2023 Research Grants

Sustainable Ammonia Synthesis for Zero-Carbon Fertilizers and Fuels

PIs: Jonas Peters and Karthish Manthiram
Co-PIs: Theodor Agapie, Harry Atwater, Julia Greer, and John Gregoire
Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Division of Engineering and Applied Science
Sunlight to Everything Initiative

This project aims to decarbonize the production of ammonia (NH3) via new catalyst materials and mediators that combine either solar photons or renewably sourced electricity (e.g., solar and wind) with water and nitrogen. The identification of new catalysts and mediated processes through high-throughput screening along with their integration into new reactor architectures made with additive manufacturing will distinguish Caltech in its proposed research efforts. Through technoeconomic and lifecycle analyses that are tightly integrated with the proposed efforts, this project will create a pathway to sustainable ammonia synthesis that will impact not only fertilizer production but the storage of renewable energy in a chemical carrier.

Landscape-scale tracking of insect populations

PIs: Joseph Parker and Michael Dickinson
Research Team: Tarun Sharma
Division of Biology and Biological Engineering
Ecology and Biosphere Engineering Initiative

This proposal aims to generate a low-cost camera array and robust machine vision/learning pipeline for remote, automated tracking of natural insect populations at the landsca

Development of Isotopic Analysis for Sulfur Source Attribution

PIs: John Seinfeld and Alex Sessions
Research Team: Haroula Baliaka
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences and Division of Engineering and Applied Science
Climate Science Initiative

We will develop methods for obtaining and using sulfur isotopic analysis for source attribution of sulfate.