Chemistry Faculty Candidate Presentation: Jacob Tracy

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | Jacob Tracy, candidate for the full-time faculty position in chemistry, will give a public presentation of his research.

Organic Chemists – Unlikely Heroes in the Development of an Alternative Energy Economy

Mitigating the impacts of global warming requires a decarbonization of society’s energy production. Towards this goal, significant amounts of wind and solar energy capacity have been introduced into the world’s electrical grids over the last decade. However, an increased reliance upon such intermittently available renewable energy sources promises to destabilize these grids unless sufficient energy storage is available to balance electricity generation and demand. This presentation will discuss how organic chemists are contributing to the field of grid-scale energy storage through the development of all-organic redox flow batteries. The chemistry behind this battery technology will be discussed followed by a detailed case study exploring the rational development of a new class of organic redox-active molecules featuring both an electrochemically reversible oxidation and reduction.

To share feedback on this presentation, please email oliviabiro@bennington.edu.