Strategic Academic Focusing Initiative

Our faculty-focused development of a strategic academic vision

Catalysis Science

Proposal Status: 
Principal Authors: 
Hrant P. Hratchian and Jason Hein
Executive Summary: 
We propose Catalysis Science as an area of Strategic Academic Focus. This area inherently involves researchers with a number of traditional disciplinary backgrounds. Substantive opportunities exist for simultaneous basic research and applied sciences leading to meaningful knowledge discovery, technology transfer, and societal impact. A number of current faculty in life sciences, physical sciences, and engineering fields will form the nucleus for growth in catalysis science. Going forward, we hope for new faculty hires across Natural Sciences and Engineering Bylaw Units that will further develop our joint expertise in catalysis science and firmly established UC Merced as a center of excellence in this high impact field.
Initiative Description: 
Definition of Thematic Area

This Strategic Academic Focusing submission proposes a focus area in catalysis. Our proposed catalysis focus would clearly exist in symbiosis with five of the current nine focus themes identified by the SAF Working Group. These specific focus themes are:

Theme 8: Matter Science and Engineering. A critical area of catalysis study involves understanding fundamental physical processes driving catalysis at the atomic level. This is particularly true in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. These areas of scholarly inquire clearly fall within the domain of matter science and engineering.

Theme 9: Life Sciences. Many biological processes occur by way of enzyme catalysis. Moreover, bio-inspired catalyst design is an important component of most other areas of catalysis science.

Theme 5: Environmental Sustainability. Many of the environmental concerns brought to light in Rachel Carson’s seminal “Silent Spring” were due to indiscriminant discarding of undesired catalytic side products by the chemical industry. An important component of modern catalysis discovery and optimization is “environmental catalysis”, which focuses on developing sustainable and environmentally friendly catalytic processes.

Theme 6: Energy and Energy Systems. One of the most important applications of catalysis involves the efficient conversion of energy captured from sunlight to transportable fuels such as hydrogen. It is known that such conversions will involve as yet unknown catalysts.

Theme 4: Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The study of catalysis has well-established positions within multiple industries. Advancements in catalysis at UCM may generate exciting technology transfer and patent opportunities.

A catalysis focus area will also support the SAF Working Group focus themes in “Human Health” (Theme 3) and “Information, Computational, and Data Sciences and Engineering” (Theme 8). Developments of new water purification techniques using catalytic systems, catalyzed energy conversion methods, and green catalysts are all motivated by environmental and human health concerns. Rational design approaches for new catalysts have been, and will continue to be, significantly influenced by computational research involving modeling and simulation studies providing critical insights not otherwise attainable by experimental methods alone. In particular, a catalysis focused strategic initiative blends a unique mixture of research expertise to create a cohesive and distinctive research enterprise.

We point out that catalysis science is a well-known and incredibly diverse multi- and trans-disciplinary area of inquiry. Nevertheless, this is a clearly defined area of scientific activity that can be fully appreciated by funding agencies and other benefactors as well as industry partners and policy leaders. It is our opinion that strategic academic focusing can only be an effective exercise if the resulting pillars of excellence correspond to research initiatives that are appreciated by the academic community, funding program directors, legislators, and the public at large. Catalysis Science clearly satisfies this desired characteristic of a sound focus area. We also note that catalysis science is not a fad or simply a current-day hot topic. Catalysis science has a rich history and is expected to be a crucial area of scientific exploration for years to come. As such, by any metric catalysis science has been one of the longest standing areas of serious funding of all scientific and engineering lines of study. We expect that a focus on hiring and development of catalysis at UCM will be a rewarding effort that will result in a funded and sustainable area of focus far into the future.

Intellectual Components of the Initiative

Catalysis is a critical area of study with a rich scientific and cultural history. Indeed, the most often cited example of the first human use of a catalytic process is fermentation. Berzelius reported the first systematic examination of catalysis in 1835. Since then, scientists and engineers have continued to explore catalysis with the goal of discovering and enhancing catalytic processes of societal importance.

Today, catalysis holds a unique place in both academic research and high impact industrial applications. Among other applications, catalytic processes are at the key to automobile exhaust gas conversion, production of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, and energy conversion to transportable fuel. Recognizing the efficiencies of enzyme mediated processes, an important area of catalysis science focuses on exploring the fundamental features of bio-catalysis with a hope of translating knowledge discovery from that domain to new applied catalytic systems.

Recognizing the value of fundamental research and the high potential for transformative discoveries with industrial application in catalysis science, essentially every major funding agency supports research in this area. Indeed, most federal agencies post multiple proposal calls each year specifically focused on catalysis science. Mirroring this emphasis on catalysis, a number of universities and research institutes have established centers on catalysis or have focused departmental growth in catalysis. A simple web search will yield scores of hits.



UCM’s Role

UC Merced has an opportunity to focus on catalysis science and to be extraordinarily successful in securing funding for this work. Traditionally, catalysis science has developed in the three distinct areas of homogeneous, heterogeneous, and biological catalysis. While the practical study of catalysis has developed in these siloed sub-disciplines, it has become increasingly apparent that future advancements in catalysis will require trans-disciplinary interactions. For example, Photosystem II has largely inspired the development of new catalysts for solar energy conversion into storable fuel. Design motifs based on our understanding of Nature’s approach have been incorporated in both homogeneous and heterogeneous domains.

Going forward, it is clear that transformative advancements in catalysis science will occur when the three traditional areas interact. The recipe for success here will require experts in traditional areas advancing their research programs in an environment with constant knowledge transfer between groups and disciplines. Importantly, effective knowledge transfer of this sort cannot be forced or artificial; it must occur naturally.

UCM provides this crucial environment in a way not available at more established and entrenched universities. By supporting collaborative research activities among (especially junior) faculty and providing physical spaces that encourage casual interactions between investigators working in traditionally separate domains, UCM faculty are uniquely situated to make transformative discoveries in catalysis science.

UCM has current strengths in this area that are worthy of continued and expanded support. Among these, we note UCM’s high concentration of computational scientists across disciplines as well as leading groups in commentary experimental disciplines, which sets us apart from other institutions and situate us in a good position to develop rationale catalyst design initiatives. We also note the close interaction between multiple faculty members sitting on the border of biology and chemistry. This later feature will be a critically important characteristic to achieve a strong impact in bio-inspired catalysis. We also expect that substantive interactions with existing and developing expertise in materials, surface, and energy sciences – all of which have an established and recognized connection with catalysis – will strengthen our grant getting activities in catalysis science.


Faculty Participation

Multiple disciplines participate in catalysis science. At present, we have identified faculty working in the area of catalysis science in the majority of Bylaw Units in the School of Natural Sciences and the School of Engineering. In particular, we have identified the follow faculty led research groups: Chemistry and Chemical Biology (Jason Hein, Hrant Hratchian, Christine Isborn, Erik Menke, Tao Ye, Matt Meyer, Andy LiWang, Mike Colvin), Engineering (Valerie Leppert, Jennifer Lu, Christopher Viney, Victor Munoz, Ariel Escobar), Applied Math (Suzanne Sindi, Karin Leiderman), Physics (Linda Hirst, Sai Ghosh, Jing Xu) and Molecular and Cellular Biology (Patti LiWang, David Ardell, Jinah Choi, Rudy Ortiz). If catalysis science is selected as an area of strategic focus, the next several years can anticipate new catalysis science faculty in all five Natural Sciences Bylaw Units and at least two areas within the School of Engineering.




Special Programmatic Needs

As already stated, an important advantage at UCM is the free and natural interaction of faculty in different units. Going forward, it will be essential for the faculty to interact more frequently in formal and informal settings. If catalysis science is identified as a strategic academic focus area, we will explore joint seminar possibilities. To support such activities, it may be helpful for a small seed investment by the University in an initial seminar support fund. Going forward, it would be reasonable to establish a formal research center in catalysis and to use the center as a facilitator of “team science” funding opportunities.

As for other special resource requirements, we suggest the University dedicate a new faculty lines in catalysis science. We expect Bylaw 55 Units will most likely identify and search for these hires as part of the University’s growth in the sciences continues. As such, programmatic needs related to space and start-up funding should reside within the anticipated needs for the natural growth of the University as part of the 2020 Project.

Comments

Wow, I really like this theme. It would be excellent to see this research focus.

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