Grant: Collaborative Research and Training Experience

This training program, DREAMS (Dalhousie Research in Energy, Advanced Materials and Sustainability) will support a cohort of research trainees who will address important aspects of energy production/storage and sustainability. Researchers will play a pivotal role in renewable energy production and storage as well as the sustainable production of environmentally acceptable or re-usable materials. The DREAMS cohort will tackle some of the most important problems through advanced materials research. By a novel training approach, this program will facilitate the transition of new researchers from trainees to productive participants in the Canadian economic community. The proposed training program addresses two target areas of strategic importance to Canada -- Natural resources and energy, and Environmental science and technologies. The approach to both important areas is through advanced materials research training, as detailed below.Graduate trainees will take three new courses in: a) materials for renewable energy production (solar, thermoelectric, energy harvesting, etc.); b) materials for energy storage (batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors); c) sustainable materials approaches, as well as significant professional skills training. Masters and PhD student trainees will spend internships periods at partner laboratories focusing on energy production and storage or sustainability. Partners include 3M Co. (USA), 3M Canada, Axion Power International, DRDC-Atlantic, Toshiba (Japan), Scotian Windfields Inc., CIS Scientific, Hydro-Québec and Helix Scientific. Most of the partners are involved in funded research collaborations with the applicant team, and all the partners have written enthusiastic letters for the DREAMS proposal, highlighting the need for such trainees.