STEM

SyracuseCoE Awards $180,000 for 9 Faculty Fellow Projects Supporting Research and Innovation

Thursday, May 25, 2023, By News Staff

The Syracuse Center of Excellence (SyracuseCoE) in Environmental and Energy Systems has awarded nearly $180,000 for the 2023 SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellow awards. These nine research and innovation projects are led by faculty members from Syracuse University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) and SUNY Oswego. The SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows program recognizes faculty members who demonstrate a strong commitment to interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the areas of energy, environmental quality and sustainable design with additional support available for projects engaging New York State-based companies. All of the funded projects were selected from a diverse range of faculty proposals received through a funding solicitation issued by SyracuseCoE earlier this spring. Since 2015, more than $859,000 has been awarded to support SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows research and development projects.  

“We are thrilled to welcome these outstanding faculty members to the SyracuseCoE community as Faculty Fellows,” says Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, executive director of SyracuseCoE and professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “Their interdisciplinary expertise and, in several cases, work with area entrepreneurs will be invaluable in advancing our mission to support the development of innovative solutions to human health, global energy and environmental challenges.” 

“The SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows program plays a critical role in advancing interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the areas of energy, environmental quality and sustainable design,” says John Stella, vice president of research at SUNY-ESF. “SUNY-ESF faculty have been supported with multiple Faculty Fellows projects, which target innovative solutions to global environmental and energy challenges.” 

SUNY Oswego is a long-time academic partner of SyracuseCoE. “We appreciate the support the Faculty Fellows program offers our faculty,” says Mary C. Toale, officer in charge at SUNY Oswego. “The program brings together scholars and industry from a range of disciplines across the Central New York region to address critical environmental and energy challenges facing our communities, and we are proud to support the important work being done by this year’s cohort of Faculty Fellows.”  

2023 Faculty Fellow Awards

  • Elizabeth Carter, assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University, “Operational Monitoring of Urban Flooding: IoT Integration for Flood Viz”
  • Ian Hosein, assistant professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University, “A Commercial Calcium-Sulfur Battery for Low-Cost, Sustainable Stationary Energy Storage” 
  • Jeongmin Ahn, associate professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University, “Development of a Gel Polymer Electrolyte Battery for use in Extreme Environments”   
  • Jiajue Chai, assistant professor, Department of Chemistry, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, “Characterizing HONO uptake and production potential on prototype indoor surfaces”
  • Mohammad Islam, department chair and associate professor, Department of Physics, SUNY Oswego, “Synthesis of Silicon Nanoparticles–Recycled Activated Carbon Composites as Anode Material for Next-Generation Lithium-Ion Batteries”
  • Quinn Qiao, professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University, “Higher Safety and Larger Energy Density Solid State Batteries for Electric Vehicles and Off-Grid Applications” 
  • Sara Eftekharnejad, assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University, “Development of a 120 Volt Heat Pump Water Heater Testbed“
  • Shalabh Maroo, graduate program director and associate professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University, “Laser Diode Thermal Management (LDTM) Module” 
  • Weiwei Zheng, associate professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, Syracuse University, “Functional Low-Dimensional Nanocrystals for Selective Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction”  

The awards were made possible by funding to support SyracuseCoE activities, awarded by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR).  

Story was written by Kai A. Volcy ’23, intern for SyracuseCoE Communications.