Enterprise Science Fund. “The work led by Chu and Deng on pressure quenching could result in game-changing progress in the field. We are very excited about the preliminary results from the first year and we look forward to continuing this collaboration.”
For more information, read the original news release.
Recent Ph.D. Graduate Xin Shi Wins 2024 Outstanding Student Researcher Award
October 22, 2024
Recent Ph.D. Graduate Xin Shi Wins 2024 Outstanding Student Researcher Award
Honor Bestowed by the Energy Materials and Systems Division of the American Ceramic Society
The Energy Materials and Systems Division (ESMD) of the American Ceramic Society awarded Xin Shi, a May 2024 physics Ph.D. graduate and current postdoctoral fellow at University of Houston, with its 2024 Outstanding Student Researcher Award.
The award was presented at the EMSD annual business meeting, held in conjunction with the 2024 Materials Science & Technology technical meeting and exhibition, on October 6-9, 2024, in Pittsburgh. The meeting and exhibition is the long-standing, recognized forum for fostering technical innovation.
The Outstanding Student Researcher Award recognizes exemplary student research related to the division’s mission. Each year, one winner is selected from applicants around the globe.
As the award recipient, Shi presented an invited lecture at an EMSD symposium at the annual conference. His lecture was entitled “Advancing Nontoxic, Antimony-based 1-2-2-type Thermoelectric Zintls.” He also received a plaque and a travel award of $1,000.
Shi’s advisor, Zhifeng Ren, said “Both Xin and I are very grateful for the recognition of Xin’s work in his Ph.D. dissertation by the EMSD. I hope his work on the 1-2-2-type thermoelectric Zintl phases will serve as a springboard to motivate other students researching thermoelectric materials and devices to reach higher levels to help society deal with energy and climate-related issues.”
“I would like to present my gratitude to the EMSD for selecting me as the award winner, for which I feel very honored,” Shi said. “I am part of a great team headed by my amazing advisor, Professor Zhifeng Ren, and I appreciate his support and guidance as I pursue my postdoctoral research in thermoelectric research.”
- Susan Butler, Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH
For more information, read the original news release.
Byron Freelon Named Fulbright Scholar for Work in Brazil
October 03, 2024
Project Aims to Strengthen Pipeline for Black Physicists, Enhance Data Interpretation for X-ray Scattering
Byron Freelon, assistant professor of physics, has been named a Fulbright Scholar for 2024-25, expanding his efforts to promote the representation of Black physicists while building the scientific workforce needed to interpret data produced by X-ray synchrotrons.
“This project involves two lines of collaboration between the United States and Brazil,” Freelon said. “One is a purely scientific network, enhancing the capabilities of the U.S. and Brazilian communities in X-ray scattering data interpretation. The other is to join efforts of Afro Brazilian physicists and Black physicists here to promote the professional well-being of both groups.”
The Fulbright Program, operated by the U.S. State Department, is the government’s main educational exchange program, awarding 1,700 fellowships each year to send U.S. scholars abroad and to bring international scholars here. These prestigious and competitive fellowships provide opportunities to teach and conduct research abroad while establishing long-term relationships between people and nations.
Freelon’s project, which began with a six-week stint in Brazil over the summer and will include a longer stay next spring, ranges from leading workshops to attending technical meetings and conducting research at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory in Campinas, Brazil. He’ll host a Brazilian contingent at the National Society of Black Physicists meeting in Houston in November, as well as help Afro Brazilian physicists showcase their work internationally.
For more information, read the original news release.
How UH hopes to help build better, longer-lasting batteries
September 17, 2024
Houston Matters learns about an alliance of universities and laboratories pursuing research into better energy storage.
There are always risks associated with energy generation. Part of the motivation for a continued transition to a cleaner energy future (in addition to helping curb climate change and shifting to resources that won't run out) is the hope that renewable energy, like solar and wind, can be derived and distributed in safer ways.
But that energy also needs to be stored. A key step in moving such renewables forward is improving storage — or in other words creating better, longer-lasting batteries.
The University of Houston is part of a new Energy Storage Research Alliance (ESRA), which is made up of 12 universities and nearly 50 of the world's leading researchers from three national laboratories, all of which are dedicated to the development of better energy storage.
In the audio above, Houston Matters host Craig Cohen talks with Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas, about how far battery technology has come and why Texas is among the states leading research in improving it further.
Then we hear from Dr. Yan Yao, Distinguished Professor at the UH Cullen College of Engineering and lead principal investigator of UH's Energy Storage Research Alliance center, and Dr. Pieremanuele Canepa, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and co-principal investigator for the center. They discuss their planned research for the university's portion of the project.
For more information, read the original news release.
Boosting Clean Energy with AI-Powered Catalysts and Microwave Plasma Technologies
September 17, 2024
Boosting Clean Energy with AI-Powered Catalysts and Microwave Plasma Technologies
As the world races to combat environmental degradation and climate challenges, transitioning to renewable energy has become a top priority. However, the inconsistent nature of wind, solar and other renewable sources poses a significant challenge to maintaining a stable energy supply, which has slowed the transition.
An interdisciplinary team of scientists is collaborating to find a workable solution by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and microwave plasma, and blending knowledge from chemistry, materials science and engineering.
The National Science Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to this project, titled “Multidisciplinary High-Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence Enabled Catalyst Design for Micro-Plasma Technologies in Clean Energy Transition.”
This project aims to leverage machine learning for catalyst discovery and develop new characterization methods for studying chemical reactions under extreme conditions such as plasma, one of the four states of matter, which is an ionized state consisting of positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons. The goal is to improve the efficiency of catalysts in hydrogen generation, carbon capture and energy storage.
For more information, read the original news release.
Congratulations to Jae-Hyun Ryou, TcSUH PI, Nam-In Kim, and team for their publication in Advanced Healthcare Materials which outlines the development of wearable sensors to examine eye movement to assess brain disorders or damage to the brain.
September 16, 2024
Improving Eye Tracking to Assess Brain Disorders: New Eye Sensors Use Special Material That Generates Electricity When It Bends
A University of Houston engineering team has developed wearable sensors to examine eye movement to assess brain disorders or damage to the brain. Many brain diseases and problems show up as eye symptoms, often before other symptoms appear.
You see, eyes are not merely a window into the soul, as poets would have it. These incredibly precious organs are also an extension of the brain and can provide early warning signs of brain-related disorders and information on what causes them. Examining the eyes can also help track the progression and symptoms of physical and mental shocks to the brain.
Researchers say current eye-tracking systems have flaws and deliver insufficient amounts of data. Plus, they’re bulky, with multiple electrodes on the face and neck, expensive and have weak outputs.
And in the blink of an eye... improvement.
For more information, read the original news release.
University of Houston Joins DOE’s New Energy Innovation Hub to Advance Battery Technology
September 04, 2024
Energy Storage Research Alliance Aims to Help the U.S. Achieve Clean and Secure Energy Future and Become Dominant in New Energy Storage Industries
The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced $125 million for the creation of two Energy Innovation Hubs to provide the scientific foundation needed to address the nation’s most pressing battery challenges and encourage next generation technological developments, including safety, high-energy density and long-duration batteries made from inexpensive, abundant materials. University of Houston — The Energy University — is part of one of the national hubs, the Energy Storage Research Alliance (ESRA).
Progress in energy storage and batteries is crucial for a clean energy future. It would enhance grid reliability, optimize renewable energy usage, reduce emissions and support the growth of electric transportation and other clean energy technologies.
ESRA brings together nearly 50 world-class researchers from three national laboratories and 12 universities, including UH, to push the boundaries of energy storage science to drive technological innovation and strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness.
Yan Yao, the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor at the UH Cullen College of Engineering and principal investigator at the Texas Center for Superconductivity, is the deputy lead of the soft matter scientific thrust and the principal investigator for UH’s portion of the project.
For more information, read the original news release.