The ECS Society Awards will be presented during this meeting at the Plenary Session. The Olin Palladium Award will be presented to Philippe Marcus, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris (CNRS-ENSCP) and the Carl Wagner Memorial Award will go to Eric Wachsman, University of Maryland. Mark Burgess and Kenneth Hernández-Burgos from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will recieve the Norman Hackerman Young Author Award for best paper published by young authors in...
Continue reading

Gather with your colleagues The plenary session is one of the highlighted events of the meeting, allowing participants from every symposia to come together and recognize some of the greatest minds in the field. ECS President Johna Leddy will wrap up the first full day of the 232nd ECS Meeting by welcoming the ECS meeting attendees and introducing the highly anticipated lecturer, Steven Chu and his talk “The Role of Electrochemistry in our Transition to Sustainable Energy.” The agenda also...
Continue reading

ECS Transactions (ECST) is an online database containing the full-text content of proceedings from ECS meetings and ECS-sponsored meetings. For a full listing of available volumes and issues, please visit the ECS Transactions page of the ECS Digital Library. Full issues may be purchased through the ECS Online Store. **Important information regarding enhanced and standard issues of ECST** Every ECS meeting attendee has the opportunity to submit a full-text manuscript based on their meeting abstract to ECS Transactions. ECST publishes two types of...
Continue reading

Scientists have created a durable catalyst for high-performance fuel cells by attaching single ruthenium atoms to graphene. Catalysts that drive the oxygen reduction reaction that lets fuel cells turn chemical energy into electricity are usually made of platinum, which stands up to the acidic nature of the cell’s charge-carrying electrolyte. But platinum is expensive, and scientists have searched for decades for a suitable replacement. The ruthenium-graphene combination may fit the bill, says chemist James Tour, a professor of computer science…
Continue reading

A team of researchers has created a new material that could be used in microscopic sensors, also known as microelectromechanical systems [MEMS], for devices that are part of the Internet of Things. The technological future of everything from cars and jet engines to oil rigs, along with the gadgets, appliances, and public utilities comprising the Internet of Things will depend on these kinds of microscopic sensors. These sensors are mostly made of the material silicon, however, which has its limits….
Continue reading

In an effort to develop a more affordable, plentiful alternative to lithium-ion batteries, researchers from Purdue University are pursuing rechargeable potassium based batteries, demonstrating a way to derive carbon for battery electrodes from old tires. “With the growth of rechargeable batteries for electronic devices, electric vehicles and power grid applications, there has been growing concern about the sustainability and cost of lithium,” says Vilas G. Pol, an associate professor in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University and…
Continue reading

By: Joshua D. Rhodes, University of Texas at Austin Science is messy, but it doesn’t have to be dirty. On June 19, a group of respected energy researchers released a paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that critiqued a widely cited study on how to power the U.S. using only renewable energy sources. This new paper, authored by former NOAA researcher Christopher Clack and a small army of academics, said that the initial 2015…
Continue reading

Researchers have developed a new kind of semiconductor alloy capable of capturing the near-infrared light located on the edge of the visible light spectrum. Easier to manufacture and at least 25 percent less costly than previous formulations, it’s believed to be the world’s most cost-effective material that can capture near-infrared light—and is compatible with the gallium arsenide semiconductors often used in concentrator photovoltaics. Concentrator photovoltaics gather and focus sunlight onto small, high-efficiency solar cells made of gallium arsenide or germanium…
Continue reading

In May 2017, we sat down with Kathy Ayers, vice president of research and development for Proton OnSite, at the 231st ECS Meeting in New Orleans. The conversation was led by Amanda Staller, web content specialist at ECS. Ayer’s work focuses on a multitude of energy technologies, including fuel cells, batteries, and solar cells. Currently, her work targets the production of hydrogen by PEM electrolysis. She has been a member of ECS since 1999, lending her expertise to various Society…
Continue reading

In an effort to increase security on airplanes, the U.S. government is considering expanding a ban on lithium-ion based devices from cabins of commercial flights, opting instead for passengers to transport laptops and other electronic devices in their checked luggage in the cargo department. However, statistics from the Federal Aviation Administration suggest that storing those devices in the cargo area could increase the risk of fires. The FAA reports that batteries were responsible for nine airline fires in 2014. The…
Continue reading