The Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center ( ANSER Center ) is a joint research program between the Argonne National Laboratory and Northwestern University . Michael R. Wasielewski , Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern founded the ANSER Center in 2007 and is its current director. The center’s goal is to develop the fundamental understanding, materials, and methods necessary to create efficient and economically viable technologies for solar fuels and electricity production. The union of synthesis, measurement, theory, and engineering allows ANSER to create new energy conversion systems. As part of its $ 777 million effort to establish Energy Frontier Research Centers, Grants provided by the US Department of Energy will enable the ANSER “to analyze photosynthesis for ways to create more efficient photovoltaic cells and create hybrid solar cells that have both organic and inorganic components. . ”  
The ANSER Center was established in July 2007 and joined forces with Northwestern University (NU) and Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) with those of senior staff at Yale University , the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and the University of Chicago (UC) in molecular and nanostructured assemblies, materials, catalysts, and phenomena integral to solar energy conversion and storage.
The long-term vision of the ANSER Center is to develop the fundamental understanding, materials and methods necessary to create dramatically more efficient technologies for solar fuels and electricity production. The center plans to achieve this vision by designing and synthesizing new nanoscale architectures and studying them to deepen the understanding of basic solar energy conversion phenomena. The union of synthesis, measurement, theory, and engineering will allow ANSER to create new energy conversion systems. At the same time, the ANSER Center seeks to create and mentor a technically excellent workforce capable of solving energy-related problems far into the future.
The purpose of multi-disciplinary research the carried out by the ANSER Center is to Develop a Fundamental understanding of the: -Interaction of light and charged with molecules and materials
-Energy levels and electronic structures of molecules and materials
-Dynamics of photo-induced load Generation, separation, and transport with temporal and spatial resolution
-Interfaces for which charge generation, separation, transport, and selective chemical reactions occur
-Properties of unique materials, from self-assembly, bio-inspired materials for hydrogen fuel production from water to transparent conductors, and nanostructured hard and soft materials for solar electricity generation
Education and Outreach
The ANSER Center works closely with the NU-based National Center for Learning and Teaching in Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NCLT) to develop outreach programs to the science education community. NCLT participants include Argonne and UIUC, among others as primary partners. ANSER holds a position in the area of solar cell and nanotechnology research, professional development, summer research for science teachers, and year-round research with faculty members of partnering minority institutions. Solar energy conversion and web based solar energy conversion are currently under development. These will be made available broadly to the general public and the K-16 educational establishment.
- Argonne Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center
- Northwestern University Research Centers
- Jump up^ http://www.research.northwestern.edu/centers/centers_details/centers_anser.htmlNorthwestern University Office of Research
- Jump up^ http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/2009/091022/full/nj7267-1158a.htmlNaturejobs.com
- Jump up^ http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/05/05/energy-dept.-commits-777-million-to-energy-frontier-research-centers.aspxCampus Technology
- Jump up^ “Archived copy” . Archived from the original on 2009-07-07 . Retrieved 2010-02-08 . ANSER Center Website