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Nanofluidics: From Ionic and Molecular Transport to Cryo-EM Imaging
- and -
Solving the Energy and Climate Simultaneous Equation

Arun Majumdar - Departments of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering (Courtesy)
Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford University
Thursday, Aug. 29 | AERO 114 | 11:30 a.m.
Reception to follow at 12:30 p.m.

Abstract, Part 1:ÌýNanofluidics: From Ionic and Molecular Transport to Cryo-EM Imaging - The intermolecular forces - van der Waals, electrostatic or steric forces - between molecules and between molecules and solid surfaces fall in the range of 1-10 nm.Ìý Hence, when liquids are confined to these length scales, they undergo a variety of transitions that control the liquid, ionic and macromolecular transport, as well as liquid-vapor phase transitions.Ìý This 20-minute talk will discuss our past experimental and theoretical work on nanofluidic transport.Ìý This is now forming the basis of a new effort using cryo-electron microscopy to image ions and molecules and address some of the key knowledge gaps in this field that relate to phase transitions and separations as well as ion selectivity and correlation.

Abstract, Part 2: Solving the Energy and Climate Simultaneous Equation -Ìý Energy use is the basis of all modern economies.Ìý With 80 percent of the primary energy still coming from fossil fuels, the environmental imperatives warrant fierce urgency to address them at scale.Ìý This is arguably the defining challenge of the 21^st century. While technological innovations and cost reductions in unconventional oil and gas, renewable electricity from solar and wind, as well as lithium-ion batteries offer optimism, they are insufficient to decarbonize the global energy system to keep the global average temperature rise below 2 ^oC.Ìý How can we accelerate transition to a more sustainable energy system? What new technologies or policies do we need to create? This 20-minute talk will offer a call to action in science, technology, policy and governance that is provide a proportional response to address climate change.

Bio - Dr. Arun Majumdar is the Jay Precourt Provostial Chair Professor at Stanford University, a faculty member of the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering (by courtesy) and co-director of the Precourt Institute for Energy, which integrates and coordinates research and education activities across all seven Schools and the Hoover Institution at Stanford.Ìý He is also a Professor Photon Science at SLAC.

Dr. Majumdar's research in the past has involved the science and engineering of nanoscale materials and devices, especially in the areas of energy conversion, transport and storage as well as biomolecular analysis. His current research focuses on electrochemical and thermochemical redox reactions that are fundamental to a sustainable energy future, multidimensional nanoscale imaging and microscopy, and a new effort to re-engineer the electricity grid using data science, including deep learning techniques.

In October 2009, Dr. Majumdar was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to become the Founding Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), where he served till June 2012 and helped ARPA-E become a model of excellence for the government with bipartisan support from Congress and other stakeholders. Between March 2011 and June 2012, he also served as the Acting Under Secretary of Energy, enabling the portfolio that reported to him: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Reliability, Office of Nuclear Energy and the Office of Fossil Energy, as well as multiple cross-cutting efforts such as Sunshot, Grid Tech Team and others that he had initiated. Furthermore, he was a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, on a variety of matters related to management, personnel, budget, and policy.Ìý In 2010, he was of Secretary Chu’s team that helped stopped the leak in the Deep Water Horizon (BP) oil spill.

After leaving Washington, DC and before joining Stanford, Dr. Majumdar was the Vice President for Energy at Google, where he created several energy technology initiatives, especially at the intersection of data, computing and electricity grid, and advised the company on its broader energy strategy.Ìý

Prior to joining the Department of Energy, Dr. Majumdar was the Almy & Agnes Maynard Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering at University of California–Berkeley and the Associate Laboratory Director for energy and environment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.Ìý

Dr. Majumdar is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He served as the Vice Chairman of the Advisory Board of US Secretary of Energy, Dr. Ernest Moniz, and was also a Science Envoy for the US Department of State with focus on energy and technology innovation in the Baltics and Poland. He is a member of the International Advisory Panel for Energy of the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry. He serves as an advisor to Envision Energy, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, First Light Fusion, the New Energy Group of Royal Dutch Shell and Lime Rock New Energy. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Cyclotron Road and the Electric Power Research Institute.

Dr. Majumdar received his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 1985 and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989.