Scientists at Energy Frontier Research Center win big awards

Scientists at UNC’s Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) have won big awards from the American Chemical Society.

The winners are professors Weitao Yang of Duke University and John Reynolds of the University of Florida.

The UNC EFRC in “Solar Fuels and Next Generation Photovoltaics” was established in August 2009 in the chemistry department in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences with an initial five-year, $17.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy. The center is led by director Thomas J. Meyer, Arey Professor of Chemistry, and deputy director John Papanikolas, associate professor of chemistry.

Scholars at UNC collaborate with colleagues at Duke University, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University, the University of Florida and Research Triangle Institute (RTI).

Yang received the 2012 ACS Award for Computers in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research. The award recognizes scientists who have made significant contributions in applying computational methods to problems in the chemical and biological sciences. Yang is a founding member of the EFRC.

Reynolds received the 2012 ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science. The award recognizes scientists who have made significant contributions to applications in polymer science. He has been an integral part of the EFRC polymers effort, as well as potential applications in next generation photovoltaics.

For more information on UNC’s EFRC, visit http://www.efrc.unc.edu.