Pennington, NJ – The Electrochemistry Society congratulates John B. Goodenough on the occasion of his 100th birthday on July 25, 2022. John has been active with the Society throughout his career as an admired and beloved member, author, fellow, awardee, meeting participant, professor, and more. His unprecedented years of service to the scientific community are an inspiration to us all.
“At The Electrochemistry Society, we are fortunate to not only know John Goodenough, the great scientist; we also know John Goodenough, the great person. John’s 100 years of wisdom and experience—and his world-changing discoveries—have inspired generations of scientists and researchers and will continue to do so for decades to come. Thank you, John, for being a part of—and supporting—our community,” said Christopher Jannuzzi, ECS Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer.
From 1984-2019, John made some 45 presentations at ECS biannual meetings. Throughout his career, he published in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society, ECS Transactions, and Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters, including “Building Better Batteries in the Solid State” in 2020 ECS Meeting Abstracts. The Society recognized his distinguished contributions to the field of electrochemical science with the Olin Palladium Award, Honorary Membership, and election as a Fellow of The Electrochemical Society. Society publications and biannual meeting seminars celebrated John’s receiving the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (with colleagues and fellow ECS members M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino) “for the development of lithium-ion batteries.” His ECS publications are collected in 2019 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry. The Royal Swedish Academy of Science cited his JES article, “Phospho-Olivines as Positive-Electrode Materials for Rechargeable Lithium Batteries,” as particularly critical to the development of the lithium ion battery.
John states in an interview at the 2016 ECS PRiME Meeting that scholarly societies are essentially in the business of fostering partnerships to serve the community at large. He emphasizes societies’ role in creating space to convene the community to further scientific advancement. In that spirit, in May 2022, the JES and JSS editorial teams jointly published JES/JSS Focus Issue In Honor of John Goodenough: A Centenarian Milestone, a collection of more than 80 invited papers celebrating John’s life, legacy, and contributions to science. The guest editors said, “In his quest to understand, test, and ultimately engineer interactions amongst charge, spin, orbital, and chemical bonding in crystalline solids, John B. Goodenough transcended the conventional perspectives of solid state chemistry and condensed matter physics to create his own unique approach to describe physical properties in transition-metal compounds.”
Arumugam Manthiram (ECS Fellow and Lifetime Member and John’s close collaborator since 1985) delivered the 2019 Chemistry Nobel Prize Lecture on his behalf. In a JES Editor’s Choice article, he describes John’s unique personality. “He always has a purpose. He is thoughtful and curious. He is a good listener with love and respect for everyone. He is humble, and always looks for learning from others, including any student, even at this age… He has a high moral standard. His philosophy is ‘always be honest about what you do and what you say, and leave the rest to the Lord.’ He is a role model to everyone, not only in science but also in our daily life. He is inspirational to everyone.”
Congratulations, John, on your birthday. On this great occasion, we send our heartfelt wishes for continued good health and productivity. Thank you for your groundbreaking advancements to the fields of electrochemistry and solid state science, which enable the solutions to the grand challenges facing the planet.
The Electrochemical Society
ECS has led the world in electrochemistry and solid state science and technology and allied subjects since 1902. We are a volunteer-directed international nonprofit professional society advancing scientific theory and practice by publishing cutting-edge research, hosting prestigious meetings, fostering training and education, and collaborating with other organizations. Our robust global membership develops innovative solutions to the planet’s major challenges. Scientists, engineers, and industry leaders share pioneering scientific developments, exchange ideas, network, and expand research horizons at ECS biannual, co-hosted, and sponsored meetings. The ECS Digital Library on IOPscience hosts highly peer-reviewed journal and magazine articles and meeting abstracts from our distinguished publications including the Journal of The Electrochemical Society (the oldest peer-reviewed journal in its field) and ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology. The Society supports open access throughout its publications, launching two new Gold Open Access journals, ECS Sensors and ECS Advances, in 2022.
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