Center for Materials for Water and Energy Systems (M-WET)

Director
Benny Freeman
Lead Institution
University of Texas at Austin
Class
2018-2022
Mission
To discover and understand fundamental science to design new membrane materials, develop tools and knowledge to predict new materials’ interactions with targeted solutes from recalcitrant water sources, provide fit for purpose water, and recover valuable solutes with less energy.
Research Topics
catalysis (heterogeneous), charge transport, separations, membranes, water, mesoscale science, materials and chemistry by design, mesostructured materials, synthesis (novel materials), synthesis (self-assembly), synthesis (predictive)
Materials Studied
Materials: polymer, electrolytes, porous
Interfaces: organic/organic, gas/liquid, gas/solid, liquid/solid, solid/solid
Nanostructured Materials: None
Experimental and Theoretical Methods
X-ray diffraction and scattering, X-ray imaging, X-ray spectroscopy, electron microscopy, surface science, molecular dynamics (MD), density functional theory (DFT), dynamical mean field theory (DMFT), monte carlo (MC), finite element methods, continuum modeling, mesoscale modeling, multiscale modeling, machine learning, data science

Partner Institutions
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- University of Texas at Austin