The SHArK Metal Oxide Combinatorial Photoelectrolysis Project began with Professor Bruce Parkinson's dream to find a metal oxide semiconductor material that can split water into hydrogen and oxygen using sunlight. As this dream materialized, Professor Parkinson realized that a combinatorial methodology was required as a virtually endless array of materials can be formed using the transition metals. From there, the idea to create an inexpensive kit to distribute to colleges across the country so that the approach could be done in parallel by several research groups grew. In 2008, the Dreyfus Foundation funded a proposal to create 10 such kits.