Doctoral students Soumik Banerjee and Sayangdev Naha received The Best Student-Created Poster Award at the October 16, 2006 Deans' Forum on Energy Security and Sustainability held at Virginia Tech for their submission "Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes and Their Hydrogen Storage Capacity". In their collaboration, the two ESM students focused on carbon nanotubes that, due to their high surface area and capillarity and possible functionalization with specific metals, exhibit a large hydrogen storage capacity. Banerjee conducts molecular dynamics simulations to identify the compositions of promising carbon nanotube based structures that maximize hydrogen storage, and Naha synthesizes these nanostructures in the laboratory and develops detailed surface chemistry and gas transport models explaining their fabrication.

Like the the many other accomplishments of our faculty and students, this award again offers testimony to the high caliber research conducted in ESM and the professional development opportunities available to its students.

BLACKSBURG, Va., Oct. 17, 2006 – by: