The
Chemical
Engineering
department’s
newest
Associate
Professor,
Aiping
Yu,
has
been
awarded
a
Natural
Sciences
and
Engineering
Research
Council
of
Canada
(NSERC)
Strategic
Partnership
Grant
for
her
research
into
advanced
"Graphene
fiber
based
supercapacitors".
The NSERC grant supports collaboration between academia and industry on research that will lead to innovation and commercialization. Yu is working with Grafoid Inc. and Microbonds Inc. on wearable electronics that provide an interface between portable devices and the people who wear them.
This exciting new area of technological innovation depends on supercapacitators to store and discharge large amounts of electrical energy. Wearable supercapacitors have faced technical barriers associated with energy density and flexibility.
Yu is attempting to solve those problems through the use of graphene fiber materials that are flexible, have a high surface area, and hold electronic conductivity properties. Her research is intended to provide the novel design and performance improvement needed to support the creation of wearable technologies, including electronics and healthcare devices.
Seven
researchers
at
the
University
of
Waterloo
are
receiving
more
than
$3.9
million
to
collaborate
with
Canadian-based
companies
and
government
organizations
on
strategic
research
projects.