University of Minnesota receives $12 million grant for energy research

The University of Minnesota announced today that it has been awarded a $12 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to lead an Energy Frontier Research Center aimed at accelerating scientific breakthroughs in energy research. The University of Minnesota's center is one of only 32 innovative energy research projects nationwide chosen from a highly competitive field of 200 proposals. "We are mobilizing some of our most talented scientists to join forces and pursue the discoveries and breakthroughs that will lay the foundation for our nation's energy future," said U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz at the nationwide announcement. The University's new Inorganometallic Catalyst Design Center, headed by College of Science and Engineering Chemistry Professor Laura Gagliardi, will receive $3 million each year for the next four years. The center will focus on the discovery of a new class of energy-science-relevant catalytic materials for energyand atom-efficient conversion of shale-gas components. "Our research could lead to new opportunities for energy efficiency and resource conservation," Gagliardi said. "Our ultimate goal is to design and produce catalysts for reactions that will yield significant energy savings and environmental benefits compared to existing alternatives.