With the support of the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Jacob Olshansky of Amherst College is studying the interactions between nanocrystalline light absorbers and metal catalysts for the photocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a promising carbon source since it is cheap and abundant and can be extracted from air or at combustion sources. Therefore, developing methods to catalyze the conversion of carbon dioxide to usable hydrocarbons is critically important. The current award focuses on employing light energy to catalyze carbon dioxide conversion into compounds that can readily be transformed into a wide range of useful hydrocarbons. A relatively new class of hybrid materials will be employed, consisting of nanoparticles and catalysts composed of earth-abundant materials. Experiments will focus on understanding the interactions between the nanoparticles and catalysts with an eye towards developing highly efficient hybrid photocatalysts. The investigations will involve undergraduate students in cutting-edge research that is both interdisciplinary and highly collaborative. With the support of the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Jacob Olshansky of Amherst College is studying the chemical and photophysical interactions between colloidal quantum dots and transition metal catalysts used for photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction. Quantum dots are relatively robust and offer size- and c