David Brewster Selected for an SCGSR Award by the Department of Energy

David Brewster, a 5th year Ph.D. student from the Chemistry Department, has been selected to receive a 2020 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) award! This award is given in recognition of David’s outstanding academic accomplishments and the merit of the research proposed in his SCGSR application and reflects David potential to advance in his Ph.D. studies and make important contributions to the mission of the DOE Office of Science.

David and fifty-one other physics, chemistry, and engineering graduate students from across the United States will travel to DOE National Laboratories where they will conduct research critical to advancing their Ph.D. studies. David will travel to the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in Golden, Colorado in November to complete a 10-month residency during which he will collaborate with Dr. Mike Carroll, a staff scientist in the chemistry and nanoscience sector of NREL, on a project entitled “In situ Spectroelectrochemical Analysis of the Structural Evolution of Ni(III) Oxides Upon Intercalation of Sodium Ions”. This project will take advantage of the unique spectroelectrochemical tools developed at NREL, which include in situ/operando Raman and UV-visible absorption spectroscopies, as well as NREL’s battery testing facilities to study the electrochemical properties of a unique nanocrystalline nickel(III) oxide material David synthesized during his research in the Knowles lab. The proposed study has implications for understanding capacity fade in sodium-ion batteries, necessary for enhancing next-generation electrical energy storage systems.

"David is an exceptional graduate student, and this award is an incredible opportunity for him to broaden his intellectual horizons, while taking advantage of state-of-the-art research infrastructure that is available at DOE national labs," says David's Ph.D. advisor, Prof. Kathryn Knowles "I am extremely proud of David's development as a scientist, and I look forward to seeing what he discovers during his time at NREL!"