An "International Symposium on Materials Issues in a Hydrogen Economy" will be held in Richmond, Virginia November 12-15, 2007. The symposium will deal with fundamental science and technology issues related to the production and storage of hydrogen, its use in fuel cells, and safety issues. A central focus of this symposium will be on gaining an understanding of the interaction of hydrogen with materials. The objective of the symposium is to bring together researchers from the physics, chemistry, materials research, and engineering communities to share ideas and results, to delineate outstanding problems, and to guide future research directions. The symposium will also feature speakers addressing the issues of safety, education, and economics. There will be no parallel sessions so that the participants can take part in the discussions of all issues central to the hydrogen economy. The topics will include: Hydrogen production and delivery - nuclear, thermo-chemical, photo-electrochemical, photo-biological, and biomass; Storage - liquid, compressed gas, and solid state materials to include complex light metal and other hydrides, zeolites, clathrates, metal-organic framework compounds, carbon and boron-nitride based nanostructures; Fuel cell components such as polymer electrolytes and hydrocarbon membranes. Cross-cutting fields to be emphasized will include catalysis, nanostructures, education, safety, and economics.
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Unlike most recent conferences held in this filed throughout the world, this particular symposium will address specific fundamental science and technology issues relevant to advancing a national hydrogen economy. With participants from academia, government laboratories and industry, the symposium will foster an interacting environment where new ideas can be brought into focus and discussed. The participation of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and minorities will be emphasized. The papers presented at the symposium will be published for wide dissemination. A broader impact of this symposium will include identifying important scientific and technological problems and bottlenecks in all sectors related to the hydrogen economy, fostering collaboration between multidisciplinary scientists, and exposing graduate students to world leaders in this field thus enhancing their educational opportunities.
