One of Nobel laureate Dr. M. Stanley Whittingham’s earliest memories of ECS (he’s been a member for more than 50 years!) dates back to receiving a Young Author Award: “…when I got a Young Author Award and went to the Shamrock Hotel in Houston, the reception was around the pool, and the Texas Rangers came on their horses. And that was amazing!”1, 2
Dr. Whittingham is Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science, and Director of the Institute for Materials Research and the Materials Science and Engineering Program at Binghamton University. He also directs the Northeastern Center for Chemical Energy Storage (NECCES), the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) at Binghamton.
The British-born American citizen shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of the lithium ion battery with fellow ECS members Dr. Akira Yoshino and Dr. John B. Goodenough. Since joining the Society in 1970, Dr. Whittingham has delivered more than 50 ECS biannual meeting presentations and has published extensively in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society.
His appreciation for ECS—which he calls “my best society”3—and his own experience as an award recipient may have inspired the creation of the ECS Battery Division M. Stanley Whittingham Mid-Career Award. When a PRiME 2020 event honoring his Nobel prize was cancelled because of the pandemic, Dr. Whittingham requested that the event donations be redirected to establish an award. The resulting award, which recognizes outstanding mid-career achievement and contributions to the field of electrochemical energy storage, is partially funded through these donations.
Find out more about the award.
The second Whittingham Mid-Career Award was presented at the 249th ECS Meeting in Seattle, WA (May 24–28, 2026). During the meeting, Dr. Whittingham delivered “Insights on Scaling & Application: From Lab Discovery to Real-World Devices,” and served as a panelist for “Translating Electrochemistry to Impact: Scale-Up, Deployment, Funding & Collaboration.” He also attended 2026 award recipient Yi-Chun Lu’s award presentation, “Material Designs for Sustainable Aqueous Batteries,” and shared a convivial glass of wine with Dr. Lu and Dr. Alejandro Franco, winner of the inaugural 2024 award.
About Award Winner Alejandro Franco
Dr. Franco received the 2025 Whittingham Mid-Career Award for extraordinary contributions to smart battery manufacturing, including developing pioneering digital twins that can optimize the electrode architecture and battery cell manufacturing process.
“Receiving an award named after Nobel Laureate M. Stanley Whittingham,” he stated, “is the most profound honor of my career so far. As one of the visionary minds whose discoveries laid the chemical foundation for the lithium-ion battery, he inspires my mission to propel energy storage into the future. By leading the integration of artificial intelligence, multiscale modeling, and digital twins in battery manufacturing, my group and I are bridging the gap between fundamental chemistry and industrial-scale production. This recognition is a powerful validation of our efforts to build the smart, sustainable battery factories of tomorrow.”
Dr. Franco is Full Professor at the Université de Picardie Jules Verne and Honorary Member of the Institut Universitaire de France. He leads the Theory Open Platform of the ALISTORE European Research Institute and coordinates the Erasmus+ i-MESC International Master Program (Interdisciplinarity in Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion).
About Award Winner Yi-Chun Lu
Dr. Lu received the second 2026 Whittingham Mid-Career Award for pioneering aqueous battery technologies with molecular crowding electrolytes, charge-reinforced membranes, and catalysts for polysulfide flow batteries, advancing safe and cost-effective electrochemical energy storage for global renewable energy adoption.
“Receiving the M. Stanley Whittingham Mid-Career Award is a great honor that recognizes our efforts in developing next-generation aqueous and redox flow batteries,” she said. “It reinforces our drive to create safe and low-cost energy storage solutions that accelerate the global transition to renewable energy.”
Dr. Lu is Professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Her research focuses on advancing clean energy storage and conversion through fundamental insights and innovative material design.
- Stanley Whittingham, ECS Video, May 26, 2026
- Whittingham received the 1971 Norman Hackerman Young Author Award which was presented at the 141st ECS Meeting in Houston, TX, in 1972.
- Stanley Whittingham, ECS Video, May 26, 2026