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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Abstract: Societal grand challenges identified across the globe such as harvesting solar energy, advancing human health and wellness, minimizing carbon footprint, improving food safety and security, demand continuous improvements in the current technologies to push boundaries as well as require the development of completely new technologies. Addressing the above societal problems through non-traditional research approaches could open up new opportunities for the advancement of science and technology. This seminar will provide an overview of the research in the Nano Electrochemistry Laboratory at the University of Georgia in areas of solar energy conversion, energy storage, medical diagnostics, bioremediation, agricultural and food safety technologies using non-traditional electrochemical engineering. For example, the natural functions of redox enzymes and/or cells could be manipulated or modified through electrochemistry for a specific end-application such a biosensor, fuel cell or bio-solar cell. Similarly, the native metabolism of a microorganism could be manipulated for fuel or energy production in an electrochemical cell. The natural photosynthetic process in photosynthetic machineries could be genetically engineered for electricity generation in a biological solar cell. Also, the material issues plaguing the energy storage technologies, could be addressed by nanoscale science and engineering. The talk will introduce how electrochemistry, chemical engineering, material science, biology and nanotechnology could complement each other in addressing the societal grand challenges.
Bio: Dr. Ramaraja Ramasamy is a Professor of Biochemical Engineering and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia. His research interest lies in non-traditional electrochemical engineering applied to biosensors, bio-solar cells, batteries, fuel cells and related systems. He has published over 180 journal and conference papers, delivered over 30 invited talks and has filed 10 patents. He has been awarded over $3M in research and educational grants for his work at UGA. His research currently has 7 graduate students. He is a member of the Electrochemical Society and the Institute of Biological Engineering.
