Congratulations to Keegan Adair, winner of the 2020 ECS Canada Section Student Award.
The Canada Section Student Award is one of four awards in the ECS Canada Section recognition program. Established in 1987, the award recognizes promising young engineers and scientists in the field of electrochemical power sources. It is intended to encourage the recipients to initiate or continue careers in the field. The recipient is a student pursuing a PhD at a Canadian university in any area of science or engineering in which electrochemical science and technology and/or solid state science and technology is the central consideration.
This year’s winner, Keegan Adair, received his BSc in chemistry from the University of British Columbia in 2016. He is currently a PhD candidate in Professor Xueliang (Andy) Sun’s Nanomaterials and Energy Group at the University of Western Ontario. Recognition of Adair’s work includes the Ontario Graduate Scholarship and the NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship-Doctoral award.
Adair’s research covers a broad area of next-generation energy storage technologies with a focus on Li metal batteries. His work utilizes atomic/molecular layer deposition techniques to engineer nanoscale thin film coatings on electrode materials to stabilize their interfaces during electrochemical cycling. He also applies advanced synchrotron-based characterization techniques to provide mechanistic insights towards the study of next-generation battery systems. Keegan applied the knowledge he obtained during his time in the battery industry working with companies such as E-One Moli Energy and General Motors R&D. His work with industrial partners led to the filing of three patents related to battery technology. During his research career, Keegan authored/co-authored several publications in high impact journals. He is an active participant in his university’s ECS student chapter and has given oral presentations at international ECS conferences. His PhD work is expected to make contributions towards the design of next-generation Li metal batteries for electric vehicle applications.
The ECS Honors and Awards Program promotes technical achievements in electrochemistry and solid state science and technology. The program also recognizes exceptional service to the Society. Recognition opportunities exist in the following categories: Society awards, division awards, and section awards.
