Harley Johnson receives Beckman Grant

6/19/2012 By Nishana Ismail

MechSE professor Harley Johnson, along with Professors Paul Braun, Shen Dillon and Nancy Sottos of MatSE, has received a Beckman Institute Seed Grant for developing materials for high energy and power density batteries. These batteries are aimed towards transportation, consumer electronics and military applications and could be another step away from fossil fuels.

Written by By Nishana Ismail

MechSE professor Harley Johnson, along with Professors Paul Braun, Shen Dillon and Nancy Sottos of MatSE, has received a Beckman Institute Seed Grant for developing materials for high energy and power density batteries. These batteries are aimed towards transportation, consumer electronics and military applications and could be another step away from fossil fuels.

The electrodes of the batteries are being designed by the group to have a novel microstructure-based architecture that will enable rapid charging and discharging. The new electrode designs will also accommodate the large volume changes that occur in emerging high energy density battery chemistries. Prof. Johnson works on the theoretical and computational mechanics of the compliant electrode microarchitectures. The electrode concept may even enable practical realization of metal-air batteries, the holy grail in rechargeable battery systems.


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This story was published June 19, 2012.