TcSUH In The News
Canepa Research Laboratory Part of International Team To Make Sodium Batteries Better
December 20, 2024
Breakthrough New Material Brings Affordable, Sustainable Future Within Grasp
While lithium-ion batteries have been the go-to technology for everything from smartphones and laptops to electric cars, there are growing concerns about the future because lithium is relatively scarce, expensive and difficult to source, and may soon be at risk due to geopolitical considerations. Scientists around the world are working to create viable alternatives.
An international team of interdisciplinary researchers, including the Canepa Research Laboratory at the University of Houston, has developed a new type of material for sodium-ion batteries that could make them more efficient and boost their energy performance — paving the way for a more sustainable and affordable energy future.
The new material, sodium vanadium phosphate with the chemical formula NaxV2(PO4)3, improves sodium-ion battery performance by increasing the energy density—the amount of energy stored per kilogram—by more than 15%. With a higher energy density of 458 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) compared to the 396 Wh/kg in older sodium-ion batteries, this material brings sodium technology closer to competing with lithium-ion batteries.
“Sodium is nearly 50 times cheaper than lithium and can even be harvested from seawater, making it a much more sustainable option for large-scale energy storage,” said Pieremanuele Canepa, Robert Welch assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UH and lead researcher of the Canepa Lab. “Sodium-ion batteries could be cheaper and easier to produce, helping reduce reliance on lithium and making battery technology more accessible worldwide.”
For more information, read the original news release.
Congrats to Ph.D. student Chirag Goel in Materials Engineering for ASIE Scholarship Award
December 15, 2024
Congrats to Ph.D. student Chirag Goel in Materials Engineering for ASIE Scholarship Award
Chirag Goel, a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering, has been honored with the prestigious 2024 scholarship from the American Society of Indian Engineers and Architects (ASIE). This recognition celebrates Goel’s exceptional academic and research accomplishments under the mentorship of Professor Venkat Selvamanickam.
Goel was presented with a framed certificate and a $3,000 scholarship cheque during ASIE’s Annual Holiday Event on November 15, 2024.
ASIE awards these merit-based scholarships annually, selecting outstanding students from leading institutions, including The University of Texas at Austin, Rice University, and Texas A&M College Station. Other UH recipients are listed in UH Engineering News.
An active student member of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), Goel’s research is focused on advancing the fabrication of long-length high-temperature superconductors by Advanced MOCVD, contributing to cutting-edge developments in the field.
Goel is a member of the IEEE Council on Superconductivity’s Young Professionals Committee and served on the student board of the 2024 Applied Superconductivity Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was selected as one of eight UH-Chevron Energy Student Fellows in 2023. He also holds the TcSUH Cora Hawley Scholarship for the academic year 2024 – 2025.
For more information, read the original news release.
ECE’s Yao wins 2025 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Engineering from TAMEST
December 11, 2024
Congratulations to TcSUH PI Yan Yao, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Houston's Cullen College of Engineering, and principal investigator at the Texas Center for Supercond
Forward-thinking materials scientist Yan Yao, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering, is the recipient of the 2025 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Engineering from TAMEST. He was chosen for creating environmental and sustainable solutions for lithium-ion battery technology.
The world runs on lithium-ion batteries, but their dependence on scarce resources, like lithium, cobalt and nickel creates environmental challenges. These critical minerals require intensive mining and are not renewable. To combat this, Yao’s research focuses on discovering new materials and storage mechanisms for batteries based on abundant materials while creating energy storage solutions that reduce reliance on critical resources and have a positive environmental impact.
Yao and his team started by looking at materials available at scale and developing methods to design and synthesize new materials with tunable electrochemical responses and transport properties similar to those in lithium-ion batteries. By learning to control reactivity at interfaces, his team demonstrated sustainable batteries that outperform traditional battery technologies.
For more information, read the original news release.
Congratulations to Prof. Zhifeng Ren Honored for Achievement in Research and Innovation
November 11, 2024
UH Physics Professor Among First-Ever Big 12 Conference Faculty of the Year Award Winners
The Big 12 Conference named University of Houston physics professor and world-renowned researcher Zhifeng Ren as one of its first-ever Big 12 Faculty of the Year Award winners.
“I am honored to have received this inaugural Big 12 award and accept it on behalf of all my colleagues at UH who devote their lives to teaching and research,” Ren said. “We work to give our students cutting-edge opportunities as they journey toward their eventual careers in the hopes that they will leave the world a better place.”
Ren is the first Paul C.W. Chu and May P. Chern Endowed Chair in Condensed Matter Physics at the UH College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the 2024 recipient of UH’s highest faculty honor, the Farfel Award. He was recognized along with outstanding faculty from the other Big 12 member institutions who have excelled in areas of innovation and research. Each honoree was nominated by their institution in conjunction with athletics representatives, provosts and other university leaders.
“Professor Ren’s contributions to our students, scientific research and society at large are immeasurable,” said UH President Renu Khator. “I am incredibly proud of his accomplishments, which elevate the University and inspire the next generation of scholars. He truly embodies our spirit of innovation.”
Ren, who came to UH in 2013, is a prolific researcher and director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH whose groundbreaking work has been featured in scientific journals around the world. He holds more than 65 U.S. patents and eight foreign patents, and he is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the Materials Research Society, the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also the recipient of the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Science from the Academy of Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas, and the Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
According to the Big 12, the award was established as a way to highlight the honorees’ incredible work along with the research and educational opportunities afforded to students attending Big 12 institutions.
“Academic success is at the core of the mission of the Big 12, and that success is only possible with the help of excellent educators dedicated to advancing education and innovation at our institutions,” said Big 12 Chief Impact Officer Jenn Hunter. “This year’s first-ever recipients highlight the diversity of educational opportunities across the conference.”
For more information, read the original news release.
Congratulations to Profs. Paul C. W. Chu and Liangzi Deng for IV project continued funding
October 22, 2024
Congratulations to Profs. Paul C. W. Chu and Liangzi Deng for IV project continued funding
Researchers at the Texas Center for Superconductivity and the Department of Physics at the University of Houston have received second-year funding from Intellectual Ventures, a global leader in the business of invention, to continue their important study of the retention at atmospheric pressure of high-pressure-induced/enhanced superconductivity.
The project, which has been awarded $767,000 to date, is led by Paul C. W. Chu, T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science, professor of physics and founding director of the TcSUH, and Liangzi Deng, assistant professor of physics and a new TcSUH principal investigator.
“Intellectual Ventures funded this research because Paul Chu is one of the acknowledged thought leaders in the area of superconductivity with a multi-decade track record of scientific innovation and creativity,” said Brian Holloway, vice president of IV’s Deep Science Fund and Enterprise Science Fund. “The work led by Chu and Deng on pressure quenching could result in game-changing progress in the field. We are very excited about the preliminary results from the first year and we look forward to continuing this collaboration.”
For more information, read the original news release.
Recent Ph.D. Graduate Xin Shi Wins 2024 Outstanding Student Researcher Award
October 22, 2024
Recent Ph.D. Graduate Xin Shi Wins 2024 Outstanding Student Researcher Award
Honor Bestowed by the Energy Materials and Systems Division of the American Ceramic Society
The Energy Materials and Systems Division (ESMD) of the American Ceramic Society awarded Xin Shi, a May 2024 physics Ph.D. graduate and current postdoctoral fellow at University of Houston, with its 2024 Outstanding Student Researcher Award.
The award was presented at the EMSD annual business meeting, held in conjunction with the 2024 Materials Science & Technology technical meeting and exhibition, on October 6-9, 2024, in Pittsburgh. The meeting and exhibition is the long-standing, recognized forum for fostering technical innovation.
The Outstanding Student Researcher Award recognizes exemplary student research related to the division’s mission. Each year, one winner is selected from applicants around the globe.
As the award recipient, Shi presented an invited lecture at an EMSD symposium at the annual conference. His lecture was entitled “Advancing Nontoxic, Antimony-based 1-2-2-type Thermoelectric Zintls.” He also received a plaque and a travel award of $1,000.
Shi’s advisor, Zhifeng Ren, said “Both Xin and I are very grateful for the recognition of Xin’s work in his Ph.D. dissertation by the EMSD. I hope his work on the 1-2-2-type thermoelectric Zintl phases will serve as a springboard to motivate other students researching thermoelectric materials and devices to reach higher levels to help society deal with energy and climate-related issues.”
“I would like to present my gratitude to the EMSD for selecting me as the award winner, for which I feel very honored,” Shi said. “I am part of a great team headed by my amazing advisor, Professor Zhifeng Ren, and I appreciate his support and guidance as I pursue my postdoctoral research in thermoelectric research.”
- Susan Butler, Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH
For more information, read the original news release.
Byron Freelon Named Fulbright Scholar for Work in Brazil
October 03, 2024
Project Aims to Strengthen Pipeline for Black Physicists, Enhance Data Interpretation for X-ray Scattering
Byron Freelon, assistant professor of physics, has been named a Fulbright Scholar for 2024-25, expanding his efforts to promote the representation of Black physicists while building the scientific workforce needed to interpret data produced by X-ray synchrotrons.
“This project involves two lines of collaboration between the United States and Brazil,” Freelon said. “One is a purely scientific network, enhancing the capabilities of the U.S. and Brazilian communities in X-ray scattering data interpretation. The other is to join efforts of Afro Brazilian physicists and Black physicists here to promote the professional well-being of both groups.”
The Fulbright Program, operated by the U.S. State Department, is the government’s main educational exchange program, awarding 1,700 fellowships each year to send U.S. scholars abroad and to bring international scholars here. These prestigious and competitive fellowships provide opportunities to teach and conduct research abroad while establishing long-term relationships between people and nations.
Freelon’s project, which began with a six-week stint in Brazil over the summer and will include a longer stay next spring, ranges from leading workshops to attending technical meetings and conducting research at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory in Campinas, Brazil. He’ll host a Brazilian contingent at the National Society of Black Physicists meeting in Houston in November, as well as help Afro Brazilian physicists showcase their work internationally.
For more information, read the original news release.
How UH hopes to help build better, longer-lasting batteries
September 17, 2024
Houston Matters learns about an alliance of universities and laboratories pursuing research into better energy storage.
There are always risks associated with energy generation. Part of the motivation for a continued transition to a cleaner energy future (in addition to helping curb climate change and shifting to resources that won't run out) is the hope that renewable energy, like solar and wind, can be derived and distributed in safer ways.
But that energy also needs to be stored. A key step in moving such renewables forward is improving storage — or in other words creating better, longer-lasting batteries.
The University of Houston is part of a new Energy Storage Research Alliance (ESRA), which is made up of 12 universities and nearly 50 of the world's leading researchers from three national laboratories, all of which are dedicated to the development of better energy storage.
In the audio above, Houston Matters host Craig Cohen talks with Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas, about how far battery technology has come and why Texas is among the states leading research in improving it further.
Then we hear from Dr. Yan Yao, Distinguished Professor at the UH Cullen College of Engineering and lead principal investigator of UH's Energy Storage Research Alliance center, and Dr. Pieremanuele Canepa, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and co-principal investigator for the center. They discuss their planned research for the university's portion of the project.
For more information, read the original news release.