CMU Students, Scientists Reserach Blackberry Power

One day, the lights in your home may be powered in part by the juice derived from blackberries. At Central Michigan University, a group of CMU student researchers and visiting scientists are hoping to make the connection by extracting dye from the berries in an attempt to create another means of harvesting solar energy.

The lab was part of a weeklong workshop at CMU that focused on alternative energy sources and applied electrochemistry. The research group included CMU students from a variety of academic backgrounds including physics, chemistry, mathematics and meteorology, and well-established researchers and scientists from companies and government labs that included NASA, The Dow Chemical Co., Dow Corning, Ohio State University, Texas Instruments, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

In this particular lab, they studied the dye found in blackberries which, when combined with other components, can absorb light and convert it into electricity.

"Solar energy is the future," said CMU graduate student Michael Lubitz. "This kind of research is vital. We are looking at new forms of energy."

Eliza Montgomery, a research scientist with NASA, said she works on large solar farms at NASA and was attracted to CMU's workshop because it offered research opportunities in electrochemistry in combination with both fuel and solar cells.

"There are huge implications with solar energy," Montgomery said. "At NASA we recognize this importance. We need to continue this kind of work to sustain our future."

Organized by CMU physics and chemistry assistant professor Brian Pate, the workshop also was available for academic credit.

"Central Michigan University provides an ideal environment for this kind of study because of its emerging strength in alternative energy science and because of the university's proximity to major chemical and automotive corporations that are retooling the use of applied electrochemistry," Pate said. "My hope is that this workshop contributes toward fostering an environment of innovation. I'm looking forward to doing this all over again next year."

To learn more about advanced materials research at CMU, visit http://www.cst.cmich.edu/sam/.

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