Janine Mauzeroll on balancing life under COVID-19

In our series, The ECS Community Adapts and Advances, Janine Mauzeroll reflects on balancing professorship and motherhood while home schooling and dealing with loss. Janine is Associate Professor of Chemistry at McGill University, Canada. She received her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin, US, and did her postdoc at the Université de Paris, France. Her research group studies electron transfer reactions using electrochemical and biochemical methods and scanning electrochemical microscopy to study transport events in and out of human cancer cells. Janine serves as technical editor for the organic and bioelectrochemistry (OBE) technical interest area of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society. (more…)

Chris Beasley and Gamry step up to today’s challenges

Chris Beasley is upbeat about the future while recognizing the challenges of the present. He is Marketing Manager in Electrochemistry at Gamry Instruments where he has worked for 10 years. Gamry Instruments designs and builds precision electrochemical instrumentation and accessories. Chris received his BS magna cum laude in Chemistry from Kutztown University in 2000 and completed his PhD in Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2010. 

Gamry is an ECS Institutional Member at the Benefactor Level. Chris serves on the ECS Sponsorship Committee. (more…)

Marca Doeff finds opportunities in tough times

Marca Doeff, Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL), is also Deputy Division Director of LBNL Energy Storage and Distributed Resources. During the shut-in, she works at her dining room table with a view of San Francisco Bay. She describes San Francisco without traffic, developing coping skills, and new research funding opportunities. A former chair of the ECS Battery Division, she is now Secretary of the ECS Board.

The pause that refreshes

“I used to commute to my office every day and complained constantly about the terrible Bay Area traffic. Now I only go in once a week to check on things and make sure nothing’s blown up. It’s ironic because there’s no traffic! I work almost exclusively from home and commute from the bedroom to the dining room. Working from home is not all it’s cracked up to be. I miss my routine and contact with my colleagues and post-docs. Although I meet and speak with people regularly through Zoom and other platforms, it’s not the same as face-to-face—but it is better than complete isolation. (more…)

Ram Manthiram urges the science community to step up

In our series, The ECS Community Adapts and Advances, Arumugam “Ram” Manthiram urges the science community to be proactive in confronting the pandemic and climate change challenges threatening the global community. Ram is Director of the Texas Materials Institute and the Materials Science and Engineering Program at the University of Texas Austin (UTAUS). He holds a co-appointment as the Joe C. Walter Chair in Engineering and Jack S. Josey Professor in Energy Studies. Ram’s research group focuses on the design and development of affordable, efficient, durable materials for electrochemical energy conversion and storage—specifically, batteries and fuel cells—to address global energy and environmental challenges. (more…)

Alex Peroff checks in from his home office.

Alex Peroff on staying the course

In our series, The ECS Community Adapts and Advances, Alex Peroff spoke to us from his home office. Whereas travel used to be the largest part of his job, now he focuses on developing content and meaningful communication. Alex joined Pine Research Instrumentation, Inc. as an Electroanalytical Scientist in 2016 after completing a PhD at Northwestern University. His thesis work was on mechanistic studies of pyridinium electrochemistry. Alex serves as a member of the ECS Sponsorship Committee. Pine Research is an ECS Institutional Member at the Benefactor level. (more…)

Professor Jason Keleher

Jason Keleher and his students share their experience, strength, and hope 

The pandemic sent shockwaves through the academic community. Some institutions are weathering the storm better than others. At Lewis University (LU), Professor Jason Keleher and his students, Carolyn Graverson, Abigail “Abby” Linhart, and Katie Wortman-Otto, are optimistic. In our series, The ECS Community Adapts and Advances, they share their COVID-19 experiences and hopes for the future.

Motivation matters

Jason Keleher, Associate Professor and Chair of the LU Chemistry Department, describes what motivates him to meet the daunting changes confronting faculty. “I keep going because of my great group of students, colleagues, and collaborators. They inspire me every day to work at what is most interesting to the community in terms of solutions to globally pressing problems—whether it’s COVID-19, alternative energy, or waste treatment. Even if our only communication is digital, I appreciate that my team is committed to learning and knowledge in order to become accomplished scientists. I get a chance to be part of that journey.” (more…)

Shelley Minteer on the pandemic’s effect on her research group

In our series, The ECS Community Adapts and Advances, Shelley Minteer reviews changes—both positive and negative—wrought by the pandemic on her research group. Shelley holds the Dale and Susan Poulter Endowed Chair of Biological Chemistry and Associate Chair of Chemistry at the University of Utah. The Minteer Research Group works at the interface of electrochemistry, biology, synthesis, and materials chemistry, to provide solutions and address challenges in the areas of catalysis, fuel cells, sensing, and energy storage. She received her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Iowa in 2000. A member-at-large of the ECS Organic & Biological Electrochemistry Division, Shelley served as technical editor for the Journal of The Electrochemical Society (2013-2016) and received the ECS Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry Division David C. Grahame Award (2019). (more…)

Brett Lucht on preparing students to bring science to the wider world

In our series, The ECS Community Adapts and Advances, Brett Lucht shares reflections on how we communicate about research within our community and to wider audiences, and how more understanding can benefit the greater good.

Brett is Professor of Chemistry at the University of Rhode Island (URI). His research is in the broad area of organic materials chemistry with a focus on developing novel electrolytes for lithium ion batteries. He serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society and as Secretary on the board of the ECS Battery Division. (more…)

Mark Orazem on a Sabbatical that Doesn’t go According to Plan

In our series, The ECS Community Adapts and Advances, Mark Orazem recounts how he made good use of a sabbatical year that didn’t turn out to be anything like he expected. Currently Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida (UF), he was officially on leave for the 2019-2020 academic year. He is returning to a very different environment than he left a year ago. (more…)