Eighteen undergraduate students receive 2018 Slatt Scholars in Energy Research

ND Energy offers competitive fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students to conduct energy-related research at Notre Dame. These fellowships support new advancements in energy technologies, while broadening the educational experiences for students receiving these awards. These programs are made possible through the generosity of Notre Dame alumni who support energy research and education at Notre Dame.

The Vincent P. Slatt Endowment for Undergraduate Research in Energy Systems and Processes supports undergraduate researchers who are interested in creating better energy systems and devices or strengthening America’s energy future through the development of policies and infrastructure to support new technologies. Students receive awards of up to $5,000 each, most of them working in laboratories on campus alongside other researchers to address some of the most critical issues in energy today. Slatt fellowships are made possible through the generosity of Christopher (ND’80) and Jeanine Slatt in honor of Vincent P. Slatt, Notre Dame Class of 1943.

The award process, administered by ND Energy, involves student and faculty collaborations on research projects to ensure undergraduate students have an enriching and useful research experience. Peter C. Burns, director of ND Energy, finds it enriching himself to see so many students interested in energy-related research. “Each year, the number goes up and so does the skillset and academic achievements of our student applicants. This makes it more challenging to select the top students to receive these awards, when we are finding that all applicants are worthy of acceptance.”

This year, eighteen undergraduate students were awarded 2018 Slatt Fellowships; the largest number of awards since the program began in 2006.

2018 Slatt Scholar		Major	Faculty Advisor	Project Title
	Corey Atwell	Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering	Prashant V. Kamat	Gradient to Mixed Halide Perovskite Architecture for Perovskite Solar Cells
	Tyler Bear	Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering	Ruilan Guo	Synthesis and Characterization of Iptycene-based Polyimides with Tunable Chain Rigidity for Gas Separation Membranes
	Colin Brankin	Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering	Jennifer Schaefer	Alternative Batteries: Magnesium Electrodeposition from Polymer Films
	David Brown	Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering	William Phillip	Designing Energy Efficient Diafiltration Units around Self-Assembled Copolymer Membranes that Separate Molecules of Comparable Size
	Gabriel Brown	Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering	David Go	Understanding Plasma Catalyst Synergy via Ammonia Production
	Janaya Brown	Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering / Energy Studies	Abigail Mechtenberg	Novel Ugandan Wind Turbine Blades: Science and Technique
	Anthony Deziel	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Vlad Iluc	Synthesis, Characterization, and Reactivity of Platinum Carbene Complexes
	James Drysdale	Chemistry and Biochemistry / Energy Studies / AL/SC Honors Program	Prashant V. Kamat	Photovoltaic Application of Perovskite Nanomaterials for Commercial Cell Phone Use
	Henri Edouard Francois	Computer Science and Engineering	Abigail Mechtenberg	Restoring Energy Production Capacity to Rural Haiti: Energy Generation Systems and Micro Grid Optimization
	Joseph Gonzales	Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering	Hirotaka Sakaue	Development of Chemical Anti-Icing Coating for Use on Wind Turbines
	Anna Kluender	Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering	Brandon Ashfeld	Synthesis of Ionic Liquids Displaying Lower Critical Solution Temperature Behavior
	Eric Lee	Applied and Computational Math and Statistics	Stefano Castruccio	Forecasting Wind Turbine Vulnerability to Dust Storms in Saudi Arabia
	Madison Mettey	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Emily Tsui	Synthesis of Transition Metal Alumosiloxide Complexes as Models of Zeolite Active Sites for Energy Related Catalysis
	Perfect Mfashijwenimana	Electrical Engineering	Abigail Mechtenberg	Evaluating how the E3 Propagation Model can Intertwine with the Rwandan Energy Vision 2050
	Musodiq Ogunlowo	Electrical Engineering	Abigail Mechtenberg	Empowering Nigerians to Power Nigeria: Designing Multiple Energy Source Input Charge Controller with Locally Built Systems
	Arsenii Panteleev	Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering	Jonathan Whitmer	Investigation of Structure and Phase Behavior of a Novel Ionic Liquid Crystal
	Morgan Seidler	Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering	Jennifer Schaefer	Crosslinked Ionomer Films for Use in High-performance Lithium Ion Batteries
	Ethan Sunshine	Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering	Ian V. Lightcap	Iron-Carbide-Graphene Oxide Sheets: An Entirely New, Non-Precious Metal Catalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Fuel Cells

Originally published by Barbara Villarosa at energy.nd.edu on April 10, 2018.