To recognize the innovative research gaining attention across the diverse span of its topical interest areas, the Society highlights the top five most-read journal articles in each area during each quarter of the year.

The most-read ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology articles by topical interest area during the first quarter of 2019 (January through March) are listed below.

Highlights are based on articles published since January 1, 2017.

ALL of the articles listed below are open access.

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Jason J. Keleher, professor and chair department of chemistry at Lewis University.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, nearly 7,000 laser strikes on aircrafts were reported in 2017.

“In cities like Chicago this problem is real as people are shining laser pointers on aircrafts during critical phases of flight, which is a big nuisance to pilots,” said Jason Keleher, a professor and chair of chemistry at Lewis University, who was approached by the aviation department at Lewis University to collaborate on a solution to this growing problem .

“Is it a bunch of kids? Is it accidental? Is somebody just like, ‘I bet you can’t hit that plane with those lasers.’ It’s really hard to identify who’s actually doing it. It’s a very interesting problem,” said Keleher, one he, the project’s principal investigator, was prepared to solve.

Keleher explains that although the lasers don’t cause permanent eye damage to pilots as they maneuver the aircraft, it does cause temporary flash blindness which may make it difficult for pilots to see control systems as they prepare for take-off and landing. He explains it is similar to the way high beams can disorient a driver upon direct exposure.
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Minkyu Kim is the 2019 winner of the ECS Korea Section Student Award

The ECS Korea Section Student Award was established in 2005 to recognize academic accomplishments in any area of science or engineering in which electrochemical and/or solid state science and technology is the central consideration. To qualify for this award, applicants must (1) be a student who is pursuing a PhD at a Korean University, (2) be nominated by a university faculty member and (3) be a member of ECS at the time of the nomination. (more…)

Help us understand how researchers assess the credibility of manuscripts by taking a short (15 minute) survey. The Center for Open Science is seeking graduate students, post docs, researchers, and academic faculty to participate in this survey to investigate the factors that affect the perceived credibility and use of preprints.

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The 235th ECS Meeting in Dallas, TX will feature six professional development workshops, providing attendees critical opportunities to develop and further their professional careers. These workshops are available to you whether you are a student looking for some help with your resume or a mid-career researcher looking for a refresher on team management. Don’t miss out!

Attendees can register by adding the session to your registration. Login to your ECS profile to add one today. For questions or assistance registering, please contact customer.service@electrochem.org.

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“Open data is the only way to move the world forward, learning from give and take to find new ways to connect the dots and have new insights, that is what electrochemistry has done already for hundreds of years.”
-Koen Kas

Koen Kas is a healthcare futurist, entrepreneur, professor of molecular oncology, acclaimed international keynote speaker, and author of Sick No More and Your Guide to Delight.

Koen is a professor of oncology at Ghent University in Belgium and chairs the scientific committee of the European Cancer Prevention Organization. He is also the founding CEO of HealthSkouts and partner at HealthStartup.eu, a social network of novel health start-ups.

You can meet Kas in person at the 235th ECS Meeting this May in Dallas, TX, where he will deliver the ECS Lecture, “Guardian Angels turning Sickcare into Healthcare.”

Listen to the podcast and download this episode and others for free through the iTunes Store, SoundCloud, or on Stitcher.

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ECS short courses are all-day classes designed to provide students or the seasoned professional an in-depth education on a wide range of topics.

Register online today!

Early registration ends April 22, 2019.
ECS short courses will be offered on Sunday, May 26, 2019.

These small classes, taught by industry and academic leaders, are an excellent opportunity to receive personalized instruction, helping both novices and experts advance their technical expertise and knowledge. (more…)

Sushanta Mitra, lead author, mechanical and mechatronics engineering professor at the University of Waterloo, and executive director of the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology.

“There are a lot of sensors that have been made, a lot of reliable sensors which work really well independently; however, the decision-making always requires a human,” said Ajit Khosla, sensors technical editor of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society (JES) and chair of The Electrochemical Society’s Sensor Division. Which is why the paper, “Artificial Intelligence Based Mobile Application for Water Quality Monitoring” piqued Khosla’s interest in particular.

“AI powered sensors are the future.”

“This is the first time that we have received and accepted a journal paper which involves artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, water quality management, and sensors,” said Khosla. “This work represents an example of one of those initial steps towards a smart technology driven sustainable society where data acquired by sensors helps AI make human-like decisions or human-like operations. Quantum sensors, quantum computing, and AI will transform the way we live and will play an integral role in achieving sustainability and a sustainable world. AI powered sensors are the future.” (more…)

Board Relations Specialist
Job Description

Reports to: Executive Director & CEO
Classification: Full-Time Exempt

Major Function

The Board Relations Specialist provides primary support for the Executive Director and elected officers of the Society. He/she assists in the selection, development, training, and management of volunteer leadership hierarchy and the overall administration and governance of the organization. In addition, this position is responsible for overseeing operations of the ECS Honors and Awards program. (more…)

Sheela Berchmans, CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute chief scientist.

Guest post by: Sheela Berchmans, chief scientist at the CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute

Sheela Berchmans has been an ECS member since 2012 and member of the Organic and Biologic Division and India Section since 2019. Berchmans’ areas of expertise include microbial fuel cells, nanomaterials for sensor applications, bio-assisted synthesis of metal nanoparticles, and electrocatalysis. Read her past work, available now in the ECS Digital Library.

Follow the latest research on electrocatalysis at the 235th ECS Meeting taking place on May 26-30, 2019 in Dallas, TX.

Electrocatalysis assumes a special importance as the applied potential at the electrified interface provides a tunable ∆G to the rate component. ∆G consists of a chemical and a electrochemical component (e-∆G0/RT e-F∆/RT), where the electrochemical component provides a leverage to control the rate of reaction. For simple nonbonding reactions, the rate of the reaction can be expressed as a function of work function of the metal catalyst. However, when bonding reactions are concerned, the adsorption of the reactants at the electrode surface determines the rate of the reaction. For eg, we take into consideration, Hydrogen evolution reaction, (HER) a typical prototype of electrochemical reaction.

The following reaction steps determine the rate of the reaction. The first step involves the proton discharge on the electro catalyst (Volmer reaction) which desorbs either through an electrochemical desorption (Heyrovsky reaction) or chemical desorption from the electrode surface as H2 gas. (2nd and 3rd steps) This reaction is known to be highly exothermic in nature.

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