Dr. CAI Qiong from the University of Surrey, UK, visited Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter (FJIRSM) at the invitation of the State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry on August 25th, 2017. During her stay at FJIRSM, Dr. CAI gave a talk about multiscale modeling of energy storage and conversion materials, which includes: (1) molecular simulations to reveal the impact of the materials atomic features on sodium ion storage in nanoporous carbons, for sodium ion based batteries and supercapacitors; (2) 3D meso-scale modelling to underpin the multi-physics phenomenon (e.g. multiphase flow) and chemical/electrochemical performance in relation to materials structure/properties, for the purpose of 3D structure design in batteries and fuel cells; and (3) macro-scale modelling to predict and optimize the performance and operation of the devices, for hydrogen production. She also introduced her recent experimental work on anion exchange membrane fuel cells and lithium sulphur batteries. Challenges in multi-scale modelling and opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborations were discussed.
Dr. CAI Qiong was trained in materials science and engineering at Tsinghua University (China) and received her BEng and MEng degrees in 2001 and 2003 respectively. She went on to complete a PhD in 2007, at the University of Edinburgh (UK), with an overseas research scholarship from Universities UK. Between 2007 and 2012 she was a research associate at Imperial College London where she led the Modelling and Simulation work package within a four-year EU FP7 funded project. She became a lecturer in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Surrey in 2012 and was promoted to senior lecturer and Director of Postgraduate Research in 2016.