RSA CE&C 2015-2021

27 4. Major developments during the review period Before presenting factual evidence and narratives on scientific and societal accomplishments, several major external developments that impacted the department during the reporting period are described below. • The reorganization of the department (formally finalized in 2015) created a focus on two research domains: Molecular Systems & Materials Chemistry (MSMC) and Chemical & Process Technology (CPT), directly connected to the two master tracks in the education program Chemical Engineering and Chemistry as part of the TU/e Graduate School (established in 2014). Direct university funding, national Gravitation programs and sector plan budget created opportunities to enforce the expertise areas defined in the department blueprint (2015-2021) and described in the sector plan report. In the previous sector plan fund for physics and chemistry, budget was used predominantly to increase critical mass in both the research domains of Molecular Systems & Materials Chemistry and Chemical & Process Technology. Complementary to funding received from the TU/e research institutes of ICMS and EIRES, the most recent sector plan fund for beta and technology was mostly used for hires in newly-defined expertise areas, resulting in significant critical mass bridging the two research domains and expanding and enhancing our expertise in molecules, materials and processes. Additionally, the department invested in the strongly emerging field of electrochemical conversions and energy storage processes. Details on specific appointments during the review period are presented under ‘evidence’ further in this report and in Table 1 in Appendix A. • During the review period, the role of TU/e institutes has increased. The institutes bring together researchers from various departments in areas such as mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry and engineering to stimulate education and interdisciplinary research in emerging fields of science and technology. A large number of researchers of the department actively participate in the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS). This is well-visible in the focus of the institute: mastering complexity through a deeper understanding of how matter – both natural and artificial – self-organizes into functional molecular systems. During the review period, a new institute, the Eindhoven Institute for Renewable Energy Systems (EIRES), was founded that also strongly builds on the research and expertise of the department (see e.g., case studies 3 and 4 in Appendix B). EIRES brings together TU/e researchers working on materials, systems and processes for energy storage and conversion with a focus on solving fundamental challenges underlying the development of systems with the potential for rapid upscaling and market penetration.