For release: January 6, 2011
For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey, 901/678-2843

A research team made up of five University of Memphis professors will receive $1.2 million as part of a five-year, $20 million, 11-university program for research, mentoring, and outreach related to solar energy technology. The award is part of the Tennessee Solar Conversion and Storage Using Outreach, Research and Education (TN-SCORE) project, which is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF)-.

The professors are Yongmei Wang, Xuan Zhao, and Tomoko Fujiwara from the Department of Chemistry and Mohamed Laradji and Sanjay Mishra from the Department of Physics.

TN-SCORE draws upon the state’s growing energy industry and brings together researchers from Tennessee’s public and private universities and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to enhance energy-related research and education across the state.

The program has three major research focus areas: advanced solar conversion and innovation, components and devices for energy storage and conversion, and nanostructures for enhancing energy efficiency. “This type of collaborative research will allow our faculty to contribute their expertise in nanomaterials to help achieve the grant’s broader state and national goals,” said Dr. Andrew Meyers, U of M vice provost for research. “The award will also provide our students with new educational opportunities in university- and industry-based research labs.”

The U of M faculty members will work with the TN-SCORE team to facilitate the consolidation and growth of science and technology related to all three areas. The professors and their students will also participate in training and outreach activities and work with other TN-SCORE labs on research in the three focus areas.