CEDARS

There is a little-known U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program that has been making waves since it was started in 2009. Funded by the energy department’s Office of Science, there are now more than 100 DOE-funded Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) nationwide.

In August 2022, the DOE awarded North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (A&T) State University a grant to open an EFRC on its campus.

According to the press release, N.C. A&T’s Center for Electrochemical Dynamics and Reactions on Surfaces (CEDARS), which launched with a four-year, $10.35 million grant from the DOE, is led by Dr. Dhananjay Kumar, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in N.C. A&T’s College of Engineering and the principal investigator of the center.

CEDARS is an interdisciplinary effort to establish clean energy initiatives. The center primarily focuses on splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen to produce clean hydrogen for energy use.

N.C. A&T is the first historically Black college and university (HBCU) to receive this funding from the DOE.

“They probably selected us because of the huge potential at N.C. A&T,” Dr. Kumar told US Black Engineer magazine in a telephone interview. “More than 80 percent of our undergraduate population is African American, so we can profoundly impact the community,” noted Kumar. “This research is focused on using natural resources such as water and sunlight to break water into hydrogen and oxygen and generate energy that can be used in fuel cells and many other things, even in the field of fertilizers by producing ammonia. We have a large number of faculty involved from underrepresented groups in STEM. We also have many graduate students who have the opportunity to research at various academic institutions and national laboratories.”

CEDARS has an equally diverse list of partners. They include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cornell University, the University of Colorado, Pennsylvania State University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Dartmouth College, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory—a national laboratory of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

“This summer, two N.C. A&T undergraduate students are doing research at Cornell University,” Kumar said. “Another two undergraduate students, trained in the center, are working in the industry. We are strongly preparing them to continue in energy and advanced technology.”

In addition to students participating in basic research and internships, more than 300 students at N.C. A&T have been impacted by the courses and modules developed at CEDARS.

The new courses and modules are designed as part of a collaboration with various faculty members from departments and offered to all students, not just those majoring in engineering.

“One such course is in fundamental materials science engineering,” Kumar said. “It is a very interdisciplinary course with components from physics, chemistry, biomaterials, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering. Students take this course from all degree backgrounds. We have also invited faculty from other universities. Last semester, a professor from Cornell University gave a couple of lectures at A&T. The course is interactive and dynamic. It incorporates things such as how solar energy can be used to develop photovoltaic solar cells, or how solar energy can split water into hydrogen and oxygen. We also have quizzes, so it is a performance-based module.”

Another module is focused on thin film technology—solar panels on rooftops and energy gadgets that come in the form of films.

“The center is focused on developing materials in thin film form,” Kumar explained. “So, knowledge of thin film technology is fundamental. Our course development will focus on how thin film technology can revolutionize some of these devices in the field.”

During the fall 2023 semester, Kumar’s center will host guest lecturers from MIT, Cornell, and Penn State, and researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

“It’s going to be a gala time for graduate-level students taking that thin film course,” Kumar said.

Undoubtedly, CEDARS is actively teaching and training next-generation leaders, providing them with knowledge of simulation, modeling, and experimentation used in industry.

“By giving students the right experience, we prepare them much more strongly,” Kumar said. “A large number of undergraduate students are involved in hands-on research experience. And I am a big proponent and believer that research is a glue,” Kumar continued. “Recruitment, retention, and graduation are much more significantly affected if you involve students in research. And the earlier it is done, the better. Many students who lose interest in advanced degree education lack mentors who involve them in research, and then there is financial assistance. So, we dedicate time and funds to support our students involved in research. Meritbased or financially challenged students are supported at the center to be involved in advanced research and instrumentation.”

Kumar insists that students from small colleges can be as well prepared as anyone because there are substantial facilities in place at N.C. A&T that matches those of institutions with very high research activity.

Three Ph.D. students who graduated from a previous National Science Foundation (NSF) program (the Partnership for Research and Education in Materials, or PREM), which Kumar led, are now postdoctoral researchers at Cornell University, Duke University, and North Carolina State University. As graduate students, they had their work published in a peer-reviewed journal, and another student in that cohort landed a STEM job after graduating from a master’s program. According to Kumar, the NSF PREM seed project at N.C. A&T, in partnership with Cornell University, has played a key role in the funding of the CEDARS project.

“We are producing students who are succeeding in the workforce,” Kumar said, “whether it’s industry or academia, science, technology, engineering, or math research,” he added. “As I said earlier, research is the glue that attracts and keeps students in the pipeline.”

Kumar is also doing outreach to local high schools. At least one student joined the undergraduate program at N.C. A&T.