Course Overview

Course Title: Energy Materials for Sustainable Development

Relevant SDGs:  7, 8, 9

Credit(s): 2 Credits

Course Description:

As humanity’s hunger for energy increases, we are faced with the negative consequences of our species’ actions. Environmental pollution, climate change, and conflicts over limited resources become more pressing concerns. In order to satisfy the need of all people for energy and yet keep the planet in a state able to sustain human life, new solutions are required. Renewable and sustainable ways for energy generation, storage, and transportation may offer solutions to these challenges. In this course, various energy materials, their characterization, modelling, and application are explored through lectures and guided discussions. Additionally, a wider glance on the economic and strategic aspects of energy materials are explored, highlighting how a shift in energy generation may be accompanied by a shift in global power. In this way, this course will align with and highlight the Sustainable Development Goals of “Affordable and Clean Energy” (SDG 7), “Decent Work and Economic Growth” (SDG 8) “Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure” (SDG 9), and other related SDGs established by the United Nations.

Academic Team

PI:

• Dr. Milias Liu, Assistant Teaching Professor, UM-SJTU JI, SJTU, milias.liu@sjut.du.cn

Collaborators:

• Dr. Steffen Neitzel-Grieshammer, Professor, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, FH Münster, steffen.neitel-grieshammer@fh-muenster.de
• Dr. Joachim Breternitz, Professor, Faculty of Inorganic Chemistry, FH Münster, joachim.breternitz@fh-muenster.de 
• Dr. Matthew Wolf, PostDoc, Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, wolf@pc.rwth-aachen.de 
• Dr. Jolla Kullgren, Researcher, Department of Chemistry – Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala Universitet, jolla.kullgren@kemi.uu.se 

What skills will students get?

1. Understand the basic concept of sustainable development.
2. Understand the fundamental principles of various renewable and sustainable energy materials.
3. Assess economic and strategic aspects related to sustainable development in the energy sector.

Each student will receive an electronic certificate from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The credits (2) are transferable depending on the credit arrangements policy of the student’s university.

Mode of Teaching

Synchronous teaching with online lectures, group discussions, and a group project.

Grading

1. Attendance 20%
2. Assignments 30%
3. Final Presentation 25%
4. Final Report 25%

Course-specific Restrictions

The course is open to full-time undergraduate and graduate students of all disciplines from universities all over the world. Participants will need to attain a passing mark of at least 60% and attend at least 70% of the course live online, including the final presentation, to be eligible for the graduating electronic certificate. Students should refer to the course schedule to ensure their availability before registering. The course will offer a limited capacity. Participants will receive a confirmation email if their registration is successful.

Class Schedule

Instructors

Dr. Milias Liu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Dr. Milias Liu obtained his PhD in Physical Solid-State Chemistry from RWTH Aachen in Germany, focusing on the investigation of structure and properties of oxygen deficient thin films of hafnium oxide. Afterwards, Dr. Liu worked for a variety of companies in the application of material characterization techniques, ranging from combustive analysis to X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Besides his industry work, Dr. Liu obtained a master’s degree in business administration from University Kassel, where his work focused on sustainability and methods to improve the attractiveness of public transportation. Since 2022 he is an Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Michigan – Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute, giving courses in Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and Business.

Dr. Steffen Neitzel-Grieshammer, FH Münster

Prof. Dr. Steffen Neitzel-Grieshammer obtained his PhD in Physical Chemistry at RWTH Aachen University in 2015. He then became leader of a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group at Forschungszentrum Jülich. His research focuses on the computation and simulation of solid state electrolyte materials for application in batteries and fuel cells. He published over 40 research papers and book chapters. In 2023 he became full professor at FH Münster – University of Applied Sciences. His teaching activities focus on basic and advanced physical chemistry as well as characterization and modelling of materials.

Dr. Joachim Breternitz, FH Münster

Joachim Breternitz is a professor for inorganic chemistry at FH Münster University of Applied Sciences. His main scientific interests lie in structural studies on energy materials, notably solar cells, optical materials and battery materials. Establishing structure-property relationships and understanding the influence of the atomic structure on physical materials properties are at the core of his work. Before his current occupation, Joachim Breternitz was a postdoctoral research associate at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (2016-2023) after obtaining his PhD at the University of Glasgow (2012-2016). 

Dr. Matthew Wolf, RWTH Aachen University

Dr. Matthew Wolf is a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Germany. Following undergraduate studies in Physics and Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London, he moved to University College London to undertake a PhD in Computational Condensed Matter Physics, before taking up post-doctoral positions at Uppsala University and then the University of Bath. His field of research is the theory and simulation of functional materials, with a particular focus on defects and defect-mediated processes; charge and mass transport; and polaronic phenomena.

Dr. Jolla Kullgren, Uppsala Universitet

Dr. Jolla Kullgren graduated with a degree in Chemistry from Uppsala University, Sweden, in 2007, and received his doctoral degree from the same University in 2012. After completing a subsequent year-long Postdoctoral fellowship at the Bremen Center for Computational Materials Science (BCCMS) in Germany, he returned to Uppsala, where he is a researcher in the Department of Chemistry – Ångström Laboratory. His research field is computational chemistry with a focus on multi-scale modeling of redox active metal oxide surfaces and nanoparticles; the development of tools for parameterizing empirical and semi-empirical atomistic simulation methods; and computational spectroscopy.

Course Contact

Dr. Milias Liu (milias.liu@sjtu.edu.cn)