Research

SD-RET Research Project Example 6:

Sustainable Energy Generation and Storage

Research mentor: Dr. Alevtina Smirnova, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biological Sciences.

Lab Overview: This laboratory was sponsored by SDBOR in 2013 with necessary equipment for synthesis of the materials related to the fuel cells, batteries, and supercapacitors, and the equipment for their morphological and electrochemical analysis, assembly, and testing. Dr. Smirnova (PI) and a post-doctoral student are collaborating with the University of South Dakota and South Dakota State University on NASA EPSCoR ($750,000 for 3 years). She is also the institutional PI of the NSF EPSCoR ($1,000,000 for 3 years) for the project synthesis of high-value organic products from biomass and lignin.

SD-RET Research Project:The SD-RET RAs will work with the research mentor and the post-doctoral student on the development of Lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells. During project, the teachers will make a lithium-ion battery and test it, assemble a fuel cell and generate electricity, make a supercapacitor, and identify the materials that can be used for energy generation and storage devices.

The SD-RET RAs will gain profound understandings on:

the principles of energy generation and storage,
the importance of green energy for environmental control and protection,
energy sustainability and the ways to achieve it,
sustainable energy as a part of green chemistry initiative, nanomaterials for fuel cells, batteries, and supercapacitors, as well as their applications,
the importance of solar energy, solar cells and power generation, and advance hybrid solar- cell/battery designs.

Examples of alignment to the Next Generation Science/Common Core State Standards 3, 22:

MS-LS2-3: Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
HS-LS1-7: Use a model to illustrate that cellular respiration is a chemical process whereby the bonds of food molecules and oxygen molecules are broken and the bonds in new compounds are formed resulting in a net transfer of energy.