New, low-cost batteries designed to last for a million miles of use in electric vehicles? Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk says the public can expect just that from the Model 3 sedan, expected to debut in China late this year or early next. 

According to Reuters, the new “million mile” battery—which relies on low-cobalt and cobalt-free battery chemistries, among others—was jointly developed with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL). Reuter’s sources say CATL plan on supplying Tesla with an improved long-life nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery whose cathode is 50% nickel and only 20% cobalt sometime next year. (more…)

We’ve all been touched by the COVID-19 pandemic in some shape or form and have felt its effects, particularly, within the job market. For job seekers, it’s crucial now more than ever to use all resources at hand to increase visibility and exposure. For employers, having a way to filter through countless job applicants is just as important. The ECS Career Center serves as a source to help you connect and find exactly what you’re for! 

The ECS Career Center’s Resume Bank feature allows employers to search resumes in the Resume Bank and target candidates that match the criteria they seek. Job seekers, take advantage of this feature! Use the Upload Your Resume Feature to upload your resume to connect with a potential future employer. (more…)

The ECS San Francisco Section is proud to present Distinguish Seminar speaker Shirley Meng on May 18 at 1100 (PST) via Zoom:

Li Metal Anode – Advanced Characterization for Next Generation Energy Storage Materials

Shirley Meng, PhD
Zable Endowed Chair Professor in Energy Technologies and
Professor of NanoEngineering and Materials Science
University of California San Diego

When: Monday, May 18, 2020
Time: 1100-1200h PST
Join Zoom Meeting: https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/93893593041

Free participation; no advance registration required (more…)

“Good enough” are just words in his last name, but not ones John B. Goodenough seems to live by. The 97-year-old, widely referred to as the “father of the lithium-ion batteries,” continues to awe the battery field. According to IEEE Spectrum, the 2019 Nobel Prize winner recently co-developed a rapid-charging, non-flammable, glass battery.

The high capacity battery charges in “minutes rather than hours,” according to Maria Helena Braga, professor of engineering at the University of Porto in Portugal, who worked with Goodenough to develop the solid state lithium rechargeable which uses a glass doped with alkali metals as the battery’s electrolyte. In addition, the solid state electrolyte is not flammable and preforms in both cold and hot weather. (more…)

Krishnan Rajeshwar, past ECS president, editor-in-chief of the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, and a leading researcher in solar fuels, was recently featured on the podcast Conceptual Science where he discusses solar fuels, their chemistry, challenges, and prospects. Co-hosts John and Tracy Suchocki describe the interview as one of their more technical episodes—what better audience to tune in that ours! So if you’re into chemical reactions, particularly oxidations and reductions, this may be of interest. (more…)

The Electrochemical Society honors 2019 Nobel Chemistry Prize laureates, John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino, by the launch of a new collection highlighting their scientific contributions published by ECS. In addition, ECS recognizes their contributions in the winter 2019 issue of Interface, now available online.

Goodenough, Whittingham, and Yoshino have been deeply involved with The Electrochemical Society—as members, authors, editors, fellows, meeting participants and organizers, awardees, and more. Their publications with ECS, to varying degrees, trace the history of the development of the Lithium-ion battery, the revolutionary invention for which they shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. (more…)

John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino, co-winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, delivered their Nobel Lectures at The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 8. The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognized the three scientists’ seminal contributions in the development of the Lithium-ion battery. Goodenough, Whittingham, and Yoshino are longtime members of The Electrochemical Society (ECS); Goodenough and Whittingham are ECS Fellows.

The Nobel Foundation statutes require the Laureates to give lectures on a subject connected with the work for which the prize has been awarded.

John Goodenough had his pre-taped lecture delivered by Arumugam Manthiram on the topic of Designing Lithium-ion Cathodes.

Stanley Whittingham discussed The Origins of the Lithium Battery.

Akira Yoshino presented a Brief History and Future of Lithium-ion Batteries. (more…)

John B. Goodenough © Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

As John B. Goodenough looked on, his Nobel Lecture was delivered by Arumugam Manthiram at the Aula Magna, Stockholm University, on December 8, 2019. Both Goodenough and Manthiram are fellows of The Electrochemical Society (ECS).

Nobel Laureates are required to give a lecture on a subject connected with the work for which they receive the award. Goodenough videotaped his lecture, “Designing Lithium-ion Battery Cathodes,” before December 8, then invited Manthiram to present it in Stockholm. Manthiram added explanations and comments between Goodenough’s slides and video, concluding with a summary of Goodenough’s research and its historical significance. The three classes of materials Goodenough discovered—layered oxide, spinel oxide, and polyanion oxide—still remain the only viable cathodes and the basis for future development. Goodenough pushed the boundaries of sold-state chemistry and physics. “His trump card is using chemistry and physics to solve engineering problems,” said Manthiram on another occasion. (more…)

Join ECS San Francisco Section on December 12 for a presentation by Yijin Liu:

An Integrated Multi-modal X-ray Microscopy for Energy Material Science

Yijin Liu
Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Light Source
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Menlo Park, CA

When: Thursday, December 12, 2019
Time: 1700h
Where: Sakura Bistro
388 9th Street, Oakland, CA 94607

Free participation; $35 flat fee for dinner 

RSVP to sfsectionecs@gmail.com (more…)