Monday, October 18, 2010

Recent Editorial by Professor Bard

Folks, I recently came across this interesting editorial from Professor Allen Bard (UT-Austin). For those who call themselves electrochemists, Professor Bard is what we grew up with, his book being the bible of sorts. I therefore value his opinion and find the editorial very timely and apt. See below:

This guest editorial is by Allen J. Bard, a chemistry professor and director of the Center for Electrochemistry at the University of Texas, Austin.

The culture of academic research has shifted over the past 50 years from research evaluation based on teaching, creativity, and productivity to one based simply on the amount of money (often now called “resources”) raised. A number of factors have played a role in this change: the “business model” for universities, an increased willingness to accept greed as a virtue in our society and as a measure of success, and a desire for an easy “objective” measure of something that is otherwise difficult to quantify.

As a result, we have reached the point where faculty members are judged more by the amount of research funds they have raised, primarily from government agencies, than by the accomplishments that flow from the funding. Obtaining high levels of funding is considered not only desirable, but absolutely necessary, and I’ve been party to tenure discussions that have centered on this (for example, on the need for “scoring two major grants”) rather than on the quality of work.

It is possible to rationalize this attitude by saying that funds raised are a measure of how one is evaluated by one’s peers. The fact is, however, that the final decision to fund really comes from project officers who have often become remote from the frontiers of research and often fall prey to the fad of the month. It is also true that the best grant-swingers are those who are willing shamelessly to hype their research and their field—truth and modesty be damned.

The result of this cultural shift, as we have heard over and over from colleagues, is that one spends 70% of one’s working time writing proposals and seeking funding. Thus, not only do we operate under a model where highly trained scientists are almost immediately removed from direct hands-on research upon arriving at a faculty position, but now are also largely removed even from close research supervision of students.

As the system develops, the probability of being funded on any given project gets smaller and smaller, so one must keep writing and sending in proposals that have to be processed and evaluated by a growing number of project officers, but, alas, by a fixed number of peers. The agencies, forever seeking more funding from the government, also keep inventing an alphabet soup of new programs. These come with an increasing bureaucratic burden of accepting the funds, thus guaranteeing an ever-increasing time commitment by investigators.

A more recent and potentially even more damaging trend is a growing expectation by universities that faculty should help fund operations not only through overhead from research grants, but also through the generation of intellectual property (IP). Faculty is heavily encouraged to generate patents and find partners to license them, or, even better, to nucleate new start-up companies. To advance this agenda, universities are hiring highly paid administrators—with visions of Warfarin and Gatorade dancing in their heads—to head technology commercialization efforts. These are intended not only to generate additional funds for the university, but also to demonstrate to the public the “economic value” of the university to society. These kinds of activities have even been described as “critical to the mission of a university.” While such considerations have not yet become a major influence on promotion and tenure decisions, one has reason to fear for the future.

No wonder we have problems with attracting good young people to careers in academic science despite large outreach efforts. If working closely with students and doing long-term fundamental research is not the goal and money is the important thing, there are more lucrative professions than academic ones for them to pursue. I also fear that the perceived importance of money in science has led to a public backlash on issues like climate change and chemical toxicity, with the feeling that scientists are pushing these areas to get funding and not necessarily because they believe all that they report. This indeed is tragic

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Northeastern University Wins the Prestigious Princeton Review Green Rating

Northeastern University has been chosen to be among 18 select colleges and Universities for the Princeton Reviews Green Rating. In its third annual green review, 18 institutions received the highest score of 99 when measured for the following criterion:

http://www.princetonreview.com/green/press-release.aspx


1) The percentage of food expenditures that goes toward local, organic or otherwise environmentally preferable food

2) Whether the school offers programs including free bus passes, universal access transit passes, bike sharing/renting, car sharing, carpool parking, vanpooling or guaranteed rides home to encourage alternatives to single-passenger automobile use for students

3) Whether the school has a formal committee with participation from students that is devoted to advancing sustainability on campus

4) Whether new buildings are required to be LEED (environmental certification of equipment/appliances) Silver certified or comparable

5) The school's overall waste diversion rate

6) Whether the school has an environmental studies major, minor or concentration

7) Whether the school has an "environmental literacy" requirement

8) Whether the school has produced a publicly available greenhouse gas emissions inventory and adopted a climate action plan consistent with 80 percent greenhouse gas reductions by 2050 targets

9) What percentage of the school’s energy consumption, including heading/cooling and electrical, is derived from renewable sources (this definition included “green tags” but not nuclear or large-scale hydropower)

10) Whether the school employs a dedicated full-time (or full-time equivalent) sustainability officer.

Among the 18 institutions are:

Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ), College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, ME), Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA), Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA), Harvard College (Cambridge, MA), Northeastern University (Boston, MA), Northland College (Ashland, WI), State University of New York, Binghampton, Unity College (Unity, ME), University of California, Berkeley, Santa Barbara and at Santa Cruz, University of Maine (Oronoro, ME), University of Maryland, College Park, Warren Wilson College (Asheville, NC), West Virginia University and Yale University.

Congratulations to the people in the Northeastern University Sustainability program and their continued efforts to Green the campus. For more information follow the link to: http://www.northeastern.edu/sustainability/


Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Shanghai in July



Reached Shanghai for the 8th International Symposium on New Materials for Electrochemical Systems organized by Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Shanghai at this time of the year is steamy and wet. However the city never ceases to amaze me with the level of growth and sheer force of its development. Stayed a the Jianguo Hotel on Caioxi Road, which was very centrally located. Was received by Dr. Wen Wen at the airport, he is doing very well and at the present works as a staff scientist at the new Shanghai light source. He seemed to be well settled with all the trappings (car, apartment and socially as well). It was a good conference with a lot of papers and posters from students and postdocs, exuding the confidence and energy of China. I am posting some of the pictures which I took in Shanghai during my brief but enjoyable trips out of the hotel into the usual tourist places in Shanghai.
Most visited spot was in the bund area where the muddy Huangpu river bends with the very impressive sky scrappers over on the other side called Pudong. I have a video of this posted to show the impressive scale of the buildings. Nanjing road on the other side is the usual tourist area with shops and touts selling imitation stuff such as watches etc. Visited the famous bare M on the bund which is located in building no 7. Also went to the old Shanghai with its crowded markets and bustling commerce. One of the highlights was Dongtai road where amongst more quieter environs one could browse among the many antique shops selling exotic stuff such as the Mao's red book etc.
On the whole was a memorable trip, one among many to be made to this emerging economy.
See video a thttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAUvH7fAtBgReached Shanghai forthe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uldO_Tbk9zYational Symposium on New Materials for Electrochemical Systems organized by Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Shanghai at this time of the year is steamy and wet. However the city never ceases to amaze me with the level of growth and sheer force of its development. Stayed a the Jianguo Hotel on Caioxi Road, which was very centrally located. Was received by Dr. Wen Wen at the airport, he is doing very well and at the present works as a staff scientist at the new Shanghai light source. He seemed to be well settled with all the trappings (car, apartment and socially as well). It was a good conference with a lot of papers and posters from students and postdocs, exuding the confidence and energy of China. I am posting some of the pictures which I took in Shanghai during my brief but enjoyable trips out of the hotel into the usual tourist places in Shanghai.
Most visited spot was in the bund area where the muddy Huangpu river bends with the very impressive sky scrappers over on the other side called Pudong. I have a video of this posted to show the impressive scale of the buildings. Nanjing road on the other side is the usual tourist area with shops and touts selling imitation stuff such as watches etc. Visited the famous bare M on the bund which is located in building no 7. Also went to the old Shanghai with its crowded markets and bustling commerce. One of the highlights was Dongtai road where amongst more quieter environs one could browse among the many antique shops selling exotic stuff such as the Mao's red book etc.
On the whole was a memorable trip, one among many to be made to this emerging economy.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

NUCRET Energy Challenges for the New Millennium

Welcome!

NUCRET (The Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy Technology) is pleased to present the Symposium on Energy Challenges for the New Millennium, April 27 - April 29, 2009.

The symposium will feature:

- Dr. Abdul Kalam, Hon. Former President of India
- Prof. John Holdren, Science Advisor to President Barack Obama
- Dr. Radha Jalan, CEO of Electrochem. Inc

and many other influential speakers. The events, forums and lectures, are **OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FOR FREE!**

Please use the links on the right to view our events schedule, register for events, learn about our Center, find information about parking and registration, or contact us with questions.


Monday, April 27: Policy and Entrepreneurship Forums
Highlights will include a remarks by Dr. Abdul Kalam, Hon. Former President of India; Prof. John Holdren, Science Advisor to President Barack Obama; and Ms. Radha Jalan, CEO of Electrochem, Inc. More>>

Tuesday, April 28: High School Outreach Event with MOS
On Tuesday, NUCRET and the Museum of Science will host an event for an invited group of local high school science students. Learn More about Tuesday's Outreach Event>>

Wednesday, April 29 - Scientific Sessions
Wednesday's Scientific Sessions will feature 13 outstanding international speakers on the topic of "Materials Challenges for Clean Energy in the New Millennium." More>>

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Joe's e-mail

Dear All,

Happy new year! By the way, does Joe has a private e-mail account? I sent him an e-mail to his neu account, however it was bounced back. Please let me know if possible. Thanks!

Best,
Wen

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The amounts of funding opportunities in the final Stimulus Bill

· Renewable Energy Loan Guarantees: $6 billion for loans for renewable energy power generation (think wind, tide, and solar) and transmission projects.

Local Government Energy Efficiency Grants: $6.3 billion to help state and local governments make investments that make them more energy efficient and reduce carbon emissions.

Energy Efficiency Housing Retrofits: $250 million for a new program to upgrade HUD sponsored low-income housing to increase energy efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and furnaces. Funds will be competitively awarded.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Research: $2.5 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities to foster energy independence, reduce carbon emissions, and cut utility bills. Funds are awarded on a competitive basis to universities, companies, and national laboratories.

Advanced Battery Grants: $2 billion for the Advanced Battery Grants Program, to support U.S. manufacturers of advanced vehicle batteries and battery systems. America should lead the world in transforming the way automobiles are powered.

Home Weatherization: $5 billion to help low-income families reduce their energy costs by weatherizing their homes and make our country more energy efficient.

Smart Appliances: $300 million to provide consumers with rebates for buying energy efficient Energy Star products to replace old appliances, which will lower energy bills.

Electric Transportation: $400 million for a new grant program to encourage electric vehicle technologies.

Alternative Buses and Trucks: $300 million to help state and local governments purchase efficient alternative fuel vehicles to reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions.

Diesel Emissions Reduction: $300 million for grants and loans to state and local governments for projects that reduce diesel emissions, benefiting public health and reducing global warming. This includes technologies to retrofit emission exhaust systems on school buses, replace engines and vehicles, and establish anti-idling programs. Last year EPA was able to fund only 27% of the applications received.

Training for Green Jobs: $500 million to prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy fields.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

SSRF EXAFS

Hopefully, I can catch for this event too! I'm looking forward for it.

It was a pity that I have not taken any pictures of Qinggang and his lovely wife. They were just too busy these days and are hopping around among 4-5 cities. However, indeed, I can tell that, both of them are pretty happy!

By the way, the EXAFS group (two professors) will launch at Boston pretty soon. (Jan. 8th ).