The Department of Energy’s EFRC-Hub-CMS-CCS Principal Investigators meeting took place in Bethesda, Maryland on August 11–12, 2025, and the Center for Electrochemical Dynamics and Reactions on Surfaces (CEDARS) at North Carolina A&T University was strongly represented. CEDARS contributed two oral presentations, one team science competition entry, and six poster presentations, reflecting the center’s broad research portfolio and collaborative reach across institutions.
CEDARS’ mission is to reveal step-by-step formation of the transient intermediates in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). These studies focus on thin-film RuO2 and TiO2 electrodes grown with controlled orientation, thickness, and crystallinity using pulsed laser deposition, molecular beam epitaxy, and atomic layer deposition methods. By aligning synthesis, electrochemistry, in-situ spectroscopy, and first-principles modeling, the center seeks to overcome the challenges of material variability that complicate characterization of catalytic mechanisms.
At the meeting, oral talks covered:
Conductive ruthenium oxide films with surface orientation control as experimental models for oxygen evolution reaction studies (Dhananjay Kumar & Brady Bruno).
Isolating intermediates of the photo-excited oxygen evolution reaction on titanium oxides (Tanja Cuk & Shay McBride).
In addition, Photoelectrochemistry of Titanium Oxides: A Platform for Assigning Visible Spectra to Oxygen was presented by Cassius Boyd, Shay McBride, and Sheilah Cherono.
Posters highlighted diverse directions, including:
Center overview (Dhananjay Kumar).
Detection of OER intermediates on titanium oxide facets using polarized transient optical spectroscopy (Cassius Boyd & David Jonas).
Synthesis and characterization of photo(electro)catalytic materials for water splitting (Sheilah Cherono).
Ab-initio modeling of RuO2 and TiO2 thin films paired with in-operando measurements (Lei Zhang, Simon Gelin, Shay McBride).
Operando X-ray spectroscopy for water oxidation catalysts (Aaron Kaufman).
Non-linear spectroscopy of ruthenium oxide surfaces (Brady Bruno).
The meeting also offered valuable networking and professional development opportunities. Students and postdocs attended the Basic Energy Sciences Early Career Network mixer at Owen’s Tavern & Garden, and a social gathering at Pinstripes Bethesda. A special breakout, “Networking Lunch with an Expert,” allowed young scientists to discuss career paths at DOE, national laboratories, and academia with senior researchers.
Through this strong showing, CEDARS underscored both its scientific leadership and its commitment to mentoring the next generation of researchers, while advancing DOE’s mission of developing fundamental insights into clean energy catalysis.