Connections that count
“It all started when a colleague from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab asked me if I’d be interested in serving in the ECS San Francisco Section,” said Marca Doeff, senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, recalling how she first came to ECS in the early 90’s.
“… I knew it’d be a great way for me to introduce myself, make connections, and learn what was going on in the field.”
“As a young scientist new to the area, I knew it’d be a great way for me to introduce myself, make connections, and learn what was going on in the field,” said Doeff.
Her answer was “yes,” leading her to become an ECS member.
“At that time, energy storage was not as wildly popular as it is today,” said Doeff, which is why being an ECS member was particular important, as it connected her to others working in the field.
This allowed her the opportunity to hear talks from people who were “leading lights” in the battery field, including Raymond Orbach, Stanley Whittingham, and Jeff Dahn.
“I got to talk to them in the hallways and in between sessions,” said Doeff, which she called incredibly insightful and beneficial to her career.
Today, Doeff still sees ECS as the premier society for finding out what’s going on.
“ECS is more than batteries. They focus on corrosion, high-temperature materials, dielectric materials. You can find stuff in your own field, whatever that happens to be. This wide scope is also great because you get to see what’s going on in other fields, too. Times change and research focuses change. What may be popular today may not be so popular 10 years from now, so it’s good to know what else is going on,” said Doeff, who today is the chair of the ECS Battery Division.
Looking back at her time involved with ECS, she says she really couldn’t imagine it any other way.
“I couldn’t imagine my professional life without the Society.”
“Everybody I know in the field, all my collaborators, are involved in ECS to some degree or another. I couldn’t imagine my professional life without the Society,” said Doeff.
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