Physics Colloquium, October 2, 2003

The Hydrogen Economy: Opportunities of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology to Address Some Grand Challenges

Mildred S. Dresselhaus

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science,
and Department of Physics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

One of the Grand Challenges of the 21st Century is to achieve a sustainable energy supply. The 20th Century has seen remarkable advances in Science and Technology, resulting in expectations for a higher standard of living. This has required large increases in per capita energy consumption. Projections of per capita energy needs for the 21st Century indicate that new technologies for sustainable energy production, storage, and use will need to be developed in the next 50 years. The so-called hydrogen economy is one such proposal that is presently being considered worldwide. In this talk the requirements of a hydrogen economy will be discussed in terms of hydrogen production, storage and utilization, with emphasis given to the large gap between present science and technology knowhow and the requirements in efficiency and cost for a sustainable hydrogen economy. Opportunities for nanoscience and nanotechnology to narrow this gap will be discussed.

Additional Notes: Professor Dresselhaus is one of twelve active Institute Professors at MIT, holding joint appointments in the Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Dept. of Physics. She is also affiliated with MIT's Center for Materials Science and Engineering, MIT, which she formerly directed. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1958 on the subject of microwave properties of superconductors in a magnetic field. Professor Dresselhaus has served as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Treasurer of the National Academy of Sciences, and President of the American Physical Society. She is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Philosophical Society, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the IEEE, the Materials Research Society, the Society of Women Engineers, and American Carbon Society. She has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science and 18 honorary doctorates. She is the co-author of four books on carbon science. She recently chaired a major US National Department of Energy study on Basic Research Needs for the Hydrogen Economy.

3.30 p.m., Smith Laboratory, Room 1005

Refreshments served in Smith 1094 at 3:00 p.m.