Organization

ASU’s commitment to sustainability research and education is reflected in several recent faculty hires: two were hired in bio-energy (Life Sciences), and the dean has authorized a faculty search in PV (SOM) and another that includes fuel cells (ChemEng) in 2007-2008. There is also a strong university-wide support base for the MRSEC.  Some links currently exist and others are planned.
• The ASU Energy Research Institute (AERI), formed this summer, is committing $1M per year internal research money into renewable energy. Two of its five centers are dedicated to activities closely related to the MRSEC. It is currently putting seed money into areas directly connected with IRGs I and III. Some preliminary results outlined in Sec. 3.3) were supported by AERI seed money; similarly seed money for synthesis of II-IV-V CPs (Sec. 3.1) was recently committed, and also in the organic polymer work through the Advanced Photovoltaics Center (Sec. 5.4).
• The MRSEC will form connections with ASU’s recently formed Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS), with particular emphasis on education and outreach, which will be of mutual benefit to the MRSEC and GIOS.  Within GIOS is the world’s first degree- granting “School of Sustainability.”  The MRSEC will help GIOS add science components to its undergraduate programs. The IRG II faculty are already a part of GIOS (affiliated with the Center for Photosynthesis and Bioenergy)
• ASU has two excellent shared laboratory facilities, the Center for Solid State Electronics Research (CSSER) and the Center for Solid State Science (CSSS), which provide access to a wide array of state-of-the art experimental facilities at nominal cost to the users. Newman, the current director of CSSS, and Ferry, one of the founders of CSSER, are our directors of the PV IRG (Sec. 3.1).  Facilities are available to staff and students at nominal or very low rates (Sec. 5.4)
• ASU has a large Flexible Display Center, and an Advanced Photovoltaics Center, which is now supported by internal money.  It houses research in organic materials for electronics applications, and provides additional support for the members of the organics PV seed. (Sec. 5.4).
• Extensive computational facilities are available through the Fulton High Performance Computing Initiative (HPCI) to staff and students. Access is free to each PI for approximately the first 50,000 CPU-hours; further access can be bought at the nominal rate of $0.25/CPU-hour.
• ASU has also has the newly formed the Institute for Nanoelectronics, one branch of which is the Center for Computational Nanoscience (CCN). This center will support the MRSEC mission’s theory and modeling component: it has committed funds to the some of the algorithmic developments needed for this MRSEC (footnote, IRG-1, p4).
• ASU has a well regarded Center for Nanotechnology in Society (CNS), currently funded by NSF at about $5M/year.  One of its missions is to evaluate the implications of nascent technologies for society.  Successful outcomes of the research envisioned in this program will have profound implications for society.  We will coordinate with this center, informing them of our progress, and getting guidance about the relevance of this work to society.
• ASU also has contributed internal support by relieving the prospective MRSEC director of teaching duties to prepare this proposal. It will continue this practice should the MRSEC be funded.