Vidi grants for CE&C researchers
NWO Vidi awards for CE&C researchers Toni Forner-Cuenca and Ghislaine Vantomme
The Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry is very proud that the Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded a Vidi Grant to two of their researchers.
The aim of the NWO Vidi Programme is to provide creative space for adventurous, talented, pioneering researchers to do research of their choice, develop their own line of research and further develop their talent. The NWO Vidi Programme encourages innovation and curiosity.
Rethinking gas diffusion electrode architectures for low temperature fuel cells (GaDEture)
Antoni Forner-Cuenca
In the urgent transition to a renewable energy economy, electrochemical technologies, such as fuel cells and electrolyzers, are expected to play a major role. Gas diffusion electrodes are at the heart of these systems, but are currently costly and limit the performance of the device. In this project, we will redesign these electrodes by using a new method that combines polymer phase separation and coating techniques. We expect that our approach will result in an increase in the performance and durability of the system, as well as a reduction on the manufacturing costs.
Learning without neurons in supramolecular materials
Ghislaine Vantomme
In today's era of big data, the need for new devices with higher performance and better energy efficiency is rapidly increasing. Inspired by the brain, functional materials able to compute themselves, with their active matter, are being explored as the next generation of computing hardware. A key facet of this challenge is to make materials that can be trained to store memory, learn, and make decisions. In this project, we will synthesize new molecules that can assemble into ordered nanostructures and be trained to recognize two-color images. We aim to understand the fundamental principles that control the dynamics of these supramolecular materials and to advance their applications for adaptive functions.
More information can be found on the general news item of the Communication Expertise Center about all five 果冻传媒 researchers who received the Vidi grant.