The Scialog: Automating Chemical Laboratories initiative has awarded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist Johanna Schwartz $60,000 to pursue automated design of next-generation membranes for fuel cells.
The award comes as one of seven collaborative projects funded by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation and the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation. Each project pairs advances in automation and AI with key questions in fundamental research.
"This award will enable me to integrate LLNL's Studying-Polymers-On a-Chip (SPOC) high-throughput screening and characterization system with my collaborators' high-throughput computational and experimental efforts to improve fuel cell membranes at speeds not previously possible," said Schwartz.
Schwartz will collaborate with Cailin Buchanan of Argonne National Laboratory and Badri Narayanan of the University of Louisville on the project. The team conceived of their proposal as fellows at the Scialog meeting held in April.
By working together, Schwartz and her collaborators plan to quickly identify membrane targets for synthesis, characterization and testing in hydrogen fuel cells. Traditional fuel cell membranes often contain polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are considered "forever chemicals" with long-term impacts on environment and health. By identifying non-PFAS candidates, such as novel anion-exchange membranes, the team hopes to exemplify the potential of automated, high-throughput methods to make real, immediate societal impact.
Scialog is short for "science + dialog," and is specifically designed to support innovative, boundary-pushing research that might fail but could also lead to transformative outcomes. Created in 2010 by RCSA, Scialog aims to accelerate breakthroughs by building a creative network of scientists that crosses disciplinary silos, and by stimulating intensive conversation around an important scientific theme. Early career participants are selected from multiple disciplines, approaches and methodologies, and are encouraged to form teams to propose high-risk, high-reward projects based on innovative ideas that emerge during the conference.
Research collaborations like this are one of the ways LLNL pursues big ideas. Commercialization pathways for resulting innovation will come through technology transfer in the Innovation and Partnerships Office (IPO).
