Research
The Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy builds on Northwestern’s renowned team science culture across engineering, natural and social science disciplines to accelerate the University’s contributions to the world’s sustainability and energy challenges. The Institute's work centers on basic discovery science and the translational impact of this research.
R&D pillars and cross-pillar initiatives
The Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy supports collaborative research in four R&D Pillars focused on the energy transition: Generate, Store, Transform, and Capture. Two cross-pillar initiatives, AI4 Energy and SCALE, accelerate discovery and impact across the Institute’s priority research areas.
Centers and programs
The Trienens Institute is home to research centers and programs focused on sustainability and energy. They are at the heart of our research mission, pursuing discovery science and cutting-edge research with the potential for global impact. The Institute provides core services for these centers and hubs, including business and research administration, strategic planning, and integrated marketing and communications. The Institute's agile enterprise framework provides needed flexibility for the rapid integration of future centers and hubs of discovery.
Lab facilities
The Institute manages an 8,000-square-feet, state-of-the-art Flex Lab space in the Technological Institute designed to accommodate a wide range of collaborative research projects. This lab permits the Institute to engage scientists, engineers, economists, and policy experts from academia, industry, and the public sector in global partnerships that provide pathways to prototype, test, and deploy Institute innovations to market. The GIANTFab Core Facility provides the equipment to manufacture and test thin-film devices without ever exposing them to air or water. The Reactor Engineering and Catalyst Testing (REACT) core facility is dedicated to aiding students and investigators in the advancement of understanding the chemical properties of solid interfaces used for environmental and energy processes.
Strategic Plan
The Trienens Institute’s 2021-2025 Strategic Plan strategy builds on the University's fundamental strengths and articulates a vision for the Institute.