{"304571":{"#nid":"304571","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Professor Meilin Liu Awarded $1M Grant from U.S. Department of Energy to Develop New Fuel Cell Technology","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMeilin Liu, Regents\u0027 Professor and Associate Chair in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, has received a prestigious Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to expand work with fuel cells. ARPA-E\u2019s new Reliable Electricity Based on Electrochemical Systems (REBELS) program, recognizes researchers with high-potential, high-impact, pre-commercial projects in fuel cell technologies for distributed power systems. Dr. Liu\u2019s project utilizes methane, a cheap and abundant natural gas, to develop more efficient, lower-temperature and cost-effective fuel cells for grid-level power-generation. Liu\u2019s project was awarded $1 million and was one of only 13 new projects selected nationwide.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGeorgia Tech has a long-standing reputation for excellence in materials science and engineering,\u201d said Materials Science and Engineering School Chair Dr. Naresh Thadhani. \u201cDr. Liu\u2019s ARPA-E project presents an exciting opportunity for our program to have an even broader impact in solving challenges of great societal importance.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFuel cells convert the chemical energy of a fuel source into electrical energy and are optimal for distributed power generation systems, which generate power close to where it is used. Though fuel cells have been viewed as a potential eco-friendly alternative to fossil fuels, durability, performance, and cost have been barriers to widespread commercial use of fuel cells. Over the last decade, research advances have improved many of the materials and engineering challenges contributing to fuel cells\u2019 cost and performance issues. But these research efforts have been primarily focused on exploring technologies that either operate at high temperatures (600\u003Csup\u003E\u00b0\u003C\/sup\u003EC or higher) for grid-scale applications or low temperatures (180\u003Csup\u003E\u00b0\u003C\/sup\u003EC) for vehicle technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELiu\u2019s project will focus on developing fuel cell devices that operate in an intermediate temperature range (200-500\u00b0C). The fuel cells will directly process methane and will use nanocomposite electrolytes that enable the fuel cells to operate at lower temperatures and utilize lower-cost materials to produce, store, and distribute power. Designed for household application, the fuel cells offer a viable low-cost, high-performance solution for mass distributed power generation and storage.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cMethane fuel cells are particularly well-suited for household use because homes are already equipped to run on natural gas,\u201d said Liu. \u201cThe fuel cell would just replace the water heater or furnace and enable families to power their homes without connecting to the grid, which offers a cleaner, more efficient energy option.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETim Lieuwen, director of the Strategic Energy Institute, said distributed power generation solutions such as Liu\u2019s offer great promise in mitigating many of the challenges associated centralized generation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn our current centralized approach, electricity is primarily produced at large generation facilities and often require long transmission distances that can result in power losses and leave lines vulnerable to disruption during inclement weather or natural disasters,\u201d said Lieuwen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELiu is also a collaborator on another ARPA-E fuel cell project with The University of California \u2013 Los Angeles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Projects aims to utilize methane fuel cells for distributed power generation and storage"}],"uid":"27869","created_gmt":"2014-06-23 13:51:34","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:37","author":"Allison Caughey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"68420":{"id":"68420","type":"image","title":"Meilin Liu with fuel cell","body":null,"created":"1449177176","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:12:56","changed":"1475894594","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:14"}},"media_ids":["68420"],"groups":[{"id":"217141","name":"Georgia Tech Materials Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"95961","name":"distributed power generation and storage"},{"id":"95951","name":"energy ARPA-E"},{"id":"2044","name":"Fuel Cell"},{"id":"1692","name":"materials"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"304551":{"#nid":"304551","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Awarded $11.2 Million Grant for Energy Frontier Research Center","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech receives an $11.2 million grant from the U.S Department of Energy to fund a multi-institution research center led by The School of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE). The Center for Understanding and Control of Acid Gas-Induced Evolution of Materials for Energy (UNCAGE-ME) is one of only 10 new Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) to be funded through the federal program and is the first EFRC to be led by Georgia Tech. Krista Walton, a ChBE professor, will serve as director for the center, which aims to advance the understanding of how acid gases interact with wide range of energy-related materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cThe overall goal of our EFRC is to provide a fundamental understanding of acid gas interactions with a broad class of materials and establish strategies for extending material stability and lifetime,\u201d Walton said. \u201cThese results will ultimately enable us to accelerate materials discovery for large-scale energy applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFive other ChBE professors \u2014 Christopher Jones, Michael Filler, Ryan Lively, Sankar Nair and David Sholl, and Thomas Orlando, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Chemistry and Biochemistry \u2014 also will serve as principal investigators at the center. The center will involve work at six partner institutions: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Oak Ridge, Tenn.; the Department of Energy\u2019s largest multiprogram science and energy laboratory), the University of Florida, the University of Alabama, the University of Wisconsin, Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pa.) and Washington University in St. Louis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cOur multifaceted approach to this important problem is unique, and one of our proposal reviewers even pointed out that this will be the first research center in the world specifically dedicated to this topic, said Walton.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;The research center\u2019s start date is Aug. 1. The awards announced on June 18 are the second round of funding for EFRCs. The 32 projects receiving funding were competitively selected from more than 200 proposals.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information about the EFRC program, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/science.energy.gov\/bes\/efrc\/\u0022\u003Eclick here\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Center led by the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering to explore acid gas interactions with broad range of materials"}],"uid":"27869","created_gmt":"2014-06-23 13:41:57","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:37","author":"Allison Caughey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"304591":{"id":"304591","type":"image","title":"Krista Walton","body":null,"created":"1449244637","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:17","changed":"1475895009","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:09","alt":"Krista Walton","file":{"fid":"199664","name":"walton.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/walton_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/walton_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":106855,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/walton_1.jpg?itok=f4yta3Ef"}}},"media_ids":["304591"],"groups":[{"id":"217141","name":"Georgia Tech Materials Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"213","name":"energy"},{"id":"167445","name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"304631":{"#nid":"304631","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech partners on new DOE SunShot Initiative","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Mechanical Engineering Professors\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/loutzenhiser\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPeter Loutzenhiser\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/jeter\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESheldon Jeter\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003Ewere selected to participate in a new R\u0026amp;D project of the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s SunShot Initiative. The\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/energy.gov\/eere\/sunshot\/concentrating-solar-power-efficiently-leveraging-equilibrium-mechanisms-engineering-new\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Concentrating Solar Power: Efficiently Leveraging Equilibrium Mechanisms for Engineering New Thermochemical Storage (CSP:ELEMENTS) project seeks to design a system that concentrates sunlight onto a falling curtain of sa\u003C\/a\u003End-like particles called perovskites. The project, led by Sandia National Laboratories, will evaluate how effective the chemical reaction is through a test of a 100 kilowatt hour-thermal thermochemical energy storage system. The project was awarded $3.5 million and was one of only six new concentrating solar technologies projects selected nationwide. To read more about the project,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/news\/loutzenhiser_promotesproject\u0022\u003Eclick here\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Project to evaluate how effective the chemical reaction is through a test of a 100 kilowatt hour-thermal thermochemical energy storage system"}],"uid":"27869","created_gmt":"2014-06-23 15:07:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:37","author":"Allison Caughey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"304621":{"id":"304621","type":"image","title":"Peter Loutzenhiser","body":null,"created":"1449244637","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:17","changed":"1475895009","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:09","alt":"Peter Loutzenhiser","file":{"fid":"199666","name":"qb6a0129small_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/qb6a0129small_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/qb6a0129small_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":27794,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/qb6a0129small_0_0.jpg?itok=GOsobIQP"}},"136231":{"id":"136231","type":"image","title":"Sheldon Jeter","body":null,"created":"1449178685","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:38:05","changed":"1475894766","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:06","alt":"Sheldon Jeter","file":{"fid":"194819","name":"jeter.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jeter_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jeter_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":8522,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/jeter_0.jpg?itok=Hx7eKMpr"}}},"media_ids":["304621","136231"],"groups":[{"id":"217141","name":"Georgia Tech Materials Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"95991","name":"concentrating solar technologies"},{"id":"213","name":"energy"},{"id":"1692","name":"materials"},{"id":"167182","name":"solar"},{"id":"96001","name":"thermochemical storage"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"304471":{"#nid":"304471","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Wearable computing gloves can teach Braille, even if you\u2019re not paying attention","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESeveral years ago, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers created a technology-enhanced glove that can \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2008\/11\/07\/reinventing-way-people-learn-play-piano\u0022\u003Eteach beginners how to play piano\u003C\/a\u003E melodies in 45 minutes. Now they\u2019ve advanced the same wearable computing technology to help people learn how to read and write Braille. The twist is that people wearing the glove don\u2019t have to pay attention. They learn while doing something else.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe process is based on passive haptic learning (PHL),\u201d said Thad Starner, a Georgia Tech professor and wearable computer pioneer. \u201cWe\u2019ve learned that people can acquire motor skills through vibrations without devoting active attention to their hands.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn their new study, Starner and Ph.D. student Caitlyn Seim examined how well these gloves work to teach Braille. Each study participant wore a pair of gloves with tiny vibrating motors stitched into the knuckles. The motors vibrated in a sequence that corresponded with the typing pattern of a pre-determined phrase in Braille. Audio cues let the users know the Braille letters produced by typing that sequence. Afterwards, everyone tried to type the phrase one time, without the cues or vibrations, on a keyboard.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe sequences were then repeated during a distraction task. Participants played a game for 30 minutes and were told to ignore the gloves. Half of the participants felt repeated vibrations and heard the cues; the others only heard the audio cues. When the game was over, participants tried to type the phrase without wearing the gloves.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThose in the control group did about the same on their second attempt (as they did in their pre-study baseline test),\u201d said Starner. \u201cBut participants who felt the vibrations during the game were a third more accurate. \u0026nbsp;Some were even perfect.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers expected to see a wide disparity between the two groups based on their successful results while using the piano glove. But they were surprised the passive learners picked up an additional skill.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRemarkably, we found that people could transfer knowledge learned from typing Braille to \u003Cem\u003Ereading\u003C\/em\u003E Braille,\u201d said Seim. \u201cAfter the typing test, passive learners were able to read and recognize more than 70 percent of the phrase\u2019s letters.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENo one in the study had previously typed on a Braille keyboard or knew the language. The study also didn\u2019t include screens or visual feedback, so participants never saw what they typed. They had no indication of their accuracy throughout the study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe only learning they received was guided by the haptic interface,\u201d said Seim.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESeim is currently in the middle of a second study that uses PHL to teach the full Braille alphabet during four sessions. Of the eight participants so far, 75 percent of those receiving PHL reached perfect typing performance. \u0026nbsp;None of the control group had zero typing errors. PHL participants have also been able to \u003Cem\u003Erecognize and read \u003C\/em\u003Emore than 90 percent of all the letters in the alphabet after only four hours.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENearly 40 million people worldwide are blind. However, because Braille instruction is widely neglected in schools, only 10 percent of those who are blind\u0026nbsp; learn the language. Braille is also difficult to learn later in life, when diabetics, wounded veterans or older people are prone to lose their sight.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Braille studies will be presented in Seattle this September at the 18th International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to teaching the piano, the researchers have previously demonstrated that the glove \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/140221\u0022\u003Ecan improve sensation and mobility for people with spinal cord injury\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was partially supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grant 1217473. Any conclusions expressed are those of the principal investigator and may not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESeveral years ago, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers created a technology-enhanced glove that can \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2008\/11\/07\/reinventing-way-people-learn-play-piano\u0022\u003Eteach beginners how to play piano\u003C\/a\u003E melodies in 45 minutes. Now they\u2019ve advanced the same wearable computing technology to help people learn how to read and write Braille. The twist is that people wearing the glove don\u2019t have to pay attention. They learn while doing something else.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Wearable computing gloves teach Braille, even when the person is distracted."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2014-06-23 10:11:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:37","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"304431":{"id":"304431","type":"image","title":"Braille System","body":null,"created":"1449244609","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:49","changed":"1475895009","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:09","alt":"Braille System","file":{"fid":"199655","name":"braille_glove.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/braille_glove_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/braille_glove_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2562647,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/braille_glove_0.jpg?itok=nuzAK-LW"}},"279861":{"id":"279861","type":"image","title":"Thad Starner","body":null,"created":"1449244184","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:44","changed":"1475894973","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:33","alt":"Thad Starner","file":{"fid":"198891","name":"13p1000-p17-004-f.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/13p1000-p17-004-f_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/13p1000-p17-004-f_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2300768,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/13p1000-p17-004-f_0.jpg?itok=LTtvARIL"}},"304461":{"id":"304461","type":"image","title":"Caitlyn Seim","body":null,"created":"1449244609","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:49","changed":"1475895009","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:09","alt":"Caitlyn Seim","file":{"fid":"199656","name":"caitlyn022.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/caitlyn022_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/caitlyn022_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2462573,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/caitlyn022_0.jpg?itok=UXjba0gG"}}},"media_ids":["304431","279861","304461"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"38981","name":"Braille"},{"id":"8382","name":"Glove"},{"id":"38081","name":"Mobile Music Touch"},{"id":"1944","name":"Thad Starner"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003EMedia Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-384-2966\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}