The ECS Georgia Section recognized the 2023 ECS Georgia Section Outstanding Student Achievement Award winners, Habin Park of Georgia Institute of Technology, and Fengyi Zhao of Emory University, at their fall section meeting on October 26, 2023, at the Georgia Institute of Technology. At the meeting, Habin Park delivered his award lecture, “Sustainable Green Hydrogen Production via Innovative Engineering in Anion-Exchange Membrane Alkaline Water Electrolysis.” Fengyi Zhao’s talk was titled “Direct operando observation of surface charge build-up on TiO2 photoanode under water oxidation conditions by Electric Field induced Second Harmonic Generation.” Congratulations, Habin and Fengyi!
Habin Park
Habin Park
Habin Park is pursuing a PhD in chemical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research interests are sustainable energy conversion and storage via polymer electrolytes. When Habin arrived at Georgia Tech in January 2021, Prof. Nian Liu and Prof. Paul A. Kohl co-advised his research on advanced solid state lithium ion batteries concentrated on 3D electrodes using high conductivity solid polymer electrolytes. He transitioned his research to water electrolysis projects led by Prof. Kohl in 2022 with the goal of developing chemically and physically durable anion-exchange membrane low-temperature alkaline water electrolysis.
Habin completed a BS in 2017 and MS in 2019, both from the University of Seoul (UOS). As a graduate research assistant in the Polymer Electrochemistry Laboratory, he worked on developing gel polymer electrolytes for supercapacitors to improve performance at elevated temperature and voltage. His MS thesis was “Design of High-Performance Supercapacitor by Rearrangement of Activated Carbon Electrodes and Methacrylate-based Gel Polymer Electrolytes.” Then, as a researcher for six months at the UOS Institute of Industrial Technology, he focused on improving thermal stability of acetonitrile-based electrolytes for enabling reflow-soldering processes.
Fengyi Zhao
Fengyi Zhao
Fengyi Zhao is pursuing a PhD degree at Emory University. Under Prof. Tianquan Lian’s supervision, he conducts research in the Chemistry Department focused on the development of in situ spectroscopic methods to examine semiconductor-electrolyte junctions in photoelectrochemical processes. His work primarily revolves around the use of techniques such as transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS), in situ Raman spectroscopy, and second harmonic generation (SHG). These tools enable the investigation of intricate details of electron transfer processes from semiconductors to catalysts at the early timescale and to monitor the changes in surface molecules and electric fields during the reactions.
A researcher from Meizhou, China, Fengyi completed his BS at Sun Yat-sen University. Beyond his academic pursuits, Fengyi is an avid sports enthusiast, particularly enjoying skiing, basketball, and badminton. He finds solace in cooking.
Georgia Section Outstanding Student Achievement Award
The Georgia Section Outstanding Student Achievement Award was established in 2011 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. The award consists of a scroll and USD $500 prize.
Read more about this award and previous winners here.
The 2024 Georgia Section Outstanding Student Achievement Award nomination deadline is August 15, 2024.
ECS Honors & Awards Program
The Society recognizes outstanding technical achievements in electrochemistry and solid state science and technology through its robust awards program. These are opportunities to highlight the contributions of the many deserving members of our scientific community. Learn more and submit a nomination!
