U-M and Shanghai Jiao Tong University officials last week announced the first six research teams to win funding for renewable energy and biomedical technology projects in a new joint program that teams up investigators from both schools.
The first-round winners were announced at a ceremony in Shanghai. At the same event, officials from both universities formally approved the joint research program, signing a resolution on collaborative research that commits each school to spending $3 million over the next five years.
Each of the six winning teams will receive $200,000. The projects were selected from 39 proposals — 20 in the biomedical technologies category and 19 for renewable energy projects — submitted by teams that include researchers from both U-M and SJTU.
“The research strengths of our two universities are quite complementary, so we are well-matched to work together on some of the grand challenges facing humanity,” says Vice President for Research Stephen Forrest who, along with President Mary Sue Coleman, attended the signing ceremony in Shanghai.
“Today we are facing human-scale problems that will require global collaborations that bring together the world’s best scientists and engineers,” he says. “The globalization of research is beginning to transform the way big problems are tackled, and the University of Michigan will be at the forefront of this emerging trend.”
The goal of the U-M/SJTU Collaborative Research Program in Renewable Energy Science and Technology is to develop new technologies that reduce global carbon emissions and their impact on climate change. The Collaborative Research Program in Biomedical Technologies will spur technological advances that improve human health.
Winning projects in the renewable energy category are:
• High capacity Li-air batteries for electric vehicle applications
Principal investigators: Donald J. Siegel, Department of Mechanical Engineering, U-M; Zi-Feng Ma, Department of Chemical Engineering, SJTU; Xianxia Yuan, Department of Chemical Engineering, SJTU.
Goal: Combine experiments and computational modeling to identify optimal cathode catalysts for Li-air batteries that could power low-cost electric vehicles with a driving range comparable to today’s gasoline-powered vehicles.
• High Efficiency Hybrid Solar Cells Based on Carbon Nanotube Enhanced Nanostructures
Principal investigators: Yafei Zhang, Research Institute of Micro/Nanometer Science & Technology, SJTU; Zhaohui Zhong, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, U-M.
Goal: Integrate single-walled carbon nanotubes into existing silicon and polymer photovoltaic devices to create high-efficiency hybrid solar cells.
• Large panel integrated light transmitting and solar energy harvesting façade systems for net zero energy efficient buildings
Principal investigator: Harry Giles, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, U-M.
Goal: Build and test a prototype of a new, high-efficiency “smart façade” for buildings that captures solar energy, transmits light, provides enhanced insulation and is capable of changing its characteristics through sensor-based interaction with internal building climate controls.
Winning projects in the biomedical technologies category are:
• Composite microfluidic nanophotonic sensors for rapid and sensitive detection of cancer biomarkers in blood
Principal investigators: Xudong Fan, Department of Biomedical Engineering, U-M; Tian Yang, U-M/SJTU Joint Institute.
Goal: Prototype a low-cost, palm-size diagnostic instrument that can be used in hospitals or clinics to rapidly and sensitively detect multiple cancer biomarkers using only a finger-pricked blood sample.
• Novel multifunctional endoscope-based medical devices for advanced diagnosis and treatment procedures
Principal investigators: Albert J. Shih, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Biomedical Engineering, U-M; Kai Xu, U-M/SJTU Joint Institute.
Goal: Develop an advanced endoscopic stitching device based on a super-elastic suture to enable endoscopic gastric bypass for obesity treatment and other procedures.
• Development of Acoustic Droplet Vaporization for the enhancement of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound therapy.
Principal investigators: J. Brian Fowlkes, Department of Radiology and Department of Biomedical Engineering, U-M; Aili Zhang, Department of Biomedical Engineering, SJTU; Jingfeng Bai, Department of Biomedical Engineering, SJTU.
Goal: Use the Acoustic Droplet Vaporization method to enhance the controlled heating of tissues during High Intensity Focused Ultrasound treatments. ADV-enhanced HIFU promises breakthrough advances — including reduced treatment time, increased cost-effectiveness and improved protection of sensitive tissues — in the field of thermal ablation of tumors.
The goal of the initial five-year seed phase of the joint U-M/SJTU research programs is to identify projects that have commercialization potential and that are likely to attract follow-on research funding from the U.S. and Chinese governments, as well as from industry. The renewable energy collaborations will take advantage of funding opportunities expected to be offered by both the U.S. Department of Energy and the Chinese government.
In addition to the renewable energy and biomedical technologies research programs, the two universities will offer grants of up to $80,000 to organize and host collaborative symposia focusing on major topics in the areas of renewable energy and biomedical engineering.
