Faculty member gets grant to study energy

Mu-Hyun Baik’s research seeks to do nothing less than solve the impending energy crisis. \nBaik, an associate graduate professor of chemistry, recently received the Faculty Early Career Program Award from the National Science Foundation for his work in water conversion, which could potentially provide a viable source of energy.\nBaik has been using the element ruthenium to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen, releasing energy that could be used to power machinery. The ruthenium molecule as a catalyst promotes the splitting of water into its elements at room temperature.\nKnowledge of how ruthenium works is limited, so improving upon it as a catalyst is extremely difficult. Baik says IU’s computational resources have enabled him to develop complex models to advance his research.\nThe hope is Baik’s grant, which totals $555,000 over five years, will help expand his research.\n“We are currently at a stage where we are trying to understand what ingredients we need to have a robust and efficient catalyst,” Baik continued.\nDepartment of Chemistry Chair Richard DiMarchi called Baik “an extremely dynamic young investigator.”\n“I expect this award is the first of many he will receive in his professional career,” DiMarchi said. \nSubsequently Baik has become an Alfred P. Sloan fellow, an honor bestowed upon the finest young scientists in the country.\nBaik is widely recognized because of the dramatic implications of his research. \n“If we can crack this nut and come up with a better catalyst in the future, we will have solved the energy crisis and global warming problems once and for all,” Baik said.\nAt the present time Baik’s research is only in its early stages. \n“This is a tremendously difficult task, and we are still far away from having solved this problem, but we are making promising first steps towards this goal,” Baik said.\nHydrogen is an attractive alternative fuel because the final product of its combustion is water vapor. \n“We would fight both the energy crisis and CO2 pollution at the same time,” Baik said. “If we can make this all work, there won’t be an energy crisis.”\nIn reducing dependency on fossil fuel, however, “necessity is the mother of invention,” DiMarchi explained.\n“The stone age did not end because of a shortage of stone,” DiMarchi said. “I expect the same will be true of this age of fossil fuel, in which we currently reside.”