Chemistry & Biochemistry
The Global Center for
Carbon Cycle (GC3) Studies
Funded by the National Science Foundation ( Office Of International Science &Engineering Award OISE2330509), the GC3 at the University of Maryland College Park will integrate insights from chemistry, chemical engineering, public policy, and materials science to find solutions that decarbonize our energy streams. Our center is multidisciplinary with the lead PI Prof. Efrain E. Rodriguez from Chemistry and Biochemistry, and the co-PIs are Profs. Akua Asa-Awuku and Ichiro Takeuchi from Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, respectively.
Our Mission
Rising CO2 levels in our planet have led to increasing temperatures in our atmosphere and oceans, which constitute an urgent global challenge. The GC3 takes up this challenge by addressing fundamental and use-inspired research to curb and decelerate the amount of CO2 released from fuel conversion and related energy cycles.
Our First Meeting:
The GC3 Maryland Meeting
The first meeting of the GC3 will take place in College Park, MD on May 29 to 31, 2024. During this meeting we will address the following challenges: are there ways to decarbonize our fuel cycle through technologies such as hydrogen production? What game-changing science can be proposed to curb the demand for fossil fuels? A related topic is on carbon capture, sequestration, and utilization.
Confirmed speakers so far:
Dr. Benjamin Afotey, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Dr. Craig Brown, NCNR, National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA
Dr. Hayden Evans, NCNR, National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA
Dr. Kenjiro Fujimoto, Tokyo University of Science, Japan
Dr. Hiroshi Kageyama, Kyoto University, Japan
Dr. Hannah Noa-Barad, Bar Ilan University, Israel
Dr. Mercedes K. Taylor, Chemistry & Biochemistry, U Maryland
Dr. Hiroki Ubukata, Kyoto University, Japan
Other invited speakers
Dr. Eric D. Wachsman, Director of Maryland Energy Innovation Institute, U Maryland
Dr. Yiyun 'Ryna' Cui, Research Director of Center for Global Sustainability, U Maryland
Dr. Michael Gozin, Tel Aviv University, Israel
The full agenda and speaker list coming soon.
Our Global Partners
Within the current design phase, the GC3 enables stakeholders from four countries to assess important topics impacting the development of use-inspired science that can directly decarbonize our energy streams. Innovation in this area is sorely needed, and global partnerships fostered by the GC3 seek the best science, policy, and engineering solutions for this decarbonization. The involvement of Japan, Ghana, and Israel in the GC3 brings in a wider perspective beyond North America. It is crucial that global challenges include partners in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and the Global South. The list of participants thus far include:
University of Maryland, College Park, USA
Kyoto University, Japan
Tokyo University of Science, Japan
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Tel Aviv University, Israel
Bar Ilan University, Israel
Our Venue
Located only miles from downtown Washington DC, the University of Maryland is ideally located for our first GC3 meeting. Our campus is easily accessible by three international airports including Reagan National (DCA), Dulles International (IAD), and Baltimore-Washington International (BWI). The university campus is accessible by Metro (College Park stop on Green/Yellow lines), taxi, or ride sharing options.
Our meeting will take place at The Hotel at the University of Maryland. More information on the hotel and meeting venue coming soon.