Abstract:  First-principles computational approaches have emerged as a powerful tool for design and development of new energy materials.  This talk will focus on introducing our ongoing efforts in first principles modeling of energy storage and conversion materials.  In particular, I will present recent progress in our collaborative theoretical and experimental efforts to explore photocatalytic materials, especially the photocatalytic properties of bismuth vanadate that has received much interest as a promising visible-light-active photocatalyst for water splitting.  The effects of doping and structural phase transitions as well as the underlying mechanisms of photocatalytic water splitting will be discussed.

Bio:  Gyeong S. Hwang is the Paul D. and Betty Robertson Meek & American Petrofina Foundation Centennial Professor of Chemical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.  He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (with M.S. in Applied Physics) from California Institute of Technology in 1999.  Prior to joining the faculty of UT-Austin in Fall 2001, he was the F.M. Becket Fellow of the Electrochemical Society at the Max Planck Institute, Stuttgart, in Germany, and a research staff at the Materials Process and Simulation Center of California Institute of Technology.  His current research has a well-balanced emphasis on fundamentals and applications, ranging from first principles studies of surface chemistry, bulk dynamics and interfacial interactions to multiscale, multiphysics modeling of engineering problems encountered in the fabrication of energy, electronic devices.  He has published about 165 peer-reviewed journal articles, and has been granted 4 US patents.  He has received several awards and fellowships including: Lyondell Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Engineering (2007, UT-Austin); Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award (2005, NSF); and F.M. Becket Memorial Award (1999, ECS).