Nocera awarded 2015 Leigh Ann Conn Prize for Renewable Energy

World-renowned chemist and professor Daniel Nocera, the Patterson Rookwood Professor of Energy at Harvard University, has won the 2015 Leigh Ann Conn Prize for Renewable Energy from the University of Louisville, which recognizes outstanding renewable energy ideas and achievements with proven global impact.

Nocera is recognized for two innovations that address the storage of energy until needed, the most critical challenge of widespread implementation of renewables. The first is his “Artificial Leaf,” a renewable energy device that synthetically duplicates the direct solar-to-fuel steps of photosynthesis. The second is a low cost, rechargeable “flow” battery for scalable centralized (grid) and distributed (microgrid) energy storage at the megawatt-hour (MWh) scale.

“Dr. Nocera is a world class scientist addressing the grand challenges of making energy conversion and storage more efficient and economically viable. The University of Louisville values his research, and we are proud that he is the 2015 winner of the Leigh Ann Conn Prize,” said UofL President James Ramsey.

The prize, managed by UofL’s Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, is named for the late daughter of Hank and Rebecca Conn, who are center supporters and the prize benefactors.

“Dr. Nocera is an astute global thinker working to bring energy to the world, especially in developing nations,” Hank Conn said. “This battery technology shows vision arising from highly diverse, yet targeted expertise. His work parallels the initiatives and scientific endeavors at UofL’s Conn Center.”