The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland has world-class multidisciplinary research programs dedicated to advancing the frontiers of energy science and technology, with a special focus on forward-looking approaches for catalysis, energy storage, green manufacturing and basic energy science.

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry plays a central role in energy research activities of the University of Maryland with programs in catalysis (Sita, Vedernikov, Gutierrez), electrocatalysis and fuel cell research (Rodriguez, Lee), solar fuels and fuel conversion (Vedernikov) and battery materials (Lee, Wang, Reutt-Robey). Research groups are interlinked with other energy research centers including UMERC (University of Maryland Energy Research Center) and NEES-EFRC (Nanostructures for Electrical Energy Storage, a Dept. of Energy-funded Energy Frontier Research Center initiated and co-directed by Lee for advanced battery research, and including Wang, Eichhorn and Reutt-Robey as Principal Investigators). Energy related research in the department is strongly supported through federal funding agencies that include NSF, DOE, ONR, DOD and AFOSR. High-impact research in energy science has been highlighted in the popular media in recent years, and published in leading journals that include Nature Materials, Nature Nanotechnology, Nanoletters, ACS Nano, J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem. and others.