(2gk) Addressing the Energy Challenges of the 21st Century through Next-Generational Battery Chemistries for Safer, More Resilient, and Higher Energy Density Batteries

Owing to the environmental challenges and economic impacts arising from climate change, the energy landscape of the world is being transformed. At their heart is the need for innovative materials for renewable energies that can meet the current and future demands of the world’s energy consumption. These are the issues that I am passionate about and will tackle as an Assistant Professor to promote to solve the pressing energy challenges of the 21^st century. To establish a strong interdisciplinary research and educational program, I hope to actively work together with accomplished professors within the department and university to identify and harness the molecular phenomena to understand and design new materials for energy storage applications. Utilizing the insight gained from crystal structures, interfacial chemistries, and charge transport processes, I plan to design new energy materials for energy storage applications. Coupled with advanced electrochemical, spectroscopic, and spectrometric characterization techniques, I intend to explore electrochemical processes and kinetics as well as transport of ions. My research interests involve layered Ni-rich transition metal oxide cathodes, metallic lithium anodes, and halide-type solid-state electrolytes for applications in cost-effective, high capacity, durable, and safe batteries. I will start by i) eliminating the cobalt content of cathode materials; ii) stabilizing the metallic lithium anode surface; and iii) reducing the cathode-solid-state electrolyte interfacial resistance. Through these efforts, I intend to address the challenges associated with enabling next-generation battery chemistries with a focus on solid-state energy materials to improve the safety, resilience, and energy density of battery systems.

Teaching Interests:

I genuinely enjoy teaching and interacting with students. I have had positive impacts on students in both the laboratory and classroom settings as a teaching assistant and have also mentored and guided both undergraduate and graduate students in research plans and techniques. I am eager to teach core and elective courses to participate in curriculum development. Specifically, my teaching interests are materials, kinetics, and transport. As such, I would be happy to teach fluid mechanics, heat/mass transport, and kinetics for traditional chemical engineering courses but am open to teaching a broad range of courses as needed. I would also love the opportunity to develop new interdisciplinary courses in chemical engineering, materials science, and electrochemistry, titled “Advances in Sustainable Energy Development” and “Electrochemical Materials for Energy Systems.” The former would present recent technology roadmaps, government policies and regulations, industry trends about sustainable energy resources, and the latter would introduce materials properties and electrochemical behavior of materials used for energy storage and conversion systems. Lastly, I view teaching as a service to the community and plan to develop an inclusive classroom so that students, especially those from underrepresented groups, will learn in a comfortable environment.

Please note that my detailed CV, Research Statement, Teaching Statement, Diversity Statement, and Key Publications can be found in the Supporting Files. A tailored Cover Letter can also be provided if requested.