Conference: Gordon Research Conference on Batteries-Ventura

This award will provide partial support for the 2024 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Batteries, to be held in Ventura, CA on February 25-March 1, 2024. The GRC will provide significant professional development activities for graduate students and post doctoral research fellows in the area of electrochemical energy storage. The GRC will also stimulate new advances in batteries for renewable energy storage through interaction of scientists and engineers who are both new and established in this field. The technical challenges of understanding and improving current electrochemical energy storage systems, which include batteries, require a collaborative effort from researchers in many disciplines. There are still many fundamental gaps in understanding the atomic- and molecular-level processes that determine and govern the function, operation, performance limitations, and failure of battery systems. Fundamental knowledge is critically needed to uncover the underlying principles that control these complex and interrelated processes. With this underpinning knowledge, wholly new concepts in materials design can be developed for producing electrodes, electrolytes, and battery cells that are capable of storing higher energy densities and have long cycle lifetimes, at lower cost. The conference will cover topics related to solid state batteries, next generation batteries, advanced characterization, battery recycling, and policy and techno- economics. The theme of the GRC on batteries highlights theory, materials synthesis, and engineering concepts under the umbrella of the conference. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.