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![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ashley-rodgers.jpg\")
<\/p>\n Joe Gauthier has received funding from the National Science Foundation to study a
\n key element of producing hydrogen gas and improve STEM education.<\/p>\n
\t\tCREATORS<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Though hydrogen is becoming increasingly recognized as a promising energy source,
\n the U.S. Department of Energy attributes its lagging behind solar and wind to the
\n chasm in current capabilities for production and storage and what is required for
\n the future.<\/p>\n
Joe Gauthier<\/a>, an assistant professor of chemical engineering<\/a> who has studied sustainable and renewable energy technologies since arriving at Texas Tech University<\/a> in 2021, adds that hydrogen faces an uphill battle. \u00a0They\u2019re competing against a \u201cUnless we really make headway in making electricity much cheaper, it\u2019s going to be To that end, Gauthier has received a grant totaling over $600,000 from the National Gauthier\u2019s project, titled \u201cEngineering Earth-abundant and corrosion-resistant water Motivated by long-term environmental and energy challenges, Gauthier has focused much of his work<\/a> on sustainable technologies.<\/p>\n Since graduate school, Gauthier has specialized in catalysis, a method in which the More specifically, Gauthier leads his own Computational Catalysis Research Lab<\/a>, using computer simulations and numerous scientific processes to understand chemical A key method within the lab is electrocatalysis, which focuses on electrochemistry In water splitting, the negative electrode (anode) receives the current and releases The growing interest in water splitting as a means of energy production has grown But what will galvanize the movement toward this approach on a larger scale is making There are several catalysts for producing hydrogen that are abundant in the Earth \u201cOn the water oxidation side, the materials dissolve over time through mechanisms For Gauthier, who always considers the economic aspects of sustainability, this project Along with advancing water oxidation, Gauthier looks forward to progressing electric In thermally driven heterogeneous catalysis, where catalysts exist in a different The varying flavors, as he refers to them, of computer simulations used in his field \u201cA good chunk of this proposal, in addition to water and oxygen, is related to building In the same vein, the level of complexity still associated with electric catalysis \u201cIt\u2019s possible that you put three Band-Aids on a wound and maybe it\u2019s just not enough,\u201d A factor that attracted him to Texas Tech was the school\u2019s High Performance Computing Center<\/a>, a major resource not available at many other institutions that provides consistent Gauthier also highlights the potential for sustainable energy that exists in West The first is a project-based elective course that will prepare students for graduate For the latter, Gauthier will collaborate with the STEM Center for Outreach, Research & Education<\/a> and the Teaching, Learning, & Professional Development Center<\/a> for outreach to middle school students across the Lubbock Independent School District. \u201cI want to make sure the path into computational research feels welcoming and achievable,
\n fossil fuel industry whose distributors have had over a century to drive down prices
\n through engineering and economic development.<\/p>\n![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Gauthier-Joe-.jpg\")
Joe Gauthier<\/p>\n
\n really challenging to make these technologies economically competitive,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\n Science Foundation under the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER). CAREER
\n provides funds supporting five years of research, aiming to help emerging instructors
\n and professionals in successfully combining research and education.<\/p>\n
\n oxidation electrocatalysts,\u201d looks toward improving the process of water splitting,
\n in which hydrogen is produced via electricity.<\/p>\n
\n rate of a chemical reaction is increased with the introduction of an added substance,
\n or catalyst, that doesn\u2019t dissolve during the process.<\/p>\n
\n reactions and design improved materials for applications as catalysts.<\/p>\n
\n and involves reactions on electrode surfaces. Electrodes are electric conductors that
\n carry currents into non-metallic parts of circuits.<\/p>\n
\n hydrogen protons and electrons, producing oxygen gas in the process (water oxidation).
\n At the positive electrode (cathode), the protons and electrons recombine to make hydrogen
\n gas.<\/p>\n
\n significantly in parts of Europe and other regions investing heavily in alternative
\n energy technologies.<\/p>\n
\n it economically viable, beyond government subsidization. That was the mindset behind
\n Gauthier\u2019s proposals regarding the project.<\/p>\n
\n and last a long time. The same cannot be said for the other, laborious side of the
\n reaction, which primarily uses iridium and other platinum-group metals.<\/p>\n
\n that are really unclear,\u201d Gauthier says. \u201cThat leads to increased costs, because even
\n the most expensive materials we can use still dissolve over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n presents him and his team with the opportunity to preserve energy and money for more
\n than water splitting. Other reactions, such as reducing nitrate to ammonia or carbon
\n dioxide to valuable fuels and chemicals, all of which rely on water oxidation as a
\n source of protons and electrons, could also stand to benefit.<\/p>\n
\n catalysis to having the high-quality, benchmarked data other areas of catalysis research
\n rely on.<\/p>\n
\n phase than the substances consumed during or produced after a chemical reaction, density
\n functional theory is used to simplify the calculations of a many-body equation.<\/p>\n
\n come with degrees of accuracy and cost. Gauthier describes the issue in electrocatalysis
\n as \u201cthe blind leading the blind,\u201d when the results of a simulation cannot be predicted
\n based on an experiment format.<\/p>\n
\n out those foundations so we can be more confident in what the simulations give us,\u201d
\n he says.<\/p>\n
\n will pose challenges for the project.<\/p>\n
\n Gauthier says. \u201cMaybe there\u2019s 10 other things that also need to be solved before we
\n can really be confident in the solutions. But every Band-Aid that you put on is a
\n step in the right direction.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n access to both faculty and their student researchers without marginal cost.<\/p>\n
\n Texas and strong university leadership, but he has developed into an advocate and
\n an exemplary educator in his own right. He demonstrated this growth in his CAREER
\n proposal, including two planned education objectives intended to assist both undergraduate
\n and middle school students.<\/p>\n
\n studies in computational materials science by introducing them to topics in electrochemistry,
\n physics and more that aren\u2019t elaborated on in much detail in undergraduate majors.<\/p>\n
\n These events will feature activity-based projects that expose students to alternative
\n energy sources, such as hydrogen fuel cells, to attract more students to careers in
\n science, technology, engineering and math.<\/p>\n
\n especially for folks who might not have a centralized compute facility down the street,\u201d
\n Gauthier says. \u201cThe students we reach today are the ones who will push this science
\n forward tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Gauthier has received funding from the National Science Foundation to study a key element of producing hydrogen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[168,170,169],"class_list":["post-323310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lubbock","tag-lubbock","tag-lubbock-headlines","tag-lubbock-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}