John B. Goodenough is recognized internationally as one of the key minds behind the development of the lithium-ion battery; a device that is used to power a huge percentage of today’s electronics and a technology that helped shape the technological frontier. In a recent interview with the BBC’s Today program’s John Humphrys, the man who helped make the mobile phone possible discusses battery safety in light of exploding Samsung batteries, the Nobel Prize, and his why he doesn’t like cellphones….
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John Bannister Goodenough was born in 1922, served in WWII, and obtained his PhD in physics from the University of Chicago (1952). Throughout his career, Goodenough established himself as an internationally prominent solid state scientist, widely recognized for his role in the development of the rechargeable Li-ion battery. Goodenough is a Nobel laureate in chemistry. He shares the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with colleagues M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino. He joined The University of Texas at Austin in...
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Many of the most influential people of our time are also the most obscure. Take John Goodenough, for example. While he may not be a household name, everyday devices such as laptops and smartphones exist because of his work on lithium-ion batteries. But even in his 90s, Goodenough isn’t done yet. He’s already invented the lithium-ion’s nervous system, which houses the cobalt-oxide cathode. This is the most important part of every lithium-ion battery, but Goodenough isn’t satisfied with this major…
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ECS’s robust awards and recognition program recognizes outstanding technical achievements in electrochemical, solid state science and technology at every career stage and recognizes exceptional service to the Society. Categories of awards include ECS Society, Division, Section, and Student Awards. Nominations are now being accepted for the awards listed below. Please visit the award webpages for eligibility criteria, nomination guidelines, and award prizes.

The ECS Honors and Awards Program and the ECS Battery Division proudly announce the creation of the new ECS Battery Division M. Stanley Whittingham Mid-Career Award recognizing mid-career achievement and contributions to the field of electrochemical energy storage. When the pandemic caused the cancellation of a PRiME 2020 event honoring his winning the Nobel prize, Dr. Whittingham requested that donations to the event be used for an award. The Battery Division Early M. Stanley Whittingham Mid-Career Award is partially funded…
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Nomination period: March 15 – June 15, annually Presented: ECS spring meeting, annually The ECS Battery Division M. Stanley Whittingham Mid-Career Award was established in 2024 to recognize mid-career achievement and contributions to the field of electrochemical energy storage. The award is granted based on the importance and significance of the applicant’s science and technology (S&T) achievement or major contribution to the field of electrochemical energy storage, intercalation chemistry, solid state ions, interface and interphase and energy materials synthesis and...
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