Pennington, NJ – The Electrochemical Society (ECS) congratulates the recipients of the 2024 Colin Garfield Fink Fellowship and ECS Summer Fellowships: Dr. Maha Yusuf of Princeton University received the Colin Garfield Fink Fellowship; Raul A. Marquez of the University of Texas at Austin received the Edward G. Weston Fellowship; Courtney J. Weber of University of South Carolina received the Joseph W. Richards Fellowship; Po-Wei Huang of the Georgia Institute of Technology received the F. M. Becket Fellowship; and Ridwan Ayinla from Mississippi State University received the H. H. Uhlig Fellowship.
The Society supports students during the months of June through August who are pursuing research of interest. Postgraduate researchers/engineers apply for the Colin Garfield Fink Fellowship; students between the MS and PhD apply for ECS Summer Fellowships. Applicants must be ECS members enrolled in college or university. At the end of the award period, recipients submit a report on their fellowship project for publication in The Electrochemical Society Interface.
Colin Garfield Fink Fellowship
Maha Yusuf
Princeton University
In-situ simultaneous neutron and X-ray tomography of metal-solid electrolyte interfaces in Anode-Free Solid-State Batteries
Maha Yusuf is a Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment at Princeton University. Her postdoc research combines her expertise in advanced neutron and x-ray-based characterization with physics-based modeling and 3D manufacturing to engineer anodes for long-life lithium-metal-free solid state batteries. Dr. Yusuf completed MS and PhD degrees in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University with support from the Schlumberger Faculty for the Future Fellowship and Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence Fellowship. Her PhD research used advanced imaging diagnostic tools, particularly neutrons and x-rays, to understand the failure mechanisms of lithium ion batteries during extreme fast charging (XFC). Dr. Yusuf received awards including the 2024 ECS Energy Technology Division Graduate Student Award Sponsored by BioLogic, 2022 ECS Edward G. Weston Fellowship, 2022 American Chemical Society Chemical Abstracts Service Future Leader Award, and 2020 Stanford Distinguished Student Energy Lecturer Award. Dr. Yusuf completed a BE in Chemical Engineering at the National University of Sciences & Technology, Pakistan, after which she worked as a drilling engineer on oil and gas rigs in Colombia.
Edward G. Weston Fellowship
Raul A. Marquez
University of Texas at Austin
Understanding the effects of intermittent water electrolysis on transition metal electrocatalysts
Raul A. Marquez is a fifth-year PhD student in Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He completed his BE (2017) and MS (2020) at the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. Fellowships Raul received include the UT-Austin Provost’s Graduate Excellence Fellowship (2020-2025) and Mexican National Council of Science International Doctoral Fellowship Program (2021-2024), and awards include the UT-Austin Jeff Byers Memorial Graduate Award (2024), Royal Society of Chemistry Poster Competition 1st Place (2024), and 243rd ECS Meeting General Student Poster Award 1st Place (2023). He is the author of 21 articles (10 as first author) with an h-index of 11. Raul is the Secretary of the ECS University of Texas at Austin Student Chapter.
Joseph W. Richards Fellowship
Courtney J. Weber
University of South Carolina
Development of an Electrochemical Aptamer-based Sensor for the Continuous Detection of Stress Biomarkers
Courtney J. Weber is a second-year PhD student in Chemistry at the University of South Carolina (USC) where she completed a BS in 2022. Courtney’s research, advised by Prof. Olja Simoska, focuses on fundamentally evaluating and implementing label strategies for analyte detection, based on using nucleic acid recognitions elements at carbon ultramicroelectrode arrays, offering high reliability, enhanced sensitivity and limits of detection, reproducibility, and improved chemical specificity, for stress biomarkers in environments relevant to human health. She received the USC Copenhaver Graduate Fellowship (2022), Southeastern Conference H. Boyd McWhorter Postgraduate Scholarship(2022), and Joseph W. Bouknight Teaching Award (2022). Courtney has two published articles with two more under review.
F. M. Becket Fellowship
Po-Wei Huang
Georgia Institute of Technology
Investigating the Impact of Local Environment on Electrocatalytic Performance in a Bipolar Membrane-Based Membrane Electrode Assembly System
Po-Wei Huang is a third-year PhD student in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. Professors Marta C. Hatzell and Andrew J. Medford supervise his research, which focuses on advancing sustainable technologies and developing decentralized fertilizer through electro/photochemical approaches. Po-Wei’s received a Georgia Sea Grant Graduate Traineeship (2019) and he was selected as a Nakatani RIES Mentor (2022). The author of 11 publications (h-index 6), he has one patent pending. Po-Wei completed his BS in Chemical Engineering at National Cheng Kung University in 2017.
H. H. Uhlig Fellowship
Ridwan Ayinla
Mississippi State University
Investigating the critical role of cationic species in biomass-based all-green flexible supercapacitors
Ridwan Ayinla is a PhD student in the Department of Sustainable Bioproducts at Mississippi State University under the supervision of Prof. El Barbary Hassan. His doctoral research focuses on synergizing electrochemical processes and imaging microscopy to develop and understand emerging green batteries and supercapacitors from biomass. His waste-to-wealth approach aligns the renewable energy transition initiative of the US Department of Energy with the clean environment goal of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Nigerian-born researcher obtained his BT Summa cum Laude in Pure and Applied Physics at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology. He completed a first MS at the Universiti of Teknologi PETRONAS, then a second MS at Mississippi State University (MSU). Ridwan has published in several peer-reviewed journals and received local and international awards including the Petroleum Development Trust Fund Scholarship, Nigerian Senate Kwara Class of Honors Award, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS Graduate Award, and MSU Rising Star in Chemistry Award.
2024 Summer Fellowship Subcommittee
The Society thanks these subcommittee members for their time, effort, and expertise in reviewing applications:
Committee Chair – Peter Mascher, McMaster University
Committee Members –
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Oumaima Gharbi, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) – Sorbonne Université
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Junsoo Han, Sorbonne Université
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Joey Kish, McMaster University
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Patrik Schmutz, Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt (EMPA)
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Kody Wolfe, Ohio University
2025 Fellowships
Applications are accepted from September 15, 2024 through January 15, 2025 for the 2025 ECS Summer Fellowships and Colin Garfield Fink Fellowship. Learn more about the application requirements and process at the respective award websites.
The Electrochemical Society
The nonprofit professional Electrochemical Society has led the world in electrochemistry and solid state science and technology and allied subjects since 1902. We advance scientific theory and practice through publications, meetings, continuing education, and collaboration. Our robust global membership develops solutions to the planet’s major challenges. Scientists, engineers, and industry leaders share research at ECS biannual, co-hosted, and sponsored meetings. The ECS Digital Library on IOPscience hosts abstracts and highly peer-reviewed articles from publications including Journal of The Electrochemical Society (the oldest journal in its field), ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, and new open access ECS Sensors Plus and ECS Advances.
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