Two members of the Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources (CISTAR) visited CINE between the 20th and 24th of March: Prof. Abhaya Datye (University of New Mexico), Director of International Programs at CISTAR, and Prof. Denise Driscoll (Purdue University), Director of Diversity and Inclusion.

Since last year, CINE has maintained a cooperation with CISTAR. Both CINE and CISTAR are multi-institutional engineering research centers dedicated to decarbonization technologies through different and complementary approaches. CISTAR brings together five US universities and is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). CINE gathers together 8 institutions from São Paulo state with funding from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and Shell.

The visit of the directors of CISTAR, which took place  in Campinas and São Paulo, included visits to laboratories, meetings, seminars and intense discussions. These activities fostered the deepening and expansion of interactions between the centers, both in scientific research, in topics such as catalysis and electrochemistry, and in inclusion and diversity actions.

“CISTAR researchers now have a clear understanding of the functioning of the center and its laboratories, in order to expand the collaboration between CINE and CISTAR in complementary areas”, says  Prof. Fabio Fonseca (IPEN), who coordinates collaborations with CISTAR from the beginning.

The visitors offered two interesting lectures on topics of their expertise. Abhay Datye, who is a leading specialist in catalysis and electron microscopy, with pioneering work in the field, delivered a lecture on atom trapping in ceria-based catalysts. Denise Driscoll, a psychologist with extensive experience in issues of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), addressed the pillars of CISTAR’s education and inclusion actions.

The cooperation

The CINE – CISTAR cooperation is supported by FAPESP and NSF and involves three CINE research divisions: Methane to Products (M2P), Computational Materials Science and Chemistry (CMSC) and Dense Energy Carriers (DEC).

Currently, there are several works in progress, distributed in three projects on solid-state electrochemical reactors, operando characterization techniques using synchrotron light, and computational research tools. Two members of CINE, PhD student Sergio Damasceno (UFABC) and postdoc Tamara Silveira (IPEN), are currently at CISTAR doing research internships.

In September of last year, CINE members visited CISTAR. Prof. Fabio Fonseca and Prof. André Ferlauto (UFABC) were at Purdue University and The University of New Mexico. In addition, in November, Professor Denise Driscoll delivered a CINE Webinar about bias.