The 2018 TomKat Center Postdoctoral Fellows to Advance Energy Storage

Three new exceptional researchers will join Stanford’s energy research community as TomKat Center Postdoctoral Fellows in Sustainable Energy. These awards provide two years of funding and are intended to support early-career researchers working on sustainable energy and its intersection with food, water, transportation, human health, and the environment.

Following a global competition, these fellows were selected based on their potential to make meaningful contributions to pressing sustainable energy challenges. Professor Stacey Bent, the TomKat Center Director, described how funding these researchers not only supports their development into experienced researchers and leaders but also helps build Stanford’s research capacity: “This year’s fellows share a common interest in battery research and plan to address important elements of the energy storage challenge while at Stanford. They plan to employ a variety of approaches as they work to develop the clean, reliable, and abundant energy systems of the future. We are excited to have this talented group join us at Stanford.”

Alexander Giovannitti (Imperial College London)
mentored by Professor Alberto Salleo, Materials Science and Engineering

Research Title: Recyclable batteries – Towards sustainable and safe energy storage

The goal of Giovannitti’s research at Stanford will be to develop a scalable recyclable battery created with environmentally friendly solution-processable organic materials. 

Abulaiti Hairisha (University College Cork, Ireland)
mentored by Professors Stacey F. Bent, Chemical Engineering and Alan Luntz, SLAC

Research Title: Novel protective coatings for battery electrodes by molecular layer deposition

Hairisha’s research will focus on the development of novel materials for coating lithium-ion battery electrodes using atomic/molecular layer deposition to enable higher energy density and faster, safer charging.

Che-Ning Yeh (Northwestern University)
mentored by Professor William Chueh, Materials Science and Engineering

Research Title: Understanding the Mechanism for Dendrite Formation and SEI Growth for Lithium Batteries

Yeh’s work at Stanford will focus on understanding the underlying mechanism of lithium dendrite formation, informing the design of future battery materials to produce safer, more reliable batteries.