Curtis P. Berlinguette

Curtis P. Berlinguette is a professor of chemistry.[1] and chemical and biological engineering[2] at the University of British Columbia. He is also a CIFAR Program co-director,[3] a principal investigator at the Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute,[4] and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.[5][6] His academic research group designs and builds electrochemical reactors for:

  • Reactive CO2 capture[7] (featured in the Globe and Mail[8]);
  • Electro-catalytic hydrogenation;[9] and
  • Low-temperature nuclear fusion[10] (featured in Nature News,[11] National Geographic,[12] Financial Times,[13] Interesting Engineering,[14] T-Net[15]).
Curtis P. Berlinguette
OccupationProfessor & CEO
Academic background
Alma materTexas A&M University
University of Alberta
ThesisNanomagnetic molecular materials based on the hexacyanometallate building block: the preparation and characterization of high-spin cluster and chain compounds (2005)
Doctoral advisorProfessor Kim R. Dunbar
Other advisorsProfessor Richard H. Holm
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of British Columbia
Main interestsCO2 capture and conversion

Electrification of the chemicals industry
Nuclear fusion
Carbon-neutral building materials

Flexible automation
Websiteberlinguettegroup.com

His research group also builds self-driving laboratories that combine flexible automation and artificial intelligence[16][17] (featured in Science Magazine.[18])

Berlinguette is the CEO and co-founder of Miru Smart Technologies, a company that commercializes electrochromic windows.[19][20]

Education and career

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Berlinguette completed his BSc at the University of Alberta in 2000, and his PhD in inorganic chemistry at Texas A&M University in 2004 under the supervision of Professor Kim R. Dunbar.[21][22] He then completed his postdoctoral studies at Harvard University under Professor Richard H. Holm.[23] Berlinguette started his independent career in the Department of Chemistry and The Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment & Economy at the University of Calgary in 2006 before moving his program to the University of British Columbia in 2013.[24]

Start-up companies

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In 2011 Berlinguette with Simon Trudel co-founded FireWater Fuel Corp. in an attempt to commercialize their patented catalyst technology[25] for green hydrogen production.[26]

In 2016 the FireWater Fuel Corp. has been renamed to Click Materials Corp.[27] with a new goal of commercializing technology for production of electrochromic windows. Later, in 2020 the company has been renamed again to Miru Smart Technologies Corp.[28]

In 2024 Engine Ventures unveiled US based start-up company Sora Fuel commercializing technology from Berlinguette’s lab at the UBC to produce e-fuels.[29]

Awards, distinctions, fellowships, and memberships

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2021-Present | Fellow of the Royal Society Canada[6][5]

2021-Present | Distinguished University Scholar, UBC[30][31]

2020-2025 | CIFAR Co-Director (Bio-inspired Solar Energy)[3]

2020 | CSC Award for Research Excellence in Materials Chemistry[32]

2016 | RSC Alex Rutherford Medal for Chemistry[33]

2016-2018 | NSERC E.W.R Steacie Memorial Fellowship[34]

2016 | Strem Chemicals Award for Pure and Inorganic Chemistry[35]

2014-2019 | Tier II Canada Research Chair in Solar Energy Conversion[36]

2012 | Top 40 Under 40, Avenue Magazine (Calgary)[37]

2011-2013 | Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship[38]

Research Integrity and Controversies

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In 2024 comments on PubPeer raised concerns about several publications co-authored by Curtis Berlinguette. Allegedly, authors of those publications had declared no competing interests while intellectual property pertaining to the relevant technologies was subject to patent applications at the time of publishing.[39][40][41]

References

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  1. ^ "Curtis Berlinguette | UBC Chemistry". www.chem.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  2. ^ "Curtis P. Berlinguette". UBC Chemical and Biological Engineering. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  3. ^ a b "Curtis P. Berlinguette". CIFAR. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  4. ^ "Curtis Berlinguette". Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  5. ^ a b "Royal Society of Canada | Class of 2021" (PDF). Royal Society of Canada. 2022-07-11. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  6. ^ a b "Curtis Berlinguette Elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada | UBC Chemistry". www.chem.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  7. ^ Li, T; Lees, E. W; Goldman, M; Salvatore, D. A; Weekes, D; Berlinguette, C. P (2019). "Electrolytic Conversion of Bicarbonate into CO in a Flow Cell". Joule. 3 (6): 1487–1497. arXiv:1905.04580. doi:10.1016/j.joule.2019.05.021. S2CID 152282600.
  8. ^ Semeniuk, Ivan (2019-05-30). "Rival teams hail shortcut for removing carbon from the atmosphere". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  9. ^ Sherbo, R. S.; Delima, R. S.; Chiykowski, V. A.; MacLeod, B. P.; Berlinguette, C. P. (2018). "Complete electron economy by pairing electrolysis with hydrogenation". Nature Catalysis. 1 (7): 501–507. doi:10.1038/s41929-018-0083-8. ISSN 2520-1158. S2CID 103761400.
  10. ^ Berlinguette, C. P; Chiang, Y. M; Munday, J. N; Schenkel, T; Fork, D. K; Koningstein, R; Trevithick, M. D (2019). "Revisiting the Cold Case of Cold Fusion". Nature. 570 (7759): 45–51. Bibcode:2019Natur.570...45B. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1256-6. PMID 31133686. S2CID 167208748.
  11. ^ Gibney, Elizabeth (2019-05-27). "Google revives controversial cold-fusion experiments". Nature. 569 (7758): 611. Bibcode:2019Natur.569..611G. doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01683-9. PMID 31138927. S2CID 256768679.
  12. ^ Greshko, Michael (2019-05-29). "Cold fusion remains elusive—but these scientists may revive the quest". National Geographic. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  13. ^ Cookson, Clive (2019-06-04). "Thirty years later, the cold fusion dream is still alive". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  14. ^ McFadden, Christopher (2019-06-01). "Google Teams Up With Scientists to Investigate Cold Fusion". Interesting Engineering. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  15. ^ "Four Academic Labs Including UBC Partner With Google to Revisit the Cold Case of Cold Fusion". T-Net British Columbia. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  16. ^ MacLeod, B. P; Parkane, F. G. L; Brown, A. K; Hein, J. E; Berlinguette, C. P (2021). "Flexible Automation Accelerates Materials Discovery". Nat. Mater. 21 (7): 722–726. doi:10.1038/s41563-021-01156-3. PMID 34907322. S2CID 245134364.
  17. ^ Ho, Karyn (2020-07-14). "Building a Robot That Could Help Save the Planet". Research2Reality. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  18. ^ Service, Robert F. "AI-driven robots are making new materials, improving solar cells and other technologies". www.science.org. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  19. ^ Shieber, Jonathan (2020-05-13). "Smart glass manufacturer Click Materials inks major deal to challenge $1 billion-backed View Inc". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  20. ^ Chong, Barry (2021-08-04). "10 ways to green your home". thestar.com. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  21. ^ "Alumni Spotlight: CURTIS P. BERLINGUETTE, PH.D. '04 Dunbar Group". Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  22. ^ "Home | Dr. Dunbar". dunbar.tamu.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  23. ^ "Holm Group Alumni". faculty.chemistry.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  24. ^ "Curtis Berlinguette – Curtis P. Berlinguette Research Group". groups.chem.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  25. ^ US9433928B2, Trudel, Simon & Berlinguette, Curtis, "Electrocatalytic materials and methods for manufacturing same", issued 2016-09-06 
  26. ^ "Hydrogen production discovery inspires alternative energy start-up | News | University of Calgary". ucalgary.ca. 2014-11-21. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  27. ^ "Corporate Registry Notices -- August 18, 2016". www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  28. ^ Technologies, Miru Smart. "Smart Window Company Click Materials Rebrands to Miru Smart Technologies". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  29. ^ "Sora Fuel". Engine Ventures. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  30. ^ "UBC's 2021 Distinguished University Scholars | Vice President Academic". academic.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  31. ^ "UBC Applied Science profs named Distinguished University Scholars | UBC Applied Science". apsc.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  32. ^ "UBC Chemistry - Big Winners at the CSC Awards Banquet". University of British Columbia Department of Chemistry. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  33. ^ "Curtis Berlinguette Awarded RSC Rutherford Memorial Medal in Chemistry". University of British Columbia. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  34. ^ "NSERC E.W.R Steacie Memorial Fellowship". Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Government of Canada. 2016. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  35. ^ "Strem Award for Pure or Applied Inorganic Chemistry". Chemical Institute of Canada. Strem Chemicals. 2016. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  36. ^ "October 2014 Recipients List". Canada Research Chairs. Government of Canada. 2014. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  37. ^ Amusch, Shelley (2012-11-01). "Curtis Berlinguette, Avenue Calgary's 2012 Top 40 Under 40". Avenue Magazine Calgary. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  38. ^ "Sloan Research Fellows". Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship. 2011. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  39. ^ PubPeer comment on: Salvatore, D. A.; Dettelbach, K. E.; Hudkins, J. R.; Berlinguette, C. P. “Near-Infrared–Driven Decomposition of Metal Precursors Yields Amorphous Electrocatalytic Films.” Sci. Adv. 2015, 1 (2).
  40. ^ PubPeer comment on: Cheng, W.; He, J.; Dettelbach, K. E.; Johnson, N. J.; Sherbo, R. S.; Berlinguette, C. P. “Photodeposited Amorphous Oxide Films for Electrochromic Windows.” Chem 2018, 4 (4), 821-832.
  41. ^ PubPeer comment on: Cheng, W.; Moreno-Gonzalez, M.; Krzyszkowski, C.; Dvorak, D. J.; Weekes, D. M.; Tam, B.; Berlinguette, C. P. “Solution-Deposited Solid-State Electrochromic Windows.” iScience. 2018, 10, 80-86.
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