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

The University of Utah’s Center for Synthetic Organic Electrochemistry (CSOE) is proud to announce that they received a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund the CSOE’s Phase II development to improve the sustainability of synthetic chemistry. CSOE’s mission is to promote a safer alternative to traditional organic synthesis methods.

“If you think about industry, whether industry is making a pharmaceutical or a plastic, they’re doing a synthesis in an organic solvent and typically at high temperatures and sometimes at high pressures with possibly explosive materials. This is because most of the synthesis require oxidation or reduction reactions that typically is done chemically and not electrochemically. Those chemicals can cause safety issues when it comes to making pharmaceuticals and other value-added products,” says Shelley Minteer, professor of chemistry and CSOE director. (more…)

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PRiME 2020 cosponsors—The Electrochemical Society, The Electrochemical Society of Japan, and The Korean Electrochemical Society—are converting the in-person PRiME 2020 meeting to an exclusively online event.  

The cosponsors determined that it was impossible to host the meeting in person without risking the health and safety of meeting attendees and volunteers, ECS staff, and the public at large. It is indeed unfortunate that the amazing plans for the in-person PRiME meeting will not take place as initially envisioned, however, the organizers are extremely excited for the opportunities this reimagined digital PRiME affords. Most notably, for the first time in PRiME’s history, access to all of the program’s technical presentations will be freely available to the entire global community. All are welcome to attend! (more…)

For months, Impact Canada has been working hard on narrowing down five finalists to work on the Charging the Future Challenge, a $4.5-million project aimed at accelerating made-in-Canada clean battery innovations with the potential to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The five selected finalists will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas for battery breakthroughs to a jury for a chance to win up to $700,000 each to develop battery prototypes over the course of 18-months, with the winner receiving a $1 million grand prize. (more…)

The ECS Transactions (ECST) manuscript submission site opens to authors and editors on Monday, July 20, for Volume 98, PRiME 2020. The site closes to editors on Friday, August 28. Volume 98, PRiME 2020, is scheduled to publish no later than Friday, September 25, 2020.

ECST is the official conference proceedings publication of The Electrochemical Society and features full-text content of proceedings from ECS meetings and ECS-sponsored meetings. Please follow author and editor instructions.

Questions? Contact ECST@electrochem.org for more information.

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…)

The ECS Corrosion Division is currently accepting nominations for the following two awards:

Corrosion Division Morris Cohen Graduate Student Award: established in 1991 to recognize and reward outstanding graduate research in the field of corrosion science and/or engineering. The award consists of a framed scroll and $1,000 prize. The award, for outstanding Masters or PhD work, is open to graduate students who have successfully completed all the requirements for their degrees as testified to by the student’s advisor, within a period of two years prior to the nomination submission deadline. (more…)

Join the ECS University of Waterloo Student Chapter (WatECS) on July 22, 2020, at 10:30 am (EST) for a FREE webinar with Dr. Kristen Severson on the “Application of Machine Learning in Battery Research.” Anyone interested is welcomed to attend. *This event requires a registration*

(more…)