Nakamura will give a free, public talk about his work on Monday, April 18, 2022, at 4 pm at Rauch Planetarium. The talk also will be livestreamed on the and will be available on the after the event.

Nakamura, recipient of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics and a University of California-Santa Barbara materials professor, is recognized for scientific innovations and commercialization of efficient solid-state light-emitting diodes (LEDs). His LEDs have revolutionized electronics and lighting at more than 10 times the efficiency of incandescent lighting, more than twice the efficiency of fluorescents and a durability of 30 to 40 years. His innovations have enabled efficient use of energy, reduced the burden on the environment and helped create sustainable lighting worldwide.

Solid-state lighting and electronics are estimated to save $98 billion in cumulative energy consumption by 2030 in the United States, or the energy equivalent of 30 1-gigawatt power plants. Worldwide, the effects are five times greater.

ā€œDr. Nakamura is a world-class scientist dedicated to the viability of LED technologies. His work and perseverance are inspiration to us all. The University of Louisville celebrates his research and its positive influence. In a world where energy use must be environmentally responsible, he is an outstanding winner of the Leigh Ann Conn Prize,ā€ said Neeli Bendapudi, president of UofL at the time the award was announced.

The Leigh Ann Conn Prize for Renewable Energy includes a medal, $50,000 and a series of campus events, including the public lecture and research meetings with faculty, staff and students. Administered by UofLā€™s at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, the prize is named for the late daughter of Hank and Rebecca Conn, who are center supporters and the prize benefactors.

ā€œThe impact of Dr. Nakamuraā€™s work is massive and exactly what Leigh Ann thought mattered most — What good is innovation if it never changes the world?ā€ Hank Conn said. ā€œLED lighting touches people in all economic strata, saving energy and money with global reach. It is exciting to recognize this outstanding scientist, his innovations and their translation into clearly impactful technology.ā€

The startup, BioProducts LLC, took the top spot at the competition, backed by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and others.

The goal was to find innovative solutions for using distilling byproducts. According to the competition website, about 10 gallons of byproduct are generated for every gallon of bourbon produced.

BioProducts is built around UofL-patented technology that gives those distillery byproducts new life, for example, as a low-calorie sugar substitute and as specialized activated carbon suitable for a number of high-performance applications, particularly lithium ion ²ś²¹³Ł³Ł±š°ł¾±±š²õ.Ģż

For the pitch competition, BioProducts teamed with Louisville-based C&I Engineering Inc. to present how the integrated technology could be applied at different types and sizes of distilleries. And, said UofLā€™s Jagannadh Satyavolu, who helped invent the technology and later founded the company, how this process could create activated carbon thatā€™s more cost-effective and sustainable.

ā€œUsing this technology ā€” invented in Kentucky and for one of Kentuckyā€™s signature industries ā€” we can take this otherwise waste material and turn it into a game-changer,ā€ he said. ā€œThis could help make distilling more sustainable, reduce pollution and much more.ā€

The technology was invented by Satyavolu atĢżUofL’s Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research in collaboration with Michael Nantz and his team in the UofL chemistry department.

BioProducts holds an exclusive license through , which handles intellectual property resulting from university research and helps forge partnerships with companiesĢżfor commercialization.Ģż

ā€œWe feel we are the right team at the right time to solve this challenge,ā€ said Cliff Speedy, C&I Engineeringā€™s executive director of projects.

Because they won the pitch competition, the BioProducts team received an engraved bourbon barrel lid and will now present to 500-some distillery professionals at the James B. Beam Institute Industry Conference in March 2022.

Ģż

The production facility, operated by AdhviQ Technologies LLC, opened in late November on the UofL Belknap campus. It now churns out about 50 of the N95-style masks, plus about 100 three-ply non-surgical masks per minute, as well as filters for cloth masks and has made them commercially available. The company plans to ramp up production amid rising coronavirus case numbers.

Mahendra SunkaraĢżsaid he and other UofL researchers invented the masks to address , or PPE.Ģż While commonly worn disposable masks are meant , the UofL N95-style masks are unique in that their nanowire-woven fabric can be washed and reused multiple times ā€” all while still filtering down to 0.1 microns.

ā€œBeing able to reuse masks and filters effectively can help people protect themselves in everyday settings like grocery stores,ā€ said Sunkara, a UofL chemical engineering professor. ā€œBut they could especially help health care workers, who may not have access to as many disposable masks as they need to do their jobs safely. With these masks, they could wash and wear the same one over and over again without losing effectiveness.ā€

The technology was created by researchers at UofLā€™s , where Sunkara is director, and the UofL . Early in the pandemic, they pivoted from their previous studies in areas such as solar power and robotics to develop tools that could help people stay safe.

The researchers ĢżAdvanced Energy Materials (ADEM), a UofL-offshoot company founded by Sunkara that produces nanowire for catalysts, to develop and patent the technology. A new company,ĢżAdhviQ, licensed that technology and now manufactures and sells the finished products made using materials from ADEM.

Both ADEM and AdhviQ were created at UofL, are based on UofL research and also are physically located on UofLā€™s Belknap campus.

ā€œThis is an excellent example of what can be accomplished when UofL research meets industry capability,ā€ said Kevin Gardner, UofLā€™s executive vice president for research and innovation. ā€œIn this time of crisis, UofL researchers have risen to the challenge of keeping people safe in every aspect. This is yet another example of them doing the hard work to combat this virus and truly advance our health.ā€

The masks are made using inorganic nanowires woven into special polymer cloth, forming a porous network whose openings are too small for viral particles to pass through. Because the nanowire is made of titania and zinc oxide, the masks also can easily be disinfected using low-energy ultraviolet light as an alternative to disinfecting with soap and water.

The nanowire masks differ from current N95 masks, which rely on an electrostatic charge on polymer fiber cloth to capture and filter out particles like dust, mold and pollen. The electrostatic masks may not work to filter out liquid droplets or viral pathogens, while the UofL masks can.

ā€œIn working together, we have been able to create a truly great product, built on UofL research, thatā€™s reusable, cost-effective and filters better than commonly available disposable masks,ā€ said Siva Kakarala, founder and CEO of AdhviQ. ā€œOur overall goal is to give people the tools that can help them stay safe and healthy.ā€

The masks are available for order on the , and the company expects to receive FDA certification soon.

Earth depends on balanced levels of greenhouse gases for our warm climate, averaging 59^oF, to sustain plant and animal life. Since the Industrial Revolution, burning of fossil fuels for energy has resulted in the excessive accumulation of atmospheric gases such as CO₂, raising the temperature of the planet.

Greenhouse gas levels are the highest ever recorded and continue to rise as worldwide energy use is projected to double in the next 10 years. Flue gas is the smoky exhaust from a furnace, boiler or generator and, on a larger scale, the gas that results from combustion at power plants. A major portion of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (approximately 33%) are attributable to the flue gas resulting from electricity generation by utilities.

While most research into electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide has relied on pure gas feedstocks, CO₂ is more dilute in flue gas at typically less than 20%. The Conn Center project will pursue the development of a stable and efficient method to convert the CO₂ directly from a power plant exhaust stream, which would aid in making the overall process more cost-effective.

Flue gas contaminants can degrade the performance of an electrolysis reactor, making the direct electrochemical conversion of flue gas CO₂ a challenging prospect. The UofL team is working on novel molecular catalysts to guide the selectivity of the reaction within a new high-performance reactor designed for use with both water and organic solvent.

The major challenge of utilizing flue gas CO₂ to produce carbon-based chemicals is to create technology that is efficient, economical and achievable at a commercial scale. Meeting these three criteria would provide an economic incentive for industry by adding value to their waste instead of emitting it to the atmosphere.

These power plant emissions will be processed to convert CO₂ to useful products, including those where the single carbon atoms in CO₂ are combined to form larger compounds with two to four carbon atoms. Such products include formic acid, ethanol and methyl formate, all of which are currently produced using fossil fuels.

The research team is led by Joshua Spurgeon, Ph.D., theme leader for Solar Fuels at the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research in the , and UofL chemistry professor Craig Grapperhaus, Ph.D., in conjunction with the University of North Dakotaā€™s Institute for Energy Studies. This research has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Funding of $1.25 million over two years was secured by Spurgeon and Grapperhaus to conduct the research, which has enabled the recruitment of several graduate students and postdoctoral scholars and will include research opportunities for undergraduate students.

The partnership also includes an alumnus of the University of Louisville Speed School. Nolan Theaker, one of Spurgeonā€™s previous undergraduate researchers, is now a Ph.D. student at the University of North Dakota and a research engineer with the Institute for Energy Studies. Theaker will lead the effort at UND to develop methods to process the flue gas for stable and efficient operation in the electrolyzer. This partnership includes Minnkota Power Cooperative, which will provide access to its coal-based post-combustion flue gas and analysis capabilities.

Spurgeon and Grapperhaus designed this project based on their from similar research on electrochemical conversion of CO₂, including Spurgeonā€™s work on electrochemical CO₂ reactors and Grapperhausā€™s work on molecular catalysts, which bind CO₂ and assist the conversion. In the new effort, they will pursue a high-performance reactor design capable of meeting the metrics necessary for a commercially viable process. This includes achieving much higher operating current densities, similar to water-based electrolyzers, than typical laboratory measurements and very high selectivity (~90%) for the desired chemical products.

ā€œElectrochemical reduction of CO₂ allows for renewable energy-driven production of chemicals and fuels in a distributed and modular fashion,ā€ said Mahendra Sunkara, director at Conn Center. ā€œConn Center is looking towards the development of a CO₂ electrolyzer in the next five years.ā€

The masks are being developed using nanomaterial research at the Conn Center, a J.B. Speed School of Engineering center that usually focuses on commercializing innovations in solar energy storage, biofuels, solar fuels and energy efficiency. Researchers saw an opportunity to use their innovative work to help provide low-cost, effective personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers.

Unlike currently available N95 masks, which cannot be reused without special decontamination procedures, these cost-effective nanofilter masks can be easily washed, dried and reused.

They are made using inorganic nanowires impregnated into a woven polymer cloth with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) of 15 that together form a porous network whose openings are too small for viral particles to pass through. Current N95 masks rely on an electrostatic charge on polymer fiber cloth to capture nuisance particles such as dust, mold and pollen. This method may not be effective with liquid droplets or viral pathogens and doesnā€™t offer any disinfection capabilities.

The titania and zinc oxide nanowire materials that form the nanofilter are also capable of absorbing ultraviolet (UV) light, a benefit of their adoption from the renewable energy research at Conn Center. The filters can be disinfected using a low energy UV light source, helping to reduce PPE costs in hospitals.

The partnership includes Ed Tackett, director of workforce development at AMIST, and chemical engineering Professor Mahendra Sunkara, director of the Conn Center. Sunkara co-founded ADEM in 2010 with his wife, CEO Vasanthi Sunkara, to scale up energy materials innovations from his work at the university.

Since then, ADEM has scaled up manufacturing of nanowire materials from grams at a time to ton scale. ā€œProducing bulk quantities is a considerable challenge in translating a new material from laboratory to marketplace,ā€ Mahendra Sunkara said. ā€œIn the lab, we only make very small amounts to test and study, but tons per day are required for meeting commercial demand.ā€

Tackett and Sunkara realized a growing PPE challenge as the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded.

ā€œHow do we as Kentucky respond to multiple waves of disease and low case rate due to success of ā€˜stay safeā€™ measures?ā€ Tackett said. ā€œWe are all working together to keep the rate of incidence low, but that also means we will have difficulty in priority purchasing for PPE since Kentucky isnā€™t a hotspot. Our solution is making them here instead of buying elsewhere.ā€

The manufacturing method for the masks is adopted from Conn Centerā€™s roll-to-roll printing techniques used in battery electrode and solar cell fabrication. The availability of materials at quantity and adapted expertise made this nanofiltered cloth innovation possible.

ā€œThe shortage of protective gear during this pandemic has made us rethink our strategy to utilize ADEMā€™s nanowire materials for PPE,ā€ said Vasanthi Sunkara. ā€œIt just shows that with the right connections, expertise and resources, the university and industry can come together quickly to move innovation through manufacturing and into the market to affect this challenge head-on.ā€

Prototype testing on the nanofilters is underway. Once validated, the next steps are to set up manufacturing in two types of facilities. The first is a large-scale, roll-to-roll printing operation for making the nanofilter cloth. The second is a forming and assembly line to make flat filters and ready-to-wear N95-style respirators.

ADEM in conjunction with Conn Center will produce both flat filters and respirators right away. The center can produce thousands over the next two months until automated production equipment is put in place for mass production at several million per year. AMIST and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development are looking at what is needed to build the mask-making capacity for Kentucky.

Funding for this phase has been made possible by Hank and Rebecca Conn, benefactors of the Conn Center. The gift is intended to be matched by donors who want to help during the COVID-19 crisis.

ā€œIt is the right thing to do,ā€ said Hank Conn. ā€œConn Center technologies are intended for renewable energy but can impact the immediate health crisis. We are giving this innovation early support that it may reach a commercialization partner for the good of us all.ā€

The supports promising early-career faculty who are potential role models in research and education. The award is $500,000 spread over five years, andĢżSpurgeon is one of only a handful of non-faculty recipients.

ā€œIā€™m thrilled,ā€ said Spurgeon, theme leader for solar fuels at . ā€œThese grants are so competitive, and this is huge for me.ā€Ģż

Spurgeonā€™s work at UofL centers on hydrogen fuels, which he can make with just water and sunlight. With this award, he hopes to lower the cost of that method to make solar hydrogen more competitive with hydrogen derived from fossil fuels.

ā€œWeā€™re targeting the intersection between high-efficiency and low-cost,ā€ he said. ā€œThe goal is to make clean, green, renewable fuel accessible.ā€Ģż

The basic idea is to separate water, or H₂O, into hydrogen and oxygen using photocatalysts, which cause chemical reactions when exposed to sunlight. Spurgeon places the photocatalyst in the water, shines sunlight on it, and boom ā€” potent, energy-dense hydrogen fuel.Ģż

The problem, he said, is that this method is currently more expensive than fossil fuels because it relies on a combination of expensive commercial photovoltaic and electrolysis equipment. Spurgeonā€™s CAREER Award research will seek to lower the cost by integrating all of those components into a single semiconductor particle, making the whole process more cost-effective.Ģż

ā€œThis would enable low-cost solar energy storage and sustainable fuel production,ā€ said Mahendra Sunkara, director of the UofL Conn Center. ā€œSuch a technology could revolutionize the energy industry and greatly expand the energy independence of the United States.ā€

You can check out some of Spurgeon’s technologies andĢż

In addition to the research component, Spurgeon also will use his award to help build and develop a new masterā€™s degree at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering focused on renewable energy and materials. He also plans to help underrepresented undergraduate students secure research internships and help final-year graduate students with their entrepreneurial and commercialization efforts.Ģż

ā€œDr. Spurgeon is pursuing truly ground-breaking work that can broadly impact fields as diverse as transportation and utilities,ā€ said Robert S. Keynton, Interim Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation. ā€œWeā€™re very proud of his accomplishment and his contributions to research and innovation at UofL.ā€Ģż

Including Spurgeonā€™s, UofL researchers have received 21 total NSF CAREER Awards totaling some $7.1 million.

Industrial hemp and marijuana are two different strains of the Cannabis sativa plant. Industrial hemp seeds and leaves contain very low levels of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive agent in Cannabis.

Industrial hemp is a highly renewable resource with applications for food, medicine, chemicals and energy. Stalks, seeds, flowers and oils all have potential uses with established markets.

ā€œHemp research for renewable energy technologies is highly useful for local and regional industry, even those not related to renewables,ā€ said Mahendra Sunkara, director of Conn Center. ā€œThe theme of our biomass work is that we do not let anything go to waste.ā€

Conn Center scientists and engineers have harvested about 2,000 pounds of hemp and kenaf since the project began in anticipation of industrial hempā€™s legalization in Kentucky. The UofL crop is one of eight at Kentucky colleges and universities grown as part of the stateā€™s pilot program into field-scale industrial hemp, but the only one being used for energy research.

ā€œOur students and faculty really enjoy working on this initiative,ā€ said biology professor Mark Running, a faculty member of Conn Center contributing plant development expertise. ā€œThe opportunity to work on a timely challenge to improve our economy and society is exciting.ā€

ā€œThe growing plants have been embraced by students at UofL, who frequent the hemp patches next to the Eastern Parkway viaduct for selfies,ā€ said Andrew Marsh, assistant director of the Conn Center. ā€œWe appreciate how passionately people support legalization and exploration of hemp as a renewable resource while also bumping up their Insta game.ā€

The Conn Center fosters the development of transformational concepts and accelerates transition from lab to pre-commercial scale. The center maintains unique, state-of-the-art facilities for advancing scalable manufacturing R&D of solar, energy storage, biofuels, value-added chemicals and energy efficiency solutions.ĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢż

The planting is to demonstrate ā€œenergy cropsā€ at the centerā€™s Phoenix House office and living laboratory. These crops support biofuels research at the Conn Center utilizing Kentucky-grown plants as part of the Kentucky Department of Agricultureā€™s Industrial Hemp Research Pilot Program.

For 2017, Center researchers are looking at specific ways hemp and a fiber plant native to east-central Africa, can fulfill energy needs, define new markets and be a source for drop-in replacement for fibers, biofuels and other chemical production. Kenaf and hemp are highly adaptable to Kentucky and are being evaluated as a high yield, industrially relevant economic development resource.

ā€œThe Conn Center continues to examine the potential for unusual answers to renewable energy questions,ā€ said Greg Postel, interim president of UofL. ā€œThe University of Louisville takes pride in the ability of our faculty and researchers to innovate using local resources for the good of the state. It gives people hope for the future.ā€

theme leader for biofuels and biomass conversion at Conn Center, is working with , assistant professor of chemical engineering in the Speed School, and undergraduate and graduate students to find uses for hurd, the inner core of the hemp plant stem, which is a by-product after the outer fibers of the hemp are removed. Hurd has potential for use in fuels, chemicals and polymers.

ā€œWeā€™ve been amazed at this research direction,ā€ said Hank Conn, center benefactor and board member. ā€œSo many people have expressed their support, particularly the students. They really see the vast potential of industrial hemp and related crops for providing a revitalized economy that could be unprecedented for the state. Inspiring future generations is what we have always hoped to do.ā€

Support for this program comes from Hank and Rebecca Conn, who recognize the value of the centerā€™s research to stimulate the bioeconomy. Currently, the Conn Center is pursuing three hemp-to-energy directions:

• Convert hemp into high value, functionalized carbons, with applications such as catalyst supports and energy storage media
• Transform hemp seed oil into biocompatible resins for 3-D printed medical implants
• Extract sugars from hemp and convert them into diesel additives and other valuable chemicals

These projects include four faculty and four student and post-doctoral researchers. In less than a year, their work has resulted in two invention disclosures with patents and publications to follow.

More about the planting is available in the video below:Ģż

In partnership with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the University of Kentucky Agriculture Department, UofL researchers have planted hemp in a 40-by-40-foot plot adjacent to the center offices in The Phoenix House on the Belknap Campus. Nearby plots will be planted with switchgrass and kenaf, two other plants that have similar potential as fuels.

Unlike its better-known relative, marijuana, industrial hemp has none of the chemicals that produce a ā€œhighā€ for its users, making it worthless as a recreational drug. The hemp plant does, however, boast long, dense fibers that already are proving valuable in some manufacturing applications. It also has a woody core that may be effective once compressed as a supplement to or replacement for fossil fuels.

Research will be carried out by Jagannadh Satyavolu, biofuels theme leader at the Conn Center; Noppodon Sathitsuksanoh, assistant professor of chemical engineering; and Eric Berson, associate professor of chemical engineering.

Seven other Kentucky universities are conducting research on hemp, but UofL is the only one focusing on the plant as a fuel resource.

ā€œHemp is cleaner and cheaper to produce than coal, oil or other resources,ā€ said Mahendra Sunkara, professor of chemical engineering and director of the Conn Center. ā€œIt could solve many of the nationā€™s future energy needs while providing a new, lucrative cash crop for Kentuckyā€™s farmers.ā€

In addition to using the plot for research, the Conn Center will use the planting to educate the public on the uses for and benefits of industrial hemp.

ā€œWe want to eliminate the stigma that is attached to hemp,ā€ said Andrew Marsh, the centerā€™s assistant director. ā€œWhen people learn the characteristics of the crop and understand its potential for economic development, we think they will become advocates for its production.ā€

Photos of the hemp plots are .Ģż

The solar-powered Phoenix House was the UofL-Ball State University entry at the 2013 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon in Los Angeles, where it won the affordability challenge. It is now located on the Belknap Campus in the J.B. Speed School of Engineering complex, and it is being converted into the administrative offices of the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research.

The house also will be the Conn Centerā€™s ā€œliving laboratoryā€ for studying renewable energy and energy efficiency prototype technologies in conjunction with industry.

A ribbon cutting and dedication was held May 12 to celebrate the Phoenix Houseā€™s new use.

ā€œWe are hoping this inspires a whole other generation of students to go and address some of the critical general challenges in the energy arena that face this generation,ā€ said Mark McGinley, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Speed School.

Andrew Marsh, assistant director of the Conn Center, added that the new use for the Phoenix House ā€œextends its lifeā€ as it is transformed into a place that showcases the centerā€™s projects and its work with industry.

Check out a video about the Phoenix House below.Ģż