• Led a team of 4 technicians to assemble and operate pouch cells to demonstrate the successful integration of lithium metal anodes derived from lithium brine solutions provided by an external collaborator
• Designed single- and multi-layer pouch cells and established a flexible, in-house benchtop pouch cell assembly line for their production to reduce cell variability and increase performance data quality
• Designed constant pressure fixture for cell cycling to improve cell reliability and reproducibility

Main takeaway: After replacing polycrystalline NMC with single-crystal NMC, determined the 63% increase in C/2 1D cycle life was caused by loss of electronic conductivity among NMC particles via dQ/dV and SEM-EDX

• Increased 5 Ah pouch cell C/2 1D cycle life by 63%, or from 400 to 660 cycles, by replacing polycrystalline NMC particles with single-crystal NMC particles
• Developed dQ/dV peak tracking Python script to determine the extent of NMC cathode degradation and corroborated with physical characterization via SEM-EDX

Main Takeaway: Published report quantifying differences across 11 physical and electrochemical properties using JMP to validate a new cathode supplier; highlighted primary risk of 20% increase in burr size of new cathodes

• Created two external supplier agreements each containing 67 technical specifications and tolerances tailored to the external cathode toll coater and cathode formulation
• Conducted quality control audits and addressed a discrepancy between IQC and Korean supplier OQC cathode thickness measurements by replacing internal equipment, thereby improving thickness accuracy by 3% and saving $130,000
• Discovered 20% increase in burr size during cathode electrode validation and collaborated with process engineering team to implement tracking of notching tool lifetimes and new cutting oil formulations
• Spearheaded DFMEA of cathode electrode and identified burr size and moisture content as primary potential factors leading to premature cell failure
• Collaborated with process R&D on measurement development and gauge R&R analysis of cathode thickness and peel strength

Main Takeaway: Led a 16-member cross-functional corrective action team to determine underlying root causes of failing baseline cells using an 8D framework, restoring the test platform to 100% of original cycling performance

• Collated and analyzed historical characterization and process data across 2 test platforms, 5 cell designs, and 2 cell manufacturers
• Determined 1 wt% of phosphate-based additive in an LHCE electrolyte did not lead to reduced C/2 1D cycle life of lithium metal cells via dQ/dV and XPS
• Discovered no statistically significant difference in wetting behavior or C/2 1D cycle life of pouch cells with draw depths between 2.5 and 3.2 mm via ultrasonic scanning, cell cycling, and ANOVA tests via JMP
• Identified inhomogeneity in pressure distribution on pouch cells in cycling fixtures due to improper placement of fixture press piston; relocation of the press piston improved pressure uniformity and was confirmed via pressure mapping using Tekscan instrumentation
• Restored C/2 1D cycle life of 5 Ah cells by decreasing the pre-sealing pressure from 0 to -75 kPa and decreasing the final sealing pressure from -75 to -90 kPa

Main Takeaway: Directed integration of metallized polymer current collectors into baseline cell design and reduced nail penetration EUCAR hazard level from 7 to 3

• Increased cell volumetric energy density by 2.8% to > 800 Wh/L; increased cell gravimetric energy density by 4.8% to > 370 Wh/kg
• Proactively identified and mitigated risks to timelines and upstream/downstream workflows of metallized polymer current collector integration
• Evaluated metal and metal alloy candidates for in-fill welding material
• Coordinated with process engineers to develop novel in-fill welding method to weld a stack of multi-layer electrodes
• Determined drying temperature of cathode coating on a polymer current collector that minimized moisture content with negligible polymer degradation and binder migration
• Modeled ohmic resistance of Al-PET cells using Python
• Executed 18 nail penetration abuse tests of 5 Ah cells
• Coordinated novel cell designs of 5 Ah and 20 Ah pouch cells incorporating Al-PET current collectors and novel weld designs with external coating partner and internal cell design and process engineering teams

Lithium Metal Quality Task Force

• Led task force to improve sample preparation and characterization methods to provide deeper insight into lithium metal plating and stripping mechanisms in LHCE-electrolyte based systems
• Designed experiments to optimize selective dissolution of separator materials using organic co-solvents to isolate cycled lithium anodes for materials characterization

People Team & Professional Development

• Co-founded LGBTQ+ focused employee resource group of 35 members
• Contributed to instructional learning module, “Introduction to Lithium Metal Batteries”, for Northvolt company-wide learning platform

Technical Partnerships

• Coordinated technical partnership to evaluate the effectiveness of an artificial CEI layer via coin cell cycling and postmortem analysis of the cathode surface via SEM and XPS
• Integrated 3 separator materials and evaluated their impact on cell-level performance metrics, including long-term cycling, capacity retention, and high-rate discharge capability

General Management

• Assisted international co-op student with J1 visa process
• Guided method development of cathode electrode porosity and tortuosity via EIS and pycnometry
• Guided project aiming to quantify reactivity of lithium anodes in LHCE-based electrolyte systems
• Mentored three junior individual contributors and five co-op students

Lab Management & Safety

• Coordinated selection, purchase, and installation of $30,000 Karl Fischer titrator
• Conducted weekly safety audits of wet laboratory for 2 years
• Implemented Work In Progress (WIP) cards in lab to improve lab safety

Main Takeaway: Selectively removed alkaline-earth fission products from molten salt solutions using liquid metal and liquid metal alloy electrodes; improved alkaline-earth recovery from 74% to 85% by using a liquid Bi-Sb electrode instead of either individual liquid metal electrode

• Explored liquid metal electrode cycling kinetics using galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements with 80-96% round trip coulombic efficiency
• Evaluated microstructures and post-cycling composition of 30 liquid metal cathodes used to recover electropositive ions from electrolyte via SEM, EDX, and ICP-OES
• Probed interfacial properties of liquid metal cathodes during fission product recovery using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and SEM-EDX
• Mentored two undergraduate students during their research programs involving electrochemical measurements of thermodynamic properties

Main Takeaway: Evaluated microstructures and post-cycling composition of 13 Al-Ni electrodes used to determine chemical phases present at thermodynamic equilibrium via SEM, EDX, and ICP-OES

• Developed novel electrochemical cell to obtain thermodynamic properties of Al-Ni alloys at 500-800°C
• Created Al-Ni reference electrode that stabilized ± 0.5 mV at 500-800°C for 72 hours
• Explored the effects of Cr, Hf, and Pt on corrosion of Al-Ni alloys in molten salts at 700°C

Main Takeaway: Designed, synthesized, and tested oxide-carbide (Nd2O3-SiC-TiC-Y2O3-ZrO2) ceramic systems for high-temperature electrical insulators of liquid metal batteries; designed in-house ceramic powder processing line and produced 15 kg of oxide-carbide ceramic powder

• Developed and executed seven experimental test plans to qualify ceramic material systems to meet 20 year life with < 1% failure rate
• Characterized surface oxide layers, crack propagation, and bulk and surface microstructures of 40 thermally fatigued oxide-carbide ceramic systems via SEM-EDX
• Tested 15 solvent and polymeric binder systems (or ceramic slurries) to improve powder dispersion and component homogeneity in oxide-carbide ceramic systems
• Established an in-house ceramic powder processing facility to produce 15 kg of powder and reduce operating costs by $40,000
• Documented ceramic processing with 7 written and video SOP’s; trained 3 students with documentation