Throughout the history of the transistor technological revolution, The Electrochemical Society has served as a platform for key inventors to present their research.

In December of 1947—75 years ago—William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain invented the transistor at Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey. The three men shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics “for research on semiconductors and the discovery of the transistor effect.” This invention heralded the modern electronic age. According to science historian Michael Riordan, “[The transistor] has enabled this global civilization. I would put it on the [same] level as fire, in terms of its importance to what modern life is like today.” In a recent ECS Interface article, Hiroshi Iwai and Durga Misra describe the process of the technological development behind the invention of the transistor, and discuss the meaning and impact of its invention on human history.

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Ion Storage Systems (ION), the battery technology company founded by ECS President Eric Wachsman, announced the initial closing of its $30 million Series A financing round. Clear Creek Investments, VoLO Earth Ventures, and Alsop Louie Partners led the investment. With the funding, ION will commission and qualify a battery cell manufacturing line capable of producing 10MWh/yr of safe, energy dense and versatile solid state batteries.

Ion Storage Systems

ION started in Dr. Wachsman’s University of Maryland chemistry lab with a $574,275 federal grant. The company’s high-energy dense, nonflammable solid state lithium metal batteries are safer, lighter, pack tighter density, tolerate greater abuse, and have reduced volume and weight. The new financing enables the company to launch a factory near Washington, D.C., and begin commercial production of the batteries. Aerospace and defense customers will receive the first commercial cells followed by development projects with multiple electric vehicle manufacturers, defense contractors, and consumer electronics companies. (more…)

Register now for the virtual workshop on May 25-26, 2021

Keynote speakers

Freeman A. Hrabowski, III
President
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, U.S.

Geraldine (Geri) Richmond
Presidential Chair in Science and Professor of Chemistry
University of Oregon, U.S.

Date

Tuesday, May 25-Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Webinar is open to the public

Information and registration
Agenda

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When the Washington Post publicized the launch of North America’s first all-electric, zero-emissions boats, they referred to an authoritative article on battery safety in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society. The introduction of two electric Maid of the Mist tour vessels at Niagara Falls heralds a new era in maritime travel. The boats, which run on dual banks of lithium ion batteries charged with hydro-electric power supplied by the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant, are a zero-emission operation. But are their Li-ion batteries safe? (more…)

Deadline for Nominations:  September 1, 2020

The Energy Technology Division Research Award was established in 1992 to encourage excellence in energy related research and to encourage publication in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society. The award recognizes outstanding and original contributions to the science and technology of energy related research areas that include scientific and technological aspects of fossil fuels and alternative energy sources, energy management, and environmental consequences of energy utilization.

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Call for Nominations

Nominations are sought for an individual or a small group of individuals (no more than three) who have made an outstanding contribution to the science of semiconductor electrochemistry and photoelectrochemistry, including the underlying areas of physical and materials chemistry of significance to this field.

The ECS Europe Section Heinz Gerischer Award consists of a commemorative plaque and a prize of EUR 2,000. If needed, financial assistance is provided for non-reimbursed travel expenses incurred to receive the award (not to exceed EUR 1,000). (more…)

Endowed by the Dow Chemical Company Foundation to recognize significant advances in industrial electrochemistry, the IE&EE Division New Electrochemical Technology (NET) Award is the only award in the ECS Honors & Awards Program presented to an organization. The award promotes high quality applied electrochemical research and development, and highlights novel electrochemical technology practiced at a commercial scale.

APPLY TODAY

Deadline: June 15, 2020
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In our series, The ECS Community Adapts and Advances, Netzahualcóyotl (Netz) Arroyo-Currás talks about his lab’s challenge as part of the pandemic response of Johns Hopkins Medicine, which is at the forefront of COVID-19 research. Soon after classes went online and labs were shuttered, his team shifted gears to quickly design a COVID-19 diagnostic device to help meet the urgent need to re-open work and study environments. Netz also reports that despite drawbacks, he finds that online teaching and learning has created good opportunities for developing, sharpening, and showcasing knowledge and skills.

Netz Arroyo Addresses Urgent Needs

“We were in full lockdown when the Provost’s Office called for internal applications to develop COVID-19 diagnostic tools. We had a week to develop an idea, form a team, put a proposal together, and submit it. Then came revisions and presentations. Within two weeks…my lab, in collaboration with two other labs, was awarded the funding to pursue the development of a diagnostic device that is electrochemical in nature. We’re in very early stages but…made a commitment to finish it in three months, in light of the pressing need.”

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On May 18, the ECS San Francisco Section presented Distinguished Seminar speaker Dr. Shirley Meng via Zoom to present her talk “Li Metal Anode – Advanced Characterization for Next Generation Energy Storage Materials.” The Zoom presentation was a great success, quickly reaching its maximum capacity of 300, and leaving those many participants unable to attend asking how they could later access the content. That content is now here and available on ECSarXiv! Log in to view Shirley Meng’s complete PowerPoint presentation here.

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