Debra Rolison, Ph.D., of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has been named Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), for having demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating and facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and welfare of society.
Rolison has been at the lab for over 43 years and heads the Advanced Electrochemical Materials section. The recognition by the NAI is attributed to the efforts made by her team’s inventions related to a new form factor for zinc anodes in rechargeable alkaline batteries.
Rolison is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Women in Science, the Materials Research Society, and the American Chemical Society. In addition to being the only woman to receive the E.O. Hulburt Award, she has received the William H. Nichols Medal, Department of the Navy Dr. Dolores M. Etter Top Scientist & Engineer Team Award, Charles N. Reilley Award of the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry, ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials, and Hillebrand Prize of the Chemical Society of Washington. She is the author of over 275 articles and holds 47 U.S. patents.