CI² fundamentally integrates educational institutions across the USA and with different sizes and types tightly into its research strategy. Seed funded by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, the team has been working to tightly integrate undergraduates not only from R1 institutions like Oregon, Stanford, MIT, and UCI, but also from less research-intensive institutions including Prairie View A&M in Texas, U. Mass. Boston, and Cal. State Los Angeles through regular science group meetings, collaborative center research, and team-based mentoring and training.

The core hypothesis is that by collaboration between these institutions we can create and scale pipelines of talented students with the knowledge, skills, and vision to be future leaders in electrochemical science and technology.

This effort thus aims to drive US technical leadership, with exceptional R&D training for American students across the US, for all aspects of important electrochemical technology that spans not only energy storage and conversion, but also interfacing biology with electronics, materials and chemical production, and separations materials refining.