Takeuchi to Present ECS Lecture at 250th Meeting

Esther Takeuchi (SUNY Distinguished Professor and William and Jane Knapp Chair in Energy and the Environment at Stony Brook University and Chief Scientist and Chair of the Interdisciplinary Science Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory) will present the ECS Lecture—“Electrochemistry: A Keystone of the Energy Future”—at the 250th ECS Meeting Plenary Session. Her participation is especially fitting as ECS celebrates its 250th meeting since its founding in 1902. As she noted, “Scientific participation and scientific discovery is a marathon, not a sprint; you have to be in it for the long haul. I think that idea is very reflective of the Society and its members.”¹

Holding more than 150 patents and in the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Prof. Takeuchi is best known for developing the lithium/silver vanadium oxide (Li/SVO) battery used in implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), more than 150,000 of which are implanted annually in the United States.²  

An ECS member for over 40 years and Society President from 2011 to 2012, Prof. Takeuchi credits ECS with fostering connections across disciplines, sectors, and countries. In a conversation with ECS staff in June 2026, she discussed the themes of her ECS Lecture and the evolving role of electrochemistry in addressing global energy challenges. (more…)

“Scientific discovery is a marathon, not a sprint. Sometimes you’re running faster or slower, but you always have to keep going.”
Esther Takeuchi

Esther Takeuchi was the key contributor to the battery system that powers life-saving cardiac defibrillators.

She currently holds more than 150 U.S. patents, more than any other American woman, which earned her a spot in the Inventors Hall of Fame. Her innovative work in battery research also landed her the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2008.

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