Interface Vol. 31, No. 1, Spring 2022

VOL. 31, NO. 1, S p r i n g 2 0 2 2

DIVERSITY In Science

10 2021 Year in Review ECS Meeting 13 241st Vancouver, Canada

the Editorial Board of 17 Introducing ECS Sensors Plus the Need for Greater 49 Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Engineering

FUTURE ECS MEETINGS

241st ECS Meeting VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA May 29-June 2, 2022 Vancouver Convention Center

242nd ECS Meeting

243rd ECS Meeting

ATLANTA, GA Oct. 9-13, 2022

with SOFC-XVIII BOSTON, MA May 28-June 1, 2023

Atlanta Hilton

Hynes Convention Center and Sheraton Boston

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244th ECS Meeting

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GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN October 8-12, 2023

Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre

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FROM THE EDITOR

Starting the Next 30 Years

A

s noted in the Winter 2021 issue of Interface, we have now wrapped up three decades of bringing ECS members and the outside world insights into the wonderful world of electrochemical and solid state science.

To calibrate, thirty years ago I had a full head of hair. More or less (less). In going through the archives—a reminder that ALL issues are available in pdf in our archive—one can follow the major changes that have taken place in scientific publishing.

Founding Editor Paul Kohl established the magazine with the help of ECS staff (including Paul Cooper, who is still making meeting magic happen at ECS) and the support of the Executive Committee. Volume 1 had exactly one issue: Winter 1992. It began to be the place where the biannual meeting program was published, which included all the short abstracts for the talks, making the Spring and Fall issues the curse of postal carriers the world around due to their increased mass.

When Interface started, the internet was really just kicking into gear—it was in Interface that ECS announced its new “website” and introduced the ideas of “emailing” members with news, then moving registration to conferences “online.” The hits just kept on coming. One of the recurring themes in the various issues of Interface was its commitment to keep improving in its service to its readers. From the introduction of “Tech Highlights” in 1993 to “ECS Classics” in 1994 to the Society going “online” in 1995 (to name just a few from the early years), Interface has continued to strive to increase its value proposition for our members.

Throughout its existence, there has been an increasing focus on using the power of electronic access to increase the reach of the Society.

I am thrilled to officially announce that, as our next adventure in extending our reach, Interface will become a fully digital publication. This decision was reached after much discussion by the Interface Advisory Board (IAB), ECS staff, stakeholder committees, and the Publication Subcommittee, along with the approval of the Technical Affairs Committee. The pandemic forced us to go only digital since the summer of 2020, and, not letting a good crisis go to waste, a group was convened to consider the future of Interface publication. The group consisted of volunteers from the IAB, as well as the Chairs of the Individual Membership Committee and the Institutional Engagement Committee, the Director of Community Engagement, the ECS Corporate Program Manager, and the Director of Publications.

There are several drivers for the change. The long-term viability of printing for a publication like Interface is in question. As the number of printers has decreased, the costs of printing and shipping around the world have increased. Finding printers willing to handle jobs the size of Interface has become increasingly difficult. In addition, there are fundamental limits to the reach and flexibility of printing. As a good friend of mine said, “The printing press is the Betamax of publication.” Younger members can google “Betamax” to better understand.

The all-digital format will allow us to extend our reach beyond ECS members, and we will be able to make data-driven decisions about content and strategy, as we can tell what articles are read a lot and which aren’t (like this one). It also presents increased flexibility to our advertisers in terms of reaching their customers. Finally, the market research project undertaken by ECS showed that our younger members are more and more driven to digital platforms, whereas oldsters like me tended to prefer the printed version, no spoiler alert needed there. In a nod to me and other dinosaurs, there is good news. ECS staff have found a printer who will print and ship individual issues of Interface for members at a reasonable cost. You can find more information through our online store.

Going forward, Interface will provide a far richer palette than the printed version, as we are all aware from our daily lives. One of Interface’s earliest editors, my friend Jan Talbot, foresaw this development into being completely online in her editorial in the Spring 1998 issue. More on that and some news on the expansion of the Contributing Editors for Interface to come in the Summer issue.

On a quick personal note, many of you have asked about the status of Bubba the Whippet.

He went through his 19 radiation treatments (each with general anesthesia), as well as the bad skin burn aftereffects, like a champ. As I write this, he is lying next to me on the couch, sleeping while dreaming of chasing s-q-u-i-r-r-e-l-s (I can’t say it aloud). We will be having regular checkups, but he is back to the old Bubba, for which we are incredibly grateful to the fantastic staff at the Virginia Tech Animal Cancer Care and Research Center who showed that, despite what many UVA fans believe, not all Hokies are bad. Until next time, be safe and happy. © The Electrochemical Society. DOI: 10.1149/2.001221IF Rob Kelly Editor https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7354-0978 The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

Published by: The Electrochemical Society (ECS) 65 South Main Street Pennington, NJ 08534-2839, USA Tel 609.737.1902, Fax 609.737.2743 www.electrochem.org Editor: Rob Kelly Guest Editor: Alice Suroviec Contributing Editors: Donald Pile, Alice Suroviec Director of Publications: Adrian Plummer Production Editor: Kara McArthur Graphic Design & Print Production Manager: Dinia Agrawala Staff Contributors: Frances Chaves, Genevieve Goldy, Mary Hojlo, Christopher J. Jannuzzi, John Lewis, Anna Olsen, Jennifer Ortiz, Adrian Plummer, Shannon Reed, Beth Schademann, Francesca Spagnuolo Advisory Board: Brett Lucht (Battery), Dev Chidambaram (Corrosion), Durga Misra (Dielectric Science and Technology), Philippe Vereecken (Electrodeposition), Jennifer Hite (Electronics and Photonics), Mani Manivannan (Energy Technology), Cortney Kreller (High-Temperature Energy, Materials, & Processes), John Weidner (Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering), Jakoah Brgoch (Luminescence and Display Materials), Hiroshi Imahori (Nanocarbons), Jim Burgess (Organic and Biological Electrochemistry), Andrew Hillier (Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry), Ajit Khosla (Sensor) Publications Subcommittee Chair: Gerardine Botte Society Officers: Eric D. Wachsman, President; Turgut Gür, Senior Vice President; Gerardine Botte, 2nd Vice President; Colm O’Dwyer, 3rd Vice President; Marca Doeff, Secretary; Gessie Brisard, Treasurer; Christopher J. Jannuzzi, Executive Director & CEO Statements and opinions given in The Electrochemical Society Interface are those of the contributors, and ECS assumes no responsibility for them.

Authorization to photocopy any article for internal or personal use beyond the fair use provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 is granted by The Electrochemical Society to libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC).

Copying for other than internal or personal use without express permission of ECS is prohibited. The CCC Code for The Electrochemical Society Interface is 1064-8208/92.

ISSN : Print: 1064-8208

Online: 1944-8783

The Electrochemical Society Interface is published quarterly

by The Electrochemical Society (ECS), at 65 South Main Street, Pennington, NJ 08534-2839 USA. Subscription to members is part of membership service. © Copyright 2022 by The Electrochemical Society. *“Save as otherwise expressly stated.” Periodicals postage paid at Pennington, New Jersey, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Electrochemical Society, 65 South Main Street, Pennington, NJ 08534-2839.

The Electrochemical Society is an educational, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with more than 8,500 scientists and engineers in over 75 countries worldwide who hold individual membership. Founded in 1902, the Society has a long tradition in advancing the theory and practice of electrochemical and solid state science by dissemination of information through its publications and international meetings.

Cummings Printing uses 100% recyclable low-density polyethylene (#4) film in the production of Interface.

All recycled paper. Printed in USA.

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The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

Vol. 31, No. 1 Spring 2022

Diversity, Equity, and 39 Addressing Inclusion Across Disciplines

by Alice Suroviec

Equality, and Inclusion in 41 Diversity, Our Professions: A Thin and Leaky Pipeline

by Christina Bock

and Diversity in 45 Equality (Electrochemical) Sciences – 30 Years of Observations

by Sannakaisa Virtanen

the Need for 49 Promoting Greater Diversity and Inclusion in Engineering

by Roberta Rincon

Role of Professional Societies in 53 The Advancing Inclusion in Chemistry: Through the Lens of the American Chemical Society

by Natalie LaFranzo

Unlocks Creativity 57 Diversity and Innovation

the Editor: 3 From Starting the Next 30 Years Corner: 7 Pennington Embracing Uncertainty Year in Review 10 2021 ECS Perseveres and Progresses

ECS Meeting 13 241st Vancouver, BC, Canada

16 Society News Fellowships: 26 Toyota Fellowships Target CleanEnergy Innovation

28 People News 29 Looking at Patent Law 37 Tech Highlights 60 Section News 62 Awards Program 68 New Members 71 Student News for Papers 78 Call 242nd ECS Meeting, Atlanta, GA

by Simona Badilescu and Muthukumaran Packirisamy On the Cover: This month’s cover, an original design by Dinia Agrawala, showcases the diversity of our Society with images of attendees from ECS meetings over the years arrayed in the shape of the periodic table of the elements.

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

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PENNINGTON CORNER

Embracing Uncertainty

G

Late last November when I began travelling again, the iven the lead time between mood was cautiously optimistic and rather upbeat. People writing Interface content and were hopeful that better days were finally ahead. Yes, we when it’s published, I am fully had heard of Omicron, even though there had not been any aware that in the intervening weeks confirmed cases in the U.S. However, within only three weeks, the situation with the pandemic or any of the other crises the world was again very different. Omicron was raging impacting the world may well render this missive woefully globally, shattering previous records for confirmed cases, and out-of-date. That being said… causing businesses and schools to again pivot to fully remote It has now been well over two years since we hosted an operations. The meetings I attended in the final weeks of 2021 in-person ECS meeting—October 2019 in Atlanta was our were decidedly less optimistic and well-attended than those of last. While I am incredibly proud of how the ECS community a few weeks earlier. (volunteers, members, staff, and other constituents) banded Seeing how quickly the relative fortunes of these meetings together to do what was necessary to keep the Society’s vital turned drove home how work moving forward despite a volatile and dynamic life is years-long global pandemic, I during COVID. We schedule feel, like so many people with and plan our meetings and whom I speak, that it is high conferences many years in time we resumed in-person “If uncertainty is unacceptable advance. ECS has contracts meetings. to you, it turns into fear. If it is in place today for its meetings Every week I receive emails, perfectly acceptable, it turns into through 2026, inclusive. text messages, and phone calls And yet, within weeks of the from the ECS community increased aliveness, alertness, scheduled start of an event, expressing their strong desire to and creativity.” the situation can completely attend the 241st ECS Meeting change. All the years of in Vancouver in person. They ― Eckhart Tolle planning and projecting can all ask the same question: Will be tossed out the window at the in-person meeting happen? the last moment.

Here’s my response: In such an environment, the We are planning to host only certainty is uncertainty. That is why I take great comfort the meeting in person, as originally planned. We will follow and inspiration from Tolle’s quote. Yes, these are uncertain the guidance and COVID protocols issued by the federal and times. Nevertheless, our ability to respond and thrive amidst local authorities in Vancouver. We are committed to doing the chaos is rooted in something we can all be certain of: this everything we can to ensure the health and safety of everyone amazing community’s collective passion and commitment for attending the meeting. We will cancel the onsite meeting the ECS mission to advance our science for the betterment of ONLY if our conference partners or the governing authorities all humanity. That has pulled us through the last two years, and do not permit us to host it. really, that is what has pulled us through the last 120 years…

That is our plan and we are sticking to it. Nevertheless, as and I’m certain it will pull us through whatever we must face. we have all learned in the past few years, it is critical to not See you in Vancouver! only accept, but embrace, the uncertainty we face, because so many variables are beyond our control. We plan and hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. We are ready to do what is necessary to convene our community if we are forced to convert another in-person meeting to a digital format.

Just before the holiday season and the onslaught of the Omicron variant, I was fortunate to attend several technical conferences and meetings in person. It was wonderful to meet with colleagues I normally see every few months yet had not Christopher J. Jannuzzi seen in years due to COVID. The thrill and excitement of ECS Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer meeting face-to-face was palpable though short-lived. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7293-7404

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

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The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

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2021 YEAR IN REVIEW ECS PERSEVERES AND PROGRESSES In 2021—another year like no other—ECS and its community of volunteers, members, staff, and other constituents persevered and progressed through the second year of the global pandemic, working together to further the Society’s vital mission of advancing our science for the betterment of all humanity.

• We connected the electrochemical community through membership efforts that include a record number of webinars; launching of our first virtual short courses; growing the number of student chapters; and launching new sections.

• We empowered researchers at the forefront of discovery through our publications, with a 72% increase in ECS Digital Library downloads and preparing the launch in January 2022 of two new gold open access journals, ECS Sensors Plus and ECS Advances.

• We accelerated the speed of science by fully converting four meetings from in-person to digital events, bringing together thousands of scientists from around the world.

• We engaged and championed inclusivity, honoring and supporting members’ accomplishments at every career level with existing and new honors and awards; providing more ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowships; and converting travel grants to meeting registrations and memberships to open doors to participation.

• We exercised disciplined, prudent fiscal stewardship and maintained our strong financial position.

MEMBERSHIP

6,857

Total Members

2,367 4,490

Membership

100%

-17.58%

-14.92%

Other Members

Student Members

Overall Retention Rate

58%

100%

+6

Student Members

Total Student Chapters

100%

113 Total

FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship Total awarded: $250,000

Travel Grants* 239TH ECS MEETING WITH IMCS18 (digital) Total awarded: $4,075

Number of recipients: 5 at $50,000 each

Number of recipients: 34

240TH ECS MEETING Total awarded: $15,160 Number of recipients: 112

*Grants were awarded for memberships and registration fees as the meetings were digital, not in-person.

ECS FELLOWS

ECS SUMMER FELLOWSHIPS

Number of Fellows inducted into the 2021 Class: 10

ECS Colin Garfield Fink Summer Fellowship

Total awarded: $20,000 Number of recipients: 4 at $5,000 each

10

Total awarded: $5,000 Number of recipients: 1 at $5,000

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

SOCIETY, SECTION, AND DIVISION PRIZES Society, Division, and Section

239TH ECS MEETING General Student Poster Winners Total awarded: $6,000 Number of Poster Winners: 6

1st prize: $1,500

2nd prize: $1,000

3rd prize: $500

Total awarded: $60,500 Total number of recipients: 34

240TH ECS MEETING 1st prize: $1,500

2nd prize: $1,000

3rd prize: $500

Society: 8

Division: 19

Section: 7

MEETINGS 239TH ECS MEETING WITH THE 18TH INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON CHEMICAL SENSORS (IMCS18) (DIGITAL)

Participants: 3,686 Symposia: 65

Number of countries represented: 71 Abstracts: 2,106 Exhibitors: 10

Symposium Speaker Funding Total registration waivers: $48,515 Total travel reimbursements: n/a*

SPECIAL EVENTS 239th ECS Meeting Plenary Speaker: Rodney S. Ruoff (Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology), “Nanocarbons, Metal Foils, and...”

18th IMCS Plenary Speakers: Joseph Wang (University of California, San Diego), JongHeun Lee (Korea University), Elizabeth A. H. Hall (University of Cambridge), Mark E. Meyerhoff (University of Michigan)

*As the meeting was digital, travel grants were allocated to symposium award winners ($5,300) and to memberships ($885).

240TH ECS MEETING (DIGITAL)

Participants: 4,025 Symposia: 55

Number of countries represented: 74 Abstracts: 1,976 Exhibitors: 8

Symposium Speaker Funding Total registration waivers: $52,775 Total travel reimbursements: n/a*

SPECIAL EVENTS 240th ECS Meeting Plenary Speaker: Michael Hecht (MIT Haystack Observatory), “Electrolysis on Mars: MOXIE and the Perseverance Mission”

*As the meeting was digital, travel grants were allocated to symposium award winners ($2,400) and memberships ($3,190).

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The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

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Meetings (continued from previous page)

17TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS (SOFC-XVII) (DIGITAL)

Number of countries represented: 30

Participants: 356

SPECIAL EVENTS SOFC-XVII Plenary Speakers: Shailesh Vora (U.S. Department of Energy), Daishu Hara (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization), Mirela Atanasiu (Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking), David Peterson (Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy), David Tew (Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy), Nguyen Q. Minh (University of California, San Diego)

Abstracts: 300

Symposia: 1

Exhibitors: 1

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Webinars: 22

Participants: 8,937

ECS hosted its first two virtual short courses with more than

Speakers: 23

55 total registrants

200

150

PUBLICATIONS

100

Open access papers published: 641

50

641

0

USA (194)

RUSSIAN FEDERATION (14)

SLOVENIA (5)

SAUDI ARABIA (3)

FINLAND (1)

GERMANY (82)

Korea (the Republic of) (12)

BELGIUM (4)

THAILAND (3)

LITHUANIA (1)

JAPAN (72)

TAIWAN (12)

IRELAND (4)

CHINA (57)

SWITZERLAND (11)

ISRAEL (4)

ESTONIA (2)

CANADA (46)

SWEDEN (8)

ITALY (4)

AUSTRALIA (6)

ROMANIA (4)

AUSTRIA (6)

SPAIN (4)

NETHERLANDS (6) BRAZIL (5)

INDONESIA (3)

FRANCE (18) UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND (22) INDIA (14)

USA 30%

MEXICO (2) BULGARIA (1) CHILE (1) DENMARK (1)

PAKISTAN (1) POLAND (1) PORTUGAL (1) SINGAPORE (1) SOUTH AFRICA (1) VIETNAM (1)

NORWAY (3)

Germany 13%

Japan 11%

China 9%

Canada 7%

All Others 30%

100%

Subscribing institutions publishing open access at no cost: 7 Number of papers published by subscribing institutions: 25

Articles and abstracts downloaded from the ECS Digital Library: 6,873,222 Journal articles published in the 2021 volume year: 2,089

12

Percentage of articles published open access in 2021: 31%

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

241st ECS Meeting Vancouver, BC, Canada May 29-June 2, 2022

by Frances Chaves

J

oin us at this international conference as scientists, engineers, and researchers from academia, industry, and government laboratories come together to share results and discuss issues on related topics through a variety of formats, including oral presentations, poster sessions, panel discussions, tutorial sessions, short courses, professional development workshops, a career expo, exhibits, and more! ECS meetings’ unique blend of electrochemical and solid state science and technology provides opportunities to absorb and exchange information on the latest scientific developments across a variety of interdisciplinary areas in a forum of your peers.

There is nothing quite like Vancouver in the spring. From cherry blossom–lined streets to the scent of seawater crashing against the seawall, the temperate climate makes this the best time of year to experience the city’s outdoor spaces. There is plenty to do outside the meeting halls, including whale watching, a trip to Victoria Island and/or the North Shore Mountains, walks along the waterfront, and of course plenty of world-class food and shopping. Whether you are a foodie, culture seeker, or lover of the outdoors, you will find plenty of things to do in Vancouver!

Fellow of The Electrochemical Society (2012); Battery Division 2011 Technology Award; 2006 ECS Canada Section Electrochemical Award; and 1996 Battery Division Research Award. Other national and international awards Prof. Dahn has received include Officer of the Order of Canada (2020); Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2001); 2017 Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal in Science and Engineering (Canada’s top science award); and 2016 Governor General’s Innovation Award.

AWARD WINNING SPEAKERS

(Check the online meeting program for times) Society Award Winners Robert Savinell, Case Western Reserve University Vittorio de Nora Award Martin Winter, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster Henry B. Linford Award for Distinguished Teaching

THE ECS LECTURE

Division Award Winners

Monday, May 29

Stefan De Gendt, imec and KU Leuven Dielectric Science and Technology Division Thomas Callinan Award Eddy Simoen, IMEC/ Universiteit Gent Electronics and Photonics Division Award Grace Lindquist, University of Oregon Energy Technology Division Graduate Student Award sponsored

by BioLogic Zachary Schiffer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Technology Division Graduate Student Award sponsored

by BioLogic Vito Di Noto, Università degli Studi di Padova Energy Technology Division Research Award James Young, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Energy Technology Division Supramaniam Srinivasan Young Investigator Award Matthew Liu, Stanford University Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering Division Student Achievement Award Prashant V. Kamat, University of Notre Dame Nanocarbons Division Richard E. Smalley Research Award Ardemis Boghossian, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Nanocarbons Division SES Young Investigator Award Kazuhiro Chiba, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Organic and Biological Electrochemistry Division Manuel M. Baizer Award Daniel Little, University of California, Santa Barbara Organic and Biological Electrochemistry Division Manuel M. Baizer Award

Modern Lithium-Ion Batteries: More than One Million Miles and Possibly a Century of Life Jeff Dahn, Dalhousie University Jeff Dahn is Professor, Canada Research Chair, and NSERC/Tesla Canada Industrial Research Chair at Dalhousie University with dual appointments in the Department of Physics & Atmospheric Science and the Department of Chemistry. He is recognized as one of the pioneering developers of the lithium-ion battery used worldwide in laptop computers and mobile phones. Prof. Dahn’s recent work focuses on increasing the energy density, improving the Jeff Dahn lifetime, and lowering the cost of lithium-ion Photo: Danny Abriel, Dalhousie batteries.

University Born in Bridgeport, CT, in 1957, Prof.

Dahn immigrated with his family to Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1970.

He obtained his BSc in Physics from Dalhousie University in 1978 and PhD from the University of British Columbia in 1982. Prof.

Dahn then worked at the National Research Council of Canada from 1982 to 1985 and at Moli Energy Limited from 1985 to 1990 before taking up a faculty position in the Physics Department at Simon Fraser University in 1990. There he collaborated strongly with the R&D team at NEC/Moli Energy Canada (now E-One/Moli Energy Canada). Prof. Dahn returned to Dalhousie University in 1996 and, starting in 2016, began a five-year partnership with Tesla which has been extended until 2026.

Prof. Dahn is the co-author of more than 750 refereed journal papers and 73 inventions with patents issued or filed. A member of ECS since 1991, the Society has recognized his research with

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241ST ECS MEETING • VANCOUVER, BC, Canada • May 29-June 2, 2022

• Five days of technical programming across 45 symposia • Almost 2,400 abstracts • More than 1,900 oral presentations, including over 500 invited talks from world-leading experts • Almost 300 posters during three evenings of poster sessions • 14 hours of exhibit hall time over three days • Daily morning and afternoon coffee breaks • Complimentary WiFi in meeting rooms • Special program for nontechnical registrants

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SYMPOSIUM TOPICS SHORT COURSES Sunday, May 29 ECS Short Courses provide students and seasoned professionals with in-depth education on a wide range of topics in an intensive, short time period. Through personalized instruction by academic and industry experts, novices and experts advance their technical expertise and knowledge.

Basic Impedance Spectroscopy Mark Orazem, Instructor

241ST ECS MEETING • VANCOUVER, BC, Canada • May 29-June 2, 2022

Fundamentals of Electrochemistry: Basic Theory and Thermodynamic Methods James Noël, Instructor

Special Events

(Check the online meeting program for times)

Opening Reception It's been a long time since we last saw you! Join us for an evening of fun as we kick off what is sure to be a great week. This is an excellent opportunity to meet old and new friends, so make sure to stop by for some food, drinks, and great conversation!

ECS Data Science Showcase and Community Sprints The ECS Data Science Showcase features talks by invited speakers from the data science and open-source community, and past participants of ECS Data Sciences programs. Community Sprints is a multi-day workshop for a limited group of participants.

Preregistration is required.

Student Mixer The mixer, sponsored by Pine Research, is a mustattend event for students! Enjoy networking with your peers and early-career professionals while light desserts and drinks are served.

General and Student Poster Sessions With hundreds of posters to explore, you won’t want to miss a single minute of these sessions. Grab a drink, wander the aisles, review the presentations, talk to the authors, share some laughs…

These sessions are a great way to end the day!

Division Luncheons and Receptions Know your division; come down to network and get involved with future activities! Look for events hosted by these ECS divisions: Electronics and Photonics; Energy Technology; Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering; Nanocarbons; Organic and Biological Electrochemistry; and Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry.

A— Batteries and Energy Storage A01— New Approaches and Advances in Electrochemical Energy Systems M. Manivannan, S. R. Narayan, B. Lucht Energy Technology, Battery A02— Lithium-Ion Batteries C. Johnson, G. Yang, C. Ban Battery A03— Large Scale Energy Storage 13 J. Gallaway, T. Nguyen, E. Agar, E. Spoerke, J. St-Pierre, F. Brushett, J. Nanda Battery, Energy Technology, Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering A04— Battery Student Slam 6 F. Lin, M.-T. Rodrigues, D. Hall Battery A05— Battery Recycling and Reuse Z. Chen, J. Vaughey, Y. Wang Battery B— Carbon Nanostructures and Devices B01— Carbon Nanostructures for Energy Conversion and Storage J. Blackburn, H. Imahori, M.-K. Song, X. (David) Ji Nanocarbons, Energy Technology B02— Carbon Nanostructures in Medicine and Biology D. Heller, T. Da Ros, J. Halpern, J. Blackburn, H. Imahori, L. Nagahara, M. Landry, A. Boghossian Nanocarbons, Sensor, Organic and Biological Electrochemistry B03— Carbon Nanotubes – From Fundamentals to Devices M. Zheng, J. Blackburn, H. Imahori, S. V. Rotkin, R. Bruce Weisman, S. Maruyama, B. Flavel, Y. Li Nanocarbons B04— NANO in Japan S. Maruyama, Y. Ohno, H. Ago, A. Khosla, J. Blackburn, S. V. Rotkin, H. Imahori, Y. Matsuo, K. Murakoshi Nanocarbons, Sensor B05— Fullerenes – Endohedral Fullerenes and Molecular Carbon S. Yang, J. Blackburn, H. Imahori, A. Balch, F. D’Souza, L. Echegoyen, D. Guldi, N. Martin, S. Stevenson Nanocarbons B06— 2D Layered Materials from Fundamental Science to Applications M. Arnold, S. De Gendt, C. O’Dwyer, Z. Karim, S. V. Rotkin, V. Di Noto, H. Imahori, J. Blackburn, Y. Obeng Nanocarbons, Dielectric Science and Technology, Energy Technology, Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Subcommittee B07— Light Energy Conversion with Metal Halide Perovskites, Semiconductor and Organic Nanostructures, Inorganic/Organic Hybrid Materials, and Dynamic Excitons H. Imahori, J. Blackburn, P. Kamat, K. Murakoshi, T. Torimoto, M. Hariharan Nanocarbons B08— Porphyrins, Phthalocyanines, and Supramolecular Assemblies R. Paolesse, N. Solladie, N. Jux, H. Imahori, J. Blackburn, K. Kadish, T. Torres Nanocarbons C— Corrosion Science and Technology C01— Corrosion General Session J. Noël, D. Chidambaram Corrosion D— Dielectric Science and Materials D01— Solid State Devices, Materials, and Sensors: In Memory of Dolf Landheer D. Misra, O. Leonte, Z. Karim, P. Mascher Dielectric Science and Technology, Sensor D02— Dielectrics for Nanosystems 9: Materials Science, Processing, Reliability, and Manufacturing D. Misra, T. Chikyow, D.-K. Ko, Y. Obeng, Z. Chen, D. Bauza, I. Mitrovic, S. Lee Dielectric Science and Technology

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The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

SYMPOSIUM TOPICS D03— Nanoscale Luminescent Materials 7 P. Mascher, F. Rosei, D. Lockwood, D.-K. Ko Dielectric Science and Technology, Luminescence and Display Materials E— Electrochemical/Electroless Deposition

I08— Energy Conversion Based on N, P, and Other Nutrients J. Renner, W. Tarpeh, G. Wu, L. Greenlee, M. Hatzell Energy Technology, Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering K— Organic and Bioelectrochemistry

E01— Electrodeposition of Alloys, Intermetallic Compounds, and Eutectics 2 T. Hall, A. Radisic, D. Davis, N. Dimitrov Electrodeposition

K01— 15th Manuel M. Baizer Memorial Symposium on Organic Electrochemistry F. Maran, K. Moeller, S. Lin, T. Fuchigami Organic and Biological Electrochemistry

E02— Nucleation and Growth: Measurements, Processes, and Materials T. Moffat, S. Meng, T. Jacob, T. Nohira, Y. Fukunaka Electrodeposition, Battery, Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry, Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Subcommittee

K02— Electrochemical Synthesis in Water-rich Media and Biological Electrochemistry J. Rusling, S. Minteer, S. Kuss, L. Sepunaru, S. Krishnan Organic and Biological Electrochemistry

F— Electrochemical Engineering

F02— Electrochemical Science and Engineering on the Path from Discovery to Product 2 E. Jennings Taylor, H. Deligianni, X. Su, K. Bouzek Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering G— Electronic Materials and Processing G01— 17th International Symposium on Semiconductor Cleaning Science and Technology (SCST 17) A. Muscat, K. Saga, P. Mertens, T. Hattori, S. Lim Electronics and Photonics G02— Silicon Compatible Emerging Materials, Processes, and Technologies for Advanced CMOS and Post-CMOS Applications 12 H. Jagannathan, D. Misra, Y. Obeng, F. Roozeboom, K. Kakushima, P. Timans, E. Gousev, Z. Karim, S. De Gendt Electronics and Photonics, Dielectric Science and Technology H— Electronic and Photonic Devices and Systems H01— Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor Materials and Devices 23 J. Hite, V. Chakrapani, J. Zavada, T. Anderson, M. Tadjer, S. Kilgore Electronics and Photonics I— Fuel Cells, Electrolyzers, and Energy Conversion I01— Invited Perspectives and Tutorials on Electrolysis B. Pivovar, H. Xu Energy Technology I02— Hydrogen or Oxygen Evolution Catalysis for Water Electrolysis 8 H. Xu, S. Vijapur Energy Technology, Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering I03— Materials for Low Temperature Electrochemical Systems 8 M. Shao, G. Wu Energy Technology I04— Renewable Fuels via Artificial Photosynthesis or Heterocatalysis 8 N. Wu, J.-J. Lee, F. Osterloh, B. Ohtani, G. Wiederrecht, P. Kulesza, E. Miller, T. Lian, M. Manivannan, V. Subramanian, H. Wang Energy Technology I05— Mechano-Electro-Chemical Coupling in Energy Related Materials and Devices 4 N. Perry, J. Nicholas, I. Lubomirsky, Y. Qi, N. Dasgupta High-Temperature Energy, Materials, & Processes, Battery I06— Heterogeneous Functional Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage 3 W. Chiu, S. DeCaluwe, V. Di Noto, S. Gopalan, A. Herring, N. Liu, R. Mantz, T. Markus, A. Suroviec, G. Yu, F. (Frank) Chen, D. Chu High-Temperature Energy, Materials, & Processes, Battery, Energy Technology, Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry I07— Advanced Electrolysis Systems for Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage H. Xu, W. Li, G. Wu, S. Mukerjee Energy Technology, Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering

L01— Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry, Electrocatalysis, and Photoelectrochemistry General Session A. Hillier, S. Paddison Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry L02— Computational Electrochemistry 7 S. Paddison, I. Zenyuk, V. Subramanian, S. Calabrese Barton Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry, Energy Technology, Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering L03— Nanoporous Materials 3 R. Warren, A. Co Energy Technology, Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry L04— Redox Flow Systems for Energy Storage: New Chemical Systems and Mechanisms of Operation I. Rutkowska, P. Kulesza, S. Minteer, S. Mukerjee, A. Herring, J. StPierre, V. Di Noto, E. Agar Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry, Energy Technology L05— Mechanistic Understanding of Electrocatalytic Electrodics of Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Carbon Dioxide Electrochemistry P. Kulesza, S. Calabrese Barton, P. Vanysek, V. Di Noto, I. Rutkowska Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry, Energy Technology L06— Electrochemistry at the Nanoscale P. Atanassov, V. Di Noto, J. Noël Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry, Corrosion, Energy Technology M— Sensors M01— Recent Advances in Sensors and Systems 2 D.-J. Kim, P. K. Sekhar, J. Koehne, L.-k. Tsui Sensor M02— Biosensors, Lab-on-chips, Point-of-care Testing, In-vitro and In-vivo Imaging N. Wu, L. Nagahara, A. Khosla, G. Xu, H. Deligianni, H. Zhou, S. Krishnan, D. Heller, R. Van Staden Sensor, Nanocarbons, Organic and Biological Electrochemistry Z— General Z01— General Student Poster Session A. Suroviec, A. Herring, V. Chaitanya, K. Sundaram, V. Subramanian All Divisions Z02— Electrochemistry for Chemical Manufacturing E. Biddinger, C. Karuppaiah, W. Li, J. Harb, P. Kenis, K. Fenton, H. Xu, M. Graaf, R. Bottcher Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering, Electrodeposition, Energy Technology, Battery, Corrosion, Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Subcommittee, Organic and Biological Electrochemistry Z04— 1D/2D/3D/4D Materials and Systems + Soft Robotics (4D↓MS+SoRo) A. Khosla, H. Furukawa, J. Koehne, L. Nagahara, M. Adachi, B. Gray All Divisions

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241ST ECS MEETING • VANCOUVER, BC, Canada • May 29-June 2, 2022

F01— Advances in Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering M. Inman, S. Bhargava, S. Jayaraman, P. Kenis Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering

L— Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry, Electrocatalysis, and Photoelectrochemistry

SOCIETY NEWS

Publications Update Continuing a Theme of Growth Many of us welcomed in 2022 very traditionally, declaring our New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, connect more with friends and loved ones, or focus more on our wellness and balance. Here at ECS, while others set goals to change and adjust, we are leaning away from this New Year tradition and aiming to continue the great initiatives started in 2021. We aim to make 2022 another year of continued growth for our family of ECS journals.

2021 was a year of milestones for the ECS journal family: the full digitization of ECS Interface with increased reach to the community; a 4.316 impact factor for the Journal of The Electrochemical Society

(JES); 33 percent growth in submissions to the Journal of Solid State Science and Technology (JSS); an unprecedented 6.8 million downloads of all ECS published content—a 66 percent increase over 2020; and the release of Electrochemical Systems, 4th Edition in the ECS Books series!

In 2022, ECS will continue this theme of growth with the addition of ECS Advances and ECS Sensors Plus, ECS’s first gold open access journals; webinar series programming aimed at supporting authors in our community; and continuing quality efforts led by the ECS Editorial Board.

ECS Sensors Plus ECS Appoints Ajit Khosla as Founding Editor-in-Chief of ECS Sensors Plus Open Access Journal Almost two years after approving the charter for ECS Sensors Plus (ECS’s new gold open access journal scheduled that began accepting submissions in 2022), The Electrochemical Society Board of Directors approved the appointment of Dr. Ajit Khosla of Yamagata University, Japan, as the Founding Editor-inChief (EiC).

Dr. Khosla has been a valued member of Ajit Khosla ECS for over 11 years, actively engaging with activities to move forward ECS’s mission. His service includes, but is certainly not limited to, Technical Editor of the Sensors Technical Interest Area for the Journal of The Electrochemical Society and ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology; Chair of the ECS Sensors Division; member of the Symposium Planning Advisory Board; Editor of the very popular JES Focus Issue on

Sensor Reviews; and Editor of the JES Focus Issue on Women in Electrochemistry. He is also currently in the editorial stage of a book to be added to the ECS Monograph series in 2022.

Beyond his affiliation with ECS, Dr. Khosla has demonstrated a strong commitment to the global engineering and technology community, contributing several Invited Keynote talks; collaborating with industry leaders; and supporting the organization and promotion of meetings, conferences, and events, such as the ECS-sponsored First International Conference on Technologies for Smart Green Connected Societies 2021.

The addition of Dr. Khosla to ECS editorial leadership is extremely exciting due to his editorial experience and demonstrated dedication to ECS and to advancing the Society’s mission.

One of Dr. Khosla’s first tasks as EiC was to build a strong Editorial Board and Editorial Advisory Board to support his vision for the journal’s success.

Welcome to Our Sensors Plus Editorial Advisory Board Members Michael Adachi, Simon Fraser University, Canada Netz Arroyo, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, US Thomas Thundat, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, US Joseph Wang, University of California, San Diego, US Gary Hunter, NASA, US Robert Hillman, University of Leicester, UK Peter Hesketh, Georgia Institute of Technology, US Aicheng Chen, University of Guelph, Canada Hidemitsu Furukawa, Yamagata University, Japan Takeo Hyodo, Nagasaki University, Japan Tomoyuki Yasukawa, University of Hyogo, Japan Navakanta Bhat, Indian Institute of Science, India Jessica Koehne, NASA Ames Research Center, US Raluca-Ioana Stefan-van Staden, Institutul Național de CercetareDezvoltare Pentru Electrochimie și Materie Condensată, Romania Kafil Mahmood, Tyndall National Institute, Ireland Amanda Clifford, The University of British Columbia, Canada Philippe Dauphin-Ducharme, Université de Sherbrooke, Canada Cecilia de Carvalho Castro e Silva, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Brazil Maiara Oliveira Salles, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 16

Itthipon Jeerapan, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand Chochanon Moonla, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand Sajjad Husain Mir, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Chongdee Thammakhet-Buranachai, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand Ajeet Kaushik, Florida Polytechnic University, US Bo Hu, Xidian University, China Manjunatha Channegowda, Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering, India Vinay Gupta, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, UAE Ashok K. Sundramoorthy, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, India Senthil Kumar Sellappan, Vellore Institute of Technology, India Lok-kun Tsui, University of New Mexico, US Jeffrey Gordon Bell, Washington State University, US Stefano Cinti, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy Sai Kiran Oruganti, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, China Rangachary Mukundan, Los Alamos National Laboratory, US Shekhar Bhansali, Florida International University, US Weijia Zhou, University of Jinan, China Kannan Ramaiyan, University of New Mexico, US

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

SOCIETY NEWS Welcome to Our Sensors Plus Newly Appointed Associate Editor Team Ronan Daly, University of Cambridge, UK – Term to end on December 8, 2022 Pratima Solanki, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India – Term to end on December 8, 2022 Haifeng (Frank) Ji, Drexel University, US – Term to end on December 8, 2022 Harshani Mukundan, Los Alamos National Laboratory, US – Term to end on December 8, 2022 Praveen Shekher, Washington State University, US – Term to end on August 5, 2023 ZhenHuan Zhao, Xidian University, China – Term to end on July 6, 2023 Zhiyu Hu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China – Term to end on June 6, 2023 Trisha Andrew, University of Massachusetts Amherst, US – Term to end on September 4, 2023 Jun Ogawa, Yamagata University, Japan – Term to end on May 7, 2023 XueFeng Liang, Xidian University, China – Term to end on June 6, 2023 Sheng-Joue Young, National United University, Taiwan – Term to end on December 8, 2022

Editorial Board Updates: JES & JSS Thomas Thundat – On October 6, 2021, the ECS Publications Subcommittee voted to renew the appointment of Dr. Thomas Thundat of University at Buffalo as Associate Editor of the JES and JSS Sensors Topical Interest Area. Dr. Thundat will continue his service to the ECS family of journals through November 14, 2023.

Scott Donne – On October 6, 2021, the ECS Publications Subcommittee voted to renew the appointment of Dr. Scott Donne of University of Newcastle as Associate Editor of the JES Batteries and Energy Storage Topical Interest Area. Dr. Donne will continue his service to the ECS family of journals through December 23, 2023.

Ajit Khosla – On October 22, 2021, the ECS Board of Directors confirmed the recommendation from the ECS Publications Subcommittee and ECS Technical Affairs Committee to extend the term of Dr. Khosla of Yamagata University as Technical Editor of both the JES and JSS Sensors Topical Interest Area. Dr. Khosla will continue his service to JES and JSS through December 31, 2022.

Michael Adachi – On October 6, 2021, the ECS Publications Subcommittee voted to renew the appointment of Dr. Michael Adachi of University at Buffalo as Associate Editor of the JES and JSS Sensors Topical Interest Area. Dr. Adachi will continue his service to the ECS family of journals through November 14, 2023.

Francis D’Souza – On October 6, 2021, the ECS Publications Subcommittee voted to renew the appointment of Dr. Francis D’Souza of the University of North Texas as Technical Editor of the JSS Carbon Nanostructures and Devices Topical Interest Area. Dr. D’Souza will serve in this final term through December 31, 2023.

ECS Thanks Our 2021 Reviewers The Electrochemical Society relies upon the technical expertise and judgment of the scientists who, by reviewing manuscripts, help to maintain the high standards characteristic of the Society’s peer-reviewed journals. In 2021, 4,394 reviewers supported the Society’s long-standing commitment to ensuring both the technical quality of the work published and the integrity and validity of the peer-review process.

The Society would like to convey a sincere thank you to all of our reviewers, for sharing their time and effort, and for their support of ECS and of the scientific process.

For a complete list of the reviewers of ECS journal articles in 2021, please visit the ECS Blog.

Institutional Membership Program

Institutional membership provides organizations the opportunity to support and advance the dissemination of electrochemical and solid state science research.

Member organizations save 15-20% in spending through discounts on ECS subscriptions, meeting registrations, marketing opportunities, and are able to provide ECS membership benefits to their employees.

Contact Anna.Olsen@electrochem.org to learn more about institutional membership benefits.

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

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ECS Journals Current and Upcoming Focus Issues Journal of The Electrochemical Society (JES)

READ ONLINE 18th International Meeting on Chemical Sensors (IMCS 18) Volume Two Technical Editor: Ajit Khosla Guest Editors: Peter Hesketh, Steve Semancik, Udo Weimar, Yasuhiro Shimizu, Joseph Stetter, Gary Hunter, Joseph Wang, Xiangqun Zeng, Sheikh Akbar, Muthukumaran Packirisamy, Rudra Pratap

NOW IN PRODUCTION Energy Storage Research in China Technical Editor: Doron Aurbach Guest Editors: Hong Li, Yi-chun Lu, Kai Jiang, Haijun Yu, Kothandaraman Ramanujam, Chunmei Ban, Venkataraman Thangadurai

Women in Electrochemistry Technical Editor: Ajit Khosla

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) and Electrolysis Cells (SOECs) Technical Editor: Xiao-Dong Zhou Guest Editors: Eric Wachsman, Subash Singhal

Modern Electroanalytical Research in the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry (SEAC) Technical Editor: David E. Cliffel Guest Editors: Lane Baker, Lanqun Mao, Frank Zamborini, Bo Zhang

Biosensors and Nanoscale Measurements: In Honor of Nongjian Tao and Stuart Lindsay Technical Editor: Ajit Khosla Guest Editors: Larry Nagahara, Erica Forzani, Huixin He, Jin He, Tianwei Jing, Jessica Koehne, Chenzhong Li, Patrick Oden, Shaopeng Wang, Nick Wu, Bingqian Xu, Peiming Zhang

Electrochemical Separations and Sustainability Technical Editor: John Harb Guest Editors: Hui Xu, Gerri Botte, Gang Wu, John Staser, Xiao Su

Advanced Electrolysis for Renewable Energy Storage Technical Editor: Xiao-DongZhou Guest Editors: Hui Xu, Bryan Pivovar, Grigorii Soloveichik

UPCOMING Nucleation and Growth: Measurements, Processes, and Materials Technical Editor: Takayuki Homma Guest Editors: Tom Moffat, Yasuhiro Fukunaka, Shirley Meng, Timo Jacob, Toshiyuki Nohira Submissions Open: March 31, 2022 Deadline: June 29, 2022

Frontiers of Chemical/Molecular Engineering in Electrochemical Energy Technologies in Honor of Robert Savinell Technical Editor: John Harb Guest Editors: Jin Suntivich, Jason Xu Zhichuan, Hye Ryung Byon, Yi-Chun Lu, Seung Woo Lee Submissions Open: September 29, 2022 Deadline: December 28, 2022 218

Heterogeneous Functional Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage II Technical Editors: Doron Aurbach, David E. Cliffel, Xiao-Dong Zhou Guest Editors: Wilson Chiu, Fanglin Chen, Steven DeCaluwe, Nian Liu, Alice Suroviec Submissions Open: June 30, 2022 Deadline: September 28, 2022

Multiscale Modeling, Simulation, and Design: In Honor of Ralph E. White Technical Editor: John Harb Guest Editors: Venkat Subramanian, Gerardine Botte, Trung Nguyen Submissions Open: November 3, 2022 Deadline: February 1, 2023

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

ECS Journals Current and Upcoming Focus Issues ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology (JSS)

READ ONLINE

NOW IN PRODUCTION

Selected Papers from the International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 2021 (ICONN-2021)

Molecular Electronics Including Selected Papers from the 10th International Conference on Molecular Electronics

Technical Editor: Francis D’Souza Guest Editors: Senthil Kumar Eswaran, S. Yuvaraj, M. S. Ramachandra Rao, Masaru Shimomura

Dedicated to the Memory of George Blasse: Recent Developments in Theory, Materials, and Applications of Luminescence Technical Editor: Kailash Mishra Guest Editors: John Collins, Jakoah Brgoch, Ron-Jun Xie, Eugeniusz Zych, Tetsuhiko Isobe, Ramchandra Pode, Andries Meijerink

Editor-in-Chief: Krishnan Rajeshwar Guest Editors: Jean Christophe Lacroix, Christophe Bucher, Richard McCreery

Advanced Energy, Electronic and Dielectric Materials: Fabrication, Characterization, Properties, and Applications Technical Editor: Peter Mascher Guest Editors: Kiran Mangalampalli, Eswaraiah Varrla, Yuvraj Sivalingam, Debabrata Sarakar

IUMRS-ICA 2021 Technical Editor: Fan Ren Guest Editors: In-Hwan Lee, Alexander Polyakov, Sang-Woo Kim, Hyunhyub Ko, Chunjoong Kim

Emerging Trends in CMP

ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS Selected Papers from the International Electron Devices and Materials Symposium 2021 (IEDMS 2021) Technical Editor: Fan Ren Guest Editors: Wei-Chou Hsu, Yon-Hua Tzeng, ShoouJinn Chang, Meng-Hsueh Chiang, Sheng-Po Chang Deadline: April 20, 2022

Technical Editor: Aniruddh Khanna Guest Editors: Duane Boning, Pradeep Veera, Knut Gottfried, Abhudaya Mishra, Veera Raghava Kakireddy, Jingoo Park, Jichul Yang, Gowrisankar Damarla, Taesung Kim, Xinchun Lu, Arthur Chen, Bahar Basim

UPCOMING Rising Stars of Nanocarbon Research Community Technical Editor: Francis D’Souza Guest Editors: Hiroshi Imahori, Bruce Weisman, Slava Rotkin Submissions Open: May 19, 2022 Deadline: August 17, 2022

VISIT

VISIT

www.electrochem.org/submit

www.electrochem.org/focusissues

• • • •

JES manuscript submissions JSS manuscript submissions Sensors Plus manuscript submissions ECS Advances manuscript submissions

• Calls for upcoming JES and JSS focus issue papers • Links to published issues • Future focus issue proposals

www.electrochem.org/focusissues

www.electrochem.org The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

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SOCIETY NEWS

ECS Division Contacts High-Temperature Energy, Materials, & Processes

Battery

Y. Shirley Meng, Chair, University of Chicago

Sean R. Bishop, Chair, Sandia National Laboratories

Brett Lucht, Vice Chair Jie Xiao, Secretary Jagjit Nanda, Treasurer Doron Aurbach, Journals Editorial Board Representative

Cortney Kreller, Senior Vice Chair Xingbo Liu, Junior Vice Chair Teruhisa Horita, Secretary/Treasurer Xiao-Dong Zhou, Journals Editorial Board Representative

Corrosion

Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering

James Noël, Chair, University of Western Ontario

Shrisudersan Jayaraman, Chair, Corning Incorporated

Dev Chidambaram, Vice Chair Eiji Tada, Secretary/Treasurer Gerald Frankel, Journals Editorial Board Representative

Maria Inman, Vice Chair Paul Kenis, Secretary/Treasurer John Harb, Journals Editorial Board Representative

Dielectric Science and Technology

Luminescence and Display Materials

Peter Mascher, Chair, McMaster University

Rong-Jun Xie, Chair, Xiamen University

Uroš Cvelbar, Vice Chair Sreeran Vaddiraju, Secretary Zhi David Chen, Treasurer Peter Mascher, Journals Editorial Board Representative

Eugeniusz Zych, Vice Chair Dirk Poelman, Secretary/Treasurer Kailash Mishra, Journals Editorial Board Representative

Electrodeposition

Natasa Vasiljevic, Chair, University of Bristol Luca Magagnin, Vice Chair Andreas Bund, Secretary Antoine Allanore, Treasurer Takayuki Homma, Journals Editorial Board Representative Electronics and Photonics

Jennifer Hite, Chair, Naval Research Laboratory Qiliang Li, Vice Chair Vidhya Chakrapani, 2nd Vice Chair Zia Karim, Secretary Erica Douglas, Treasurer Fan Ren, Journals Editorial Board Representative Jennifer Bardwell, Journals Editorial Board Representative Energy Technology

William Mustain, Chair, University of South Carolina Katherine Ayers, Vice Chair Minhua Shao, Secretary Hui Xu, Treasurer Xiao-Dong Zhou, Journals Editorial Board Representative

Nanocarbons

Hiroshi Imahori, Chair, Kyoto University Jeffrey Blackburn, Vice Chair Ardemis Boghossian, Secretary Slava V. Rotkin, Treasurer Francis D’Souza, Journals Editorial Board Representative Organic and Biological Electrochemistry

Sadagopan Krishnan, Chair, Oklahoma State University Song Lin, Vice Chair Jeffrey Halpern, Secretary/Treasurer Janine Mauzeroll, Journals Editorial Board Representative Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry

Andrew Hillier, Chair, Iowa State University Stephen Paddison, Vice Chair Anne Co, Secretary Svitlana Pylypenko, Treasurer David Cliffel, Journals Editorial Board Representative Sensor

Jessica Koehne, Chair, NASA Ames Research Center Larry Nagahara, Vice Chair Praveen Kumar Sekhar, Secretary Dong-Joo Kim, Treasurer Ajit Khosla, Journals Editorial Board Representative

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The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

SOCIETY NEWS

New Division Officer Slates New division officers for the spring 2022–spring 2024 term have been nominated for the following Divisions. All election results will be reported in the summer 2022 issue of Interface.

Dielectric Science and Technology Division Chair Uroš Cvelbar, Institut Jožef Stefan Vice Chair Sreeram Vaddiraju, Texas A&M University Secretary Zhi David Chen, University of Kentucky Treasurer Thorsten Lill, Lam Research Corporation Member at Large Gautam Banerjee, Micron Technology, Inc. Vimal H. Chaitanya, New Mexico State University Stefan De Gendt, imec Dennis Hess, Georgia Institute of Technology Hemanth Jagannathan, IBM Corporation Research Center Zia Karim, Yield Engineering Systems Steve Kilgore, NXP Semiconductors Paul Kohl, Georgia Institute of Technology Eva Kovacevic, GREMI/ Université d’Orléans Dong-Kyun Ko, New Jersey Institute of Technology Sunghwan Lee, Purdue University Oana Leonte, Berkeley Polymer Technologies, Inc. Durga Misra, New Jersey Institute of Technology Yaw Obeng, National Institute of Standards and Technology Kay Song, Yield Engineering Systems Kalpathy Sundaram, University of Central Florida Mahendra Sunkara, University of Louisville

Nanocarbons Division Chair Jeff L. Blackburn, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Vice Chair Ardemis Boghossian, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Secretary Yan Li, Peking University Treasurer Hiroshi Imahori, Kyoto University Member at Large Michael Scott Arnold, University of Wisconsin–Madison Tatiana Da Ros, Università degli Studi di Trieste Daniel Heller, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Mark Hersam, Northwestern University Markita Landry, University of California, Berkeley Fernando Langa, Université de Montréal Richard Martel, Université de Montréal Nazario Martin, Universidad Complutense de Madrid Shigeo Maruyama, University of Tokyo Anton Naumov, Texas Christian University Robert Paolesse, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata” Slava Rotkin, Pennsylvania State University Steven Stevenson, Purdue University Tomas Torres, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Shangfeng Yang, University of Science and Technology of China Ming Zheng, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering Division Chair Maria Inman, Faraday Technology, Inc. Vice Chair Paul Kenis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Division Secretary/Treasurer Christopher Arges, Pennsylvania State University Elizabeth J. Biddinger, The City College of New York Taylor Garrick, General Motors Company Member at Large Christopher Arges, Pennsylvania State University Elizabeth J. Biddinger, The City College of New York Gerardine Botte, Texas Tech University James Fenton, University of Central Florida Taylor Garrick, General Motors Company John Harb, Brigham Young University Chockalingam Karuppaiah, Vetri Labs Trung Van Nguyen, University of Kansas Mark E. Orazem, University of Florida Doug Riemer, TDK Corporation Robert Savinell, Case Western Reserve University John Staser, Ohio University Venkat Subramanian, University of Texas at Austin Santosh Vijapur, Faraday Technology, Inc. John Weidner, University of Cincinnati

ORCID

Connecting research and researchers

Visit www.orcid.org .

to register.

GET YOUR ORCID ID TODAY!

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

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SOCIETY NEWS

SAVE THE DATE

WEBINAR: DIVERSITY IN PUBLISHING SCIENCE

Jessica MacDonald (She/Her) Partner Publisher, Journals Development Diversity & Inclusion Champion, IOP Publishing

Kim Eggleton (She/Her) Research Integrity & Inclusion Manager, IOP Publishing

Dr. Christina Bock (She/Her) Adrian T. Plummer (She/Her) Senior Research Officer MPA, PMP, Director of at the National Research Publications, ECS Council of Canada (NRC)

Date: March 30, 2022 Time: 1000-1100h ET

Learn more electrochem.org/webinars

In the NEXT ISSUE of

Don't miss the next issue of Interface!

Summer 2022 will be a Special Issue on Moving Science Forward. Learn how ECS members Connect, Empower, Accelerate, Engage, and Champion as we advance our mission.

Plus, exclusive coverage of the 2022 officer elections, our 2021 Highly Cited Researchers, and much more!

The digital issue of Interface Summer 2022 is scheduled to hit your mailbox on July 8.

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The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

SOCIETY NEWS

Podcasts of Note Suggested for you by Alice Suroviec.

Inclusive Excellence

Workology

Cornell University hosts a podcast by their Department of Inclusion and Belonging where they discuss various topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.

The podcasts also provide specifically actionable items that the listeners can take back to their workplace.

This podcast has a specifically non-academic focus. It is intended for those workplaces having tough conversations around these topics, a situation that is becoming more common. This series of podcasts has experts from many types of companies working through these issues.

https://diversity.cornell.edu/iepodcast

https://workology.com/episode-329-dei-series-how-did-youget-into-dei/

Teaching in Higher Ed

THE Campus

This podcast has more than 400 episodes dedicated to the art and science of teaching in higher education. There are many topics to choose from—but for this issue of the Interface we are highlighting podcasts around the topic of Cultural Competence.

These episodes cover topics such as Inclusive Teaching and Fostering a Culture of Belonging.

For a more global perspective on teaching and mentoring with a DEI focus, THE Campus (part of Times Higher Education) has a long series of podcasts with guests from around the world.

Topics include teaching and mentoring with a focus on DEI, but also where and how to build leaders to have a successful team with diverse viewpoints.

https://teachinginhighered.com/podcast-category/culturalcompetence/

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/keywords/ equity-diversity-and-inclusion © The Electrochemical Society. DOI: 10.1149/2.F03221IF

About the Author

Alice Suroviec is Professor of Bioanalytical Chemistry and Dean of the College of Mathematical and Natural Sciences at Berry College. She earned a BS in Chemistry from Allegheny College in 2000.

She received her PhD from Virginia Tech in 2005 under the direction of Dr. Mark R. Anderson. Her research focuses on enzymatically modified electrodes for use as biosensors. She is currently Associate Editor of the PAE Technical Division for the Journal of the Electrochemical Society. She is always looking for new app/website suggestions, so feel free to email her. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9252-2468

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

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SOCIETY NEWS

Staff News New Meetings Manager Francesca Spagnuolo was promoted to the position of Meetings Manager in October 2021.

Francesca joined ECS in September 2020 as Meetings Program Specialist responsible for developing, organizing, and planning ECS meetings, with specific responsibility for managing the development and execution of technical programs. In this position, she was instrumental in helping to convert the 239th ECS Meeting with the 18th IMCS; 240th ECS Meeting; PRiME 2020; and SOFC–XVII to digital formats. She worked closely with ECS division chairs, symposium organizers, session chairs, and technical paper authors to ensure that the digital meetings were well organized and rewarding experiences for presenters and attendees.

“Since day one, Francesca has been a valuable addition to the ECS Meetings Department,” says John Lewis, ECS Director of Meetings.

“With extensive education and experience in the hotel industry, she has an impressive set of skills that have been of great benefit to ECS. With the timing of her arrival, she was a key player in helping ECS not only convert onsite meetings to digital, but in overseeing the successful execution of these various events. Her work with the organizers and authors of our technical programming during the past 18 months has helped the Society maintain its longstanding tradition of hosting high-quality technical meetings, even in the midst of a global pandemic. As anyone who has worked with her can attest, she is extremely intelligent, hardworking, insightful, and conscientious.

With this well-deserved promotion, she will be involved with all parts of ECS meetings, to the ultimate benefit of the Society and our meeting attendees. It is a pleasure to work with Francesca every day and I wish her great success in this new role.”

Francesca is excited to take on the new role of meetings manager, and said: “This allows me to touch on almost all aspects of our meetings. I look forward to being able to focus more on overall logistics, and continue to learn and grow within ECS.”

Anna Olsen Promoted to Senior Manager of Corporate Programs Anna Olsen joined ECS in the fall of 2010 and recently accepted the advancement to Senior Manager of Corporate Programs. Throughout her time at ECS, Anna has not only adapted to change, she has embraced all challenges and excelled. The transition to Senior Manager of Corporate Programs is critical to ensuring corporate and industry relationships to support the Society’s goals and objectives. Anna will serve as the primary point of contact for corporate relations; take charge of the symposia-funding program; serve as the Institutional Engagement Committee’s staff liaison; and assume other increased responsibilities.

Anna’s focus is building relationships with our corporate funding partners and helping them achieve the full potential of ECS’s opportunities for connecting their organizations with our community.

She has been doing precisely that since she first began working at ECS. Shannon Reed, Director of Community Engagement and Anna’s supervisor, stated, “Anna continues to excel in her roles with ECS— having worked in membership, our subscription program, and now with our corporate partners. Her experience with the organization and enthusiasm for ECS’s mission and vision are integral in building long-lasting relationships with our industry partners. This promotion is well deserved. I’m excited at her prospects!”

Mary Hojlo 10th Anniversary Mary Hojlo celebrated her 10th anniversary with ECS on January 2, 2022. Mary joined the Society as a Constituent Programs Associate in January 2012, responsible for all aspects of assisting members and constituents, supporting new member recruitment, and boosting retention efforts. She was promoted to Membership & Constituent Specialist in 2015, assuming additional responsibilities for institutional members, student chapters, and sections.

“It is rewarding being part of a society that is doing so much to advance science and technology. My favorite part of the job is participating in ECS meetings where I interact with the Society community—students just beginning their journeys as well as accomplished scientists and Nobel Prize winners,” said Mary.

“I am happy for Mary to celebrate 10 years with ECS!” says Shannon Reed, Director of Community Engagement and Mary’s supervisor.

“Mary is an asset to the team and our community. I look forward to her continued success with ECS and her service to the community.”

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SOCIETY NEWS

UPCOMING 2022 ECS SPONSORED MEETINGS In addition to ECS biannual meetings and ECS satellite conferences, the Society, its divisions, and its sections sponsor meetings and symposia of interest to the technical audience ECS serves. The following is a partial list of upcoming sponsored meetings. Please visit the ECS website for a list of all sponsored meetings.

StorageX International Symposium Series Ongoing Fridays in 2022 — Virtual Lectures Stanford University, Stanford, CA Aqueous Corrosion Gordon Research Conference July 10-15, 2022; New London, NH

To learn more about what an ECS sponsorship can do for your meeting (including information on publishing proceeding volumes for sponsored meetings) or to request an ECS sponsorship of your technical event, please contact

ecs@electrochem.org.

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www.el-cell.com 25

TOYOTA FELLOWSHIPS Fellowships Target Clean-Energy Innovation

by Susan Curtis

oyota has joined forces with The Electrochemical Society to support young scientists and engineers who are investigating more sustainable solutions for the automotive sector.

One of the biggest challenges in tackling the climate crisis will be to clean up our transportation networks. Electric vehicles already offer a viable route to zero-emission road travel, but more innovation is needed to build better batteries that enable longer journeys and faster charging—and all within an affordable price tag. Meanwhile, hydrogen-powered fuel cells promise high energy densities and rapid refuelling, and could offer an emission-free solution for heavy-duty transport such as commercial trucks and aviation, but the cost and durability of these systems remain major barriers to widespread market acceptance.

Those critical challenges will require inventive and practical solutions, which is why automotive manufacturer Toyota has teamed up with The Electrochemical Society (ECS) to award a series of research fellowships focused on the development of green-energy technologies that reduce both pollution and carbon emissions.

Launched in 2015, the ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship program has so far awarded some $1.2m in research funding to 19 early-career academics, with each individual receiving at least $50,000 for a one-year research project.

“The fellowship was a fantastic opportunity,” comments Elizabeth Biddinger of The City College of New York (CCNY), who was one of the first fellows to benefit from the scheme in 2016/17. “It kickstarted my work on batteries, and what we learned about electrolytes during that project has enabled me to participate in other major research programs.” Biddinger is now a co-investigator in the NASA–CCNY Center for Advanced Batteries in Space, a $3m research grant awarded to CCNY in 2019 to study novel electrolytes in metal-anode batteries for use in extreme environmental conditions.

Biddinger also formed some useful collaborations during her fellowship year, not least with a new member of her own faculty who is now the lead investigator on the NASA project. “I also enjoyed the experience of interacting with ECS and Toyota,” she says. “I was able to find out about Toyota’s research on novel batteries, and gain an understanding of the challenges and priorities not just for them but for the industry as a whole.”

Building stronger links between talented academics and major industry players is a key goal for ECS. “The ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowships play a vital role in connecting The

26

Electrochemical Society’s global community of renowned researchers, scientists, and scholars with the industrial might of one of the world’s premier vehicle manufacturers,” comments Christopher J. Jannuzzi, the Executive Director and CEO of ECS. “We are proud to partner with the Toyota Research Institute of North America (TRINA) to ensure that the fellows’ brilliant research is properly funded and nurtured to foster sustainability solutions for all.”

That collaboration with Toyota has been particularly important for Christopher Arges at Pennsylvania State University, who is one of the current cohort of 2021/22 fellows. Arges plans to study high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HTPEMFCs), which are an attractive alternative to low-temperature versions because they simplify heat management and cooling of the fuel-cell stack, as well as solving many challenges associated with water management—such as preventing electrode flooding. He hopes

Electric spark: The ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowships provide research funding to enable young academics to develop novel green-energy technologies. Elizabeth Biddinger, pictured at right in her lab at The City College of New York, says that the fellowship offered a fantastic opportunity that kickstarted her work on batteries. (Courtesy: E Biddinger)

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

Collaboration works: Christopher Arges (left), one of the current cohort of 2021/22 fellows, values the insight that scientists and engineers at Toyota have provided about the requirements for fuel cells in the automotive sector.

(Courtesy: C. Arges)

to re-engineer the ionomer binders, which hold together the porous electrode materials and shuttle protons to and from the electrocatalyst surfaces, with the overall aim of lowering the operating temperature of the HT-PEMFC from more than 200 °C to 120–160 °C. “Toyota is a leader in fuel-cell technology for vehicles, and they have a lot more knowledge than I do about the requirements for fuel cells in the automotive sector,” comments Arges. “The scientists and engineers at Toyota have explained why this technology is important and what needs to be done, and their input has opened up a whole new dimension for our research.”

For Toyota, meanwhile, the fellowships provide direct access to novel ideas and approaches that they may not be able to pursue through their internal R&D programs. “Toyota hopes to encourage young professors and scholars to pursue innovative research in sustainability while at the same time connecting these up-and-coming scientists with Toyota professionals,” comments Timothy Arthur, Principal Scientist at TRINA. The scope of the fellowships is broadly aligned with the company’s strategic interests of batteries, fuel cells and hydrogen, and future sustainable technologies.

However, fellowships have supported inventive ideas in Creative thinking: Julie Renner related areas, and the scope exploited her previous industrial is often updated to reflect experience of manufacturing membrane-electrode assemblies to changing priorities—with propose a novel bio-inspired approach mitigation strategies such as to controlling the interactions carbon capture and conversion between the catalyst and the polymer added in the last year or so. membrane. (Courtesy: J. Renner) “Batteries, electrocatalysts, photovoltaics, and fuel cells are key components for developing next-generation vehicles and devices to achieve carbon neutrality,” continues Arthur. “Electrochemistry lies at the fundamental core of these technologies, and other innovative and unconventional technologies will emerge from electrochemical research.”

Julie Renner at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, is one fellow who has benefitted from Toyota’s willingness to explore more creative solutions. Before becoming an academic in 2016, Renner had worked at Proton OnSite, now called Nel Hydrogen, a company that manufactures membrane-electrode assemblies and electrolyzers. As a result, she understood firsthand just how difficult it was to control the interactions at the interface between the catalyst and the polymer membrane. “I wanted to see if we could use biomolecules or bio-inspired materials to provide a scaffold that would help to control these interactions,” she explains.

“Toyota appreciated the boldness of the proposal, and the fellowship provided the funding, motivation, and support we needed to explore the concept in detail. By the end of the year, we were able to show that it works.”

Renner explains that the findings from the year-long project have continued to inform her ongoing research program. “We found that we were lacking some fundamental knowledge about the interactions of proteins with surfaces,” she explains. “That has inspired several successful research proposals that will hopefully lead to better scaffolds for these electrochemical technologies in the future.”

Renner and Arges point out that the funding provided through the fellowship is enough to support a graduate student for the duration of the project. “The fellowship is an investment in my research group, not only to address these global problems but also to train students,” says Arges. “Arguably the most important thing we can do is to provide students with the knowledge and problem-solving skills they need to tackle these challenges in the future.”

Indeed, the student who was working with Renner during her fellowship has now joined Owens Corning, a company that specializes in developing sustainable building materials. “She was always interested in industry, and it really motivated her to know that Toyota was interested in the research,” says Renner. “It was a great experience for her.”

As well as providing valuable funding, Renner says that winning an ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship helps junior academics to raise their profile among the research community. “People know about this award,” she comments. “Being awarded the fellowship felt like a validation of my research, and it amplified my voice and my work at a really useful stage of my career. I have received more invitations to visit other institutions and present my work than I might have otherwise.”

For Biddinger, meanwhile, the fellowship offered an opportunity to get more involved with ECS, and in 2021 she was invited to join the group of ECS and TRINA representatives who were charged with evaluating proposals for the 2021/22 fellowships. “It was humbling,” she says. “The diversity of thought and level of innovation in the proposals was really inspiring.” While the fellowship program guarantees that one award is made each year, the quality of applications has been so outstanding that Toyota frequently provides funding for multiple awards. Last year five fellowships were awarded, the highest number so far. “It was tough to choose between the proposals, so it was nice to give out more awards,” says Biddinger.

Having served on the selection committee, Biddinger has some simple advice for any young researcher interested in sustainable energy technologies. “I would really encourage anyone who is eligible to apply, even if the research topic doesn’t fit the scope exactly,” she says. “The innovative topics can be very exciting to the committee and Toyota; it might just be something that hasn’t been thought about before.” © The Electrochemical Society. DOI: 10.1149/2.F04221IF A version of this article was originally published on PhysicsWorld.

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

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SOCIETY PEOPLE NEWS

In Memoriam ...

Solomon Zaromb 1928–2021

Dr. Solomon Zaromb (1928–2021, Chemist), died peacefully on September 1, 2021. He was a member of the Electrochemical Society for almost 60 years, having joined the Society in 1962, and a member of the American Chemical Society since 1951. He became an ECS emeritus member in 2017. Solomon was born in 1928 in Łódź, Poland and, as a young man, escaped the unspeakable hardships of World War II, emigrating to the U.S. to join his uncle in New York City.

There, he completed a BChE at Cooper Union and PhD in chemistry at the Polytechnic Institute of New York before going on to complete a postdoc at MIT. His extraordinary aptitude for learning and brilliant mind allowed him to make important contributions to our field over many years, with more than 50 patents and 100 publications, many in ECS and ACS journals. His work involved helping and promoting the wellbeing of people and our planet. He worked on detection of toxic gasses, particles, and viruses. He was on the team that invented

the first electronic nose instrument when he was at Argonne National Lab in the early 1980s, for which he was awarded an IR-100 award as well as the FLC 1987 special award for technology transfer.

Solomon had many talents, including teaching himself to be a registered patent agent so he could file his own patents! A consummate intellectual, he contributed to conferences in astrophysics along with practical chemistry advances for sensors, electrochemical power sources, CO2 sequestration, virus detection, and other environmental issues. He was a humble, unassuming, and gentle person with a warm smile and was a delightful collaborator for me over the years. He leaves behind his wife, Esther, children, Franklin and Earl, and seven grandchildren. He will be missed by family and by our community of science.

This notice was submitted by Joseph Stetter, ECS Emeritus Member (Joined 1987).

IT’S GAME TIME Exhibit • Sponsor • Advertise Contact sponsorship@electrochem.org

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The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

Looking at Patent Law:

Patenting an Electrochemical Invention for Eradication of Microbes from the Surfaces of Implants—A Case Study

by E. Jennings Taylor and Maria Inman

+

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In this installment of the ‟Looking at Patent Lawˮ articles, we present a case study of an electrochemical method for eradicating microbes from the surfaces of implants. We have chosen this invention to align with the focus of this issue of Interface on diversity and inclusion in electrochemical technology, science, and engineering. Notably, several of the inventors are female, including Dr. Esther S. Takeuchi, who is a prolific inventor with numerous awards, honors, and recognitions.

As noted during a recent search of the U.S. Patent & Trademark (USPTO) website, Dr. Takeuchi (Fig. 1) has 151 issued U.S. patents with numerous patent applications pending. Dr. Takeuchi’s inventions include the lithium/silver vanadium oxide (Li/SVO) battery for implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs).1,2 The ICD is implanted in a patient’s chest to detect and stop abnormal heartbeats (arrhythmias). When an arrhythmia is detected, the ICD delivers electric shocks to restore normal heartbeat rhythm to the patient. The Li/SVO battery extended the life of ICD batteries by fivefold and reduced the need for replacement surgery.

Dr. Takeuchi has received numerous awards for her inventions, including 1) the Presidential National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2008),3 2) induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (2011),4 3) elected Fellow of The Electrochemical Society (2012),5 4) recipient of the European Inventor Award (2018),6 5) recipient of the Edward Goodrich Acheson Award of The Electrochemical Society (2020),7 and 6) elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2021).8 She served as president of The Electrochemical Society from 2011 to 2012.

Recall from our previous article,9 the prosecution history (i.e., examination record) of a patent application is publicly available in the file wrapper at the USPTO Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system.10 With the USPTO PAIR system as the primary source of information for this case study, we illustrate the prosecution “events” encountered during the examination of U.S. Patent No. 9,616,142; “Electrochemical Eradication of Microbes on Surfaces of Objects.”11 The ‘142 patent was issued on April 11, 2017 with co-inventors Mark Fig 1. Dr. Esther Takeuchi.

Ehrensberger, Anthony Campagnari, Esther Takeuchi, Nicole LukeMarshall, and Jeremy Gilbert. The patent is jointly assigned to The Research Foundation for the State University of New York and Syracuse University.

The invention addresses the problem of infections resulting from orthopedic implant surgery, such as hip and knee replacement. The ‘142 patent abstract generally describes the invention as follows: “The invention describes a method of reducing or preventing the growth of microbes on the surface of an object, wherein the object is of such material that it can act as a working electrode. The method comprises the steps of providing a counter electrode, and a reference electrode. The object is used as the working electrode. Electrical current is passed through the working and counter electrodes. The current through the counter electrode is varied such that the electric potential of the working electrode is constant relative to the electric potential of the reference electrode. Also described is an apparatus for reducing or preventing microbes on an object using a potentiostatic device.”

Patent Applications This article summarizes the prosecution history of Patent Application No. 14/845,101 (filed on November 13, 2014) leading to U.S. Patent No. 9,616,142. In Table I, we list the related patent applications preceding the subject patent application. These patent applications are referred to as “parent” patent applications. The subject patent application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application 61/636,349 filed on April 20, 2012. Provisional patent applications are not examined and expire within one year of their filing date.12 In order to maintain the priority date of the provisional patent application, a non-provisional U.S. patent application or international patent application designating the U.S. as a country for

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(continued on next page) 29

Taylor and Inman

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Table I. Parent patent applications associated with the electrochemical microbe eradication invention.

APPL. TYPE

APPL. No.

PAT. No.

TITLE

FILING DATE

STATUS

U.S. Provisional

61/636,349

N/A

Electrochemical Eradication of Biofilm Related Infections of Passive Metal Orthopedic Implants

Apr. 20, 2012

Expired

Patent Cooperation Treaty

PCT/ US2013/037637

N/A

Electrochemical Eradication of Microbes on Surfaces of Objects

Apr. 22, 2013

Published

U.S. Utility

14/395,443

-

Electrochemical Eradication of Microbes on Surfaces of Objects

Oct. 20, 2014

Abandoned

examination must be filed within one year.13 The National Stage patent application of the subject invention designating the U.S. was filed on April 22, 2013 under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).14 Note, the one year from the provisional patent application, April 20, 2013, fell on a weekend (Saturday). In those cases, the one-year date is extended to the next business day, in this case Monday April 22, 2013. The subject patent application is a continuation of Patent Application No. 14/395,640, filed on October 20, 2014, which is now abandoned.

In Table II, we present the subsequently filed “child” patent applications claiming priority to the subject invention. Continuing Patent Application No. 15/266,620 was filed on September 15, 2016 and is abandoned. Continuing Patent Application No. 15/945,727 was filed April 4, 2018 and is currently pending.

through the working and counter electrodes. The current through the counter electrode is varied such that the electric potential of the working electrode is substantially constant relative to the electric potential of the reference electrode.

The specification continues that in another embodiment, the step of passing 23 electrical currents through the working and counter electrodes is performed using a potentiostatic device. The potentiostatic device may be a potentiostat, a computer-controlled instrument, or any instrument capable of maintaining a substantially constant potential in a working electrode relative to a reference. In one embodiment, the reference electrode is at least partially made from

Fig 2. Flowchart electrochemical eradication method from the “

Description of the Invention The “Background of the Invention” in the patent application generally describes the problems with the prior art. The background of the subject patent application notes that infections following repair or replacement implantations, such as orthopedic implants, are a devastating complication associated with increased patient morbidity, longer hospital stays, and increased costs to the health care system.

In the case of total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA), the projected situation is particularly concerning. It has been projected that the number of primary THA and TKA procedures are expected to increase. Persistent or recurrent infections have been reported in some patients that require revision surgery due to primary infection. One of the primary mechanisms by which bacteria resist decontamination and persist on implants is through the formation of biofilms.

The background further notes that some biofilm infections are virtually impossible to cure with an antimicrobial (AM) agent alone, and it is these persistent infections that necessitate the removal of orthopedic implants and debridement of the bone, a costly and painful procedure. With the current treatment protocols, recurrence of orthopedic infections is frequently reported. In light of this, new approaches are needed for the prevention and/or eradication of devicerelated biofilm infections.

A simplified flow diagram of the electrochemical eradication method from in the ‘142 patent is presented in Fig. 2. As described in the specification, the method 20 comprises the step of providing 21 a counter electrode, a reference electrode, and a working electrode.

The working electrode comprises the object or a part of the object.

The method also comprises the step of passing 23 electrical currents

Fig 2. Flowchart of the electrochemical eradication method from the ‘142 patent.

Table II. Child patent applications associated with the electrochemical microbe eradication invention.

APPL. TYPE

APPL. No.

PAT. No.

TITLE

FILING DATE

ISSUE DATE

U.S. Utility

15/266,620

N/A

Electrochemical Eradication of Microbes on Surfaces of Objects

Sept. 15, 2016

Abandoned

U.S. Utility

15/945,727

N/A

Electrochemical Eradication of Microbes on Surfaces of Objects

Apr. 04, 2018

Pending

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The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

silver or silver chloride. In another embodiment, the counter electrode is at least partially made from platinum or graphite. The reference electrode may be placed in proximity to the working electrode or the counter electrode.

The specification states that in one embodiment, the method may further comprise the step of providing 25 an antimicrobial agent to the area surrounding the object. For example, antibiotics may be injected or otherwise administered either systemically or locally into the region near the object. A synergistic effect may be achieved from this further step.

The specification notes that the invention may also be described as a method of inhibiting a microbial infection associated with an implantable or implanted object, wherein the object is of such material that it can act as a working electrode. The specification further notes that the invention may also be described as a method of inhibiting a microbial infection associated with an implantable or implanted object.

The specification describes that completely internal implants may be treated in a minimally invasive manner by inserting an electrically conductive material (sterile wire or sterile needle) to contact the implant and connect it, as a working electrode, to an external potentiostatic electrical stimulation unit. One such device 90 is shown in Fig. 3 from the ‘142 patent. Insertion of the needle through skin 96 may be performed under local or systemic anesthesia. Surgery may also be employed to connect the implant 98 to a voltage source, such as a battery, which contains a mechanism for controlling the voltage source. Surgical techniques can also be used to attach a sterile wire 94 for subsequent connection of a voltage source to the implant. Skin surface electrodes 92, such as carbonized conductive silicone rubber electrodes or gel-type stimulating electrodes, would be utilized as the counter electrode and would be connected using a lead 93 to the potentiostatic electrical stimulation unit 91. In one embodiment, a counter electrode 95 may be wrapped around the sterile wire 94. In another embodiment, a pellet, wire, or disc-type Ag/AgCl reference electrode would also be placed on the skin in close proximity to the transcutaneous site and would be connected to the potentiostatic electrical stimulation unit. Alternatively, the reference electrode and

counter electrode may also be inserted internally and make electrical contact with the external potentiostatic electrical stimulation unit.

The implant 98 may be osseointegrated into bones 97 and 98.

Establishing and Maintaining a Filing Date In order to establish a filing date, a utility patent application must include 1) Specification15 “…a written description of the invention, and the manner and process for making it…to enable any person skilled in the art…to make and use [the invention] …”

2) Minimum of one claim16 “…particularly pointing out…the subject matter… as the invention…”

3) Drawings17 “…where necessary for understanding the subject matter… to be patented…”

In order to maintain the filing date, the following additional criteria are required 1) Filing fee in accordance with the current USPTO fee schedule18 2) Inventor oath or declaration asserting19 a. The patent application was authorized by the inventor(s), b. The inventor(s) believe he/she is the original inventor or they are the original joint inventors.

tion of the electrochemical eradication method fromThe thepatent ‘142 patent. application was filed on November 13, 2014. The

patent application included a specification, claims, and drawings.

In addition, the patent application included the required filing fee.

However, the patent application did not contain the inventor oath/ declaration.

The specification included a description of the prior art, problems associated with the prior art, a summary of the invention describing various embodiments of the invention addressing the prior art problems, and a detailed description of the electrochemical eradication invention. The patent application also included drawings illustrating the “elements” and various embodiments of the subject invention. The utility patent application contained claims directed toward a method and apparatus for treating the surface of an object.20 On December 3, 2014, the USPTO informed the applicants that the patent application did not contain the inventor oath/declaration.

The correspondence informed the applicants that an executed oath/ declaration from each inventor must be filed no later than the time period which will be noted in a “Notice of Allowability.” Otherwise, the patent application will become abandoned. With the caveat regarding filing the inventor oath/declaration, the December 3, 2014 correspondence from the USPTO issued a filing receipt with patent application number 14/450,213 and filing date November 13, 2014.

On March 12, 2015, the USPTO issued a “Notice of Publication” of the patent application. The USPTO publishes patent applications on Thursdays and by rule, patent applications21 “…will be published promptly after the expiration of a period of eighteen months from the earliest filing date for which a benefit…”

On May 6, 2015, the applicants submitted the oath/declaration signed by each of the inventors.22 The oath/declaration included an assertion by each inventor stating Fig 3. Illustration of the electrochemical eradication method from the ‘142 patent.

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Taylor and Inman

(continued from previous page)

“The above-identified application was made or authorized to be made by me. I believe that I am the original inventor or an original joint inventor of the claimed invention in the application.”

The oath/declaration also included an acknowledgement that each inventor was aware of the penalties for a false statement23 “I hereby acknowledge that any willful false statement made in this declaration is punishable under 18 U.S. C. 1001 by fine or imprisonment of not more than five (5) years, or both.”

Importantly, the “named inventors” must be correctly represented on a U.S. patent application.24 Specifically, inclusion of a colleague as a co-inventor who did not participate in the conception of the invention is known as a misjoinder and may invalidate an otherwise valid patent. Similarly, exclusion of a co-inventor who participated in the conception is known as a nonjoinder and may invalidate an otherwise valid patent. If an inventor is erroneously omitted or erroneously included as an inventor, the misjoinder/nonjoinder may be corrected and the patent remains valid.25 With the filing of the inventor oath/declaration, the patent application met the requirements to both establish and maintain a filing date and thereby avoided being abandoned.

Inventor Assignment, Small Entity Status and Power of Attorney

Regarding march-in rights, a key policy objective of the BayhDole Act is31 “…to ensure that the Government obtains sufficient rights in federally supported inventions to meet the needs of the Government and protect the public against nonuse or unreasonable use of inventions…”

To our knowledge, the government has never exercised BayhDole march-in rights in any invention.

Information Disclosure Statement The applicants submitted an “Information Disclosure Statement” (IDS) to the USPTO with the patent application. The IDS included prior art references as required by the “Duty of Candor.” The “Duty of Candor” requires that the inventor(s) submit an IDS within a reasonable time of submission of the patent application disclosing32 “…to the Office [USPTO] all information known to that individual to be material to patentability…”

The “Duty of Candor” is specific to any existing claim and requires that the IDS be continually updated while the claim is pending. The “Duty of Candor” ceases only when the claim is allowed and the patent issue fee is paid. The “Duty of Candor” extends to any individual associated with the filing of the patent application including 1) Inventor(s), 2) Patent counsel, or 3) Persons who are substantially involved in the preparation or prosecution of the patent application.

Inventors Ehrensberger, Campagnari, Luke-Marshal, and Takeuchi were employed by the University of Buffalo and inventor Gilbert was employed by Syracuse University. Consequently, the patent application was jointly assigned to their respective employers, The Research Foundation for the State University of New York and Syracuse University.26 As joint owners, each of the owners can27

Substantial involvement in the preparation of the patent application could include technical assistants, collaborators, or colleagues. Substantial involvement would generally not extend to clerical workers. Furthermore, the inclusion of a reference in an IDS33

“…make, use, offer to sale, or sale the patented invention… without the consent of or accounting to the other owners…”

“…is not taken as an admission that the reference is prior art against the claims.”

The patent application included a statement asserting “small entity” status as the assignees were nonprofit universities.28 The small entity status entitled the applicants to reduced filing, issue, and maintenance fees.

In addition, the applicants appointed Hodgson Russ LLP and The Research Foundation for The State University of New York as power of attorney

If a finding of a violation of the “Duty of Candor” resulting in “inequitable conduct” regarding any claim in a patent is determined, then all the claims of the subject patent are rendered invalid.34 Finally, in spite of the requirement of the “Duty of Candor,” the applicant is cautioned not to “bury” the examiner with a long list of non-material references in hopes that the examiner will not notice the relevant material references.35 The specific guidance from the USPTO is to36

“…to prosecute the application identified above and to transact all business in the United States Patent and Trademark office connected therewith…”

“…avoid the submission of long lists of documents if it can be avoided…If a long list is submitted, highlight those documents which have been specifically brought to the applicant’s attention and/or are known to be of most significance.”

With the power of attorney in place, correspondence with the USPTO must generally be signed by a patent practioner (patent attorney or patent agent) of record.29

March-in Rights The work leading to the subject invention was supported with funding from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command. As stipulated in the Bayh-Dole Act, the patent application included the following statement30 “This invention was made with government support under Contract W81XWH-10-1-0690 awarded by US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. The government has certain rights in the invention.”

32

Requirement for Restriction/Election On March 22, 2016, the USPTO issued a restriction/election requirement stating that the subject patent application contains two or more inventions and the applicant must “elect” which invention to prosecute first37 “If two or more independent and distinct inventions are claimed in one application… [the USPTO] may require the application to be restricted to one of the inventions…”

The USPTO stated that the patent application contained two inventions: Group I Claims 1–14; drawn to a method of treating the surface of an object.

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

Group II Claims 15–16; drawn to an apparatus for reducing or preventing the growth of microbes on the surface of an object.

The examiner provided an analysis per the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) that the two inventions were each distinct from the other. In comparing the inventions with Group I claims and Group II claims, the examiner noted the inventions are related as “…process and apparatus for its practice.”

Per the MPEP, the examiner noted that the inventions are distinct if one or both of the following criteria are met38 1) The process as claimed can be practiced by another and materially different apparatus or by hand, or 2) The apparatus as claimed can be used to practice another and materially different process.

3) The examiner concluded that in the case of inventions with Group I claims and Group II claims are “…independent or distinct for the reasons given above and there would be serious search and examination burden if restriction were not required...”

The applicants “elected” to prosecute the invention associated with Group I claims 1–14 drawn to a method of treating the surface of an object. Group II claims were subsequently prosecuted as divisional (child) patent applications (see Table II).

Non-Final Office Action On June 2, 2016, the USPTO issued a non-final office action with an obviousness rejection of independent claim 1 and subsequent dependent claims.39 The rejection was based on published Patent Application No. 2011/0003401 (Oscarsson) in view of U.S. Patent No. 4,540,477 (Lin). After providing detailed arguments regarding the basis for the rejection for each of the claim elements, the examiner noted that the claim would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention in view of the combined teachings of Oscarsson and Lin. The examiner further noted that the dependent claims would be allowable if written in independent form, specifically “…[the independent claims] are objected to as being dependent on a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if written in independent form including of all the limitations of the base claim…”

The applicants were given a three-month period to respond without paying additional late response fees.

Applicant Response On September 1, 2016, the applicants responded to the non-final office action dated June 2, 2016. The response was within the threemonth period set by the USPTO and consequently no late fees were required. The applicants amended claim 1 with the limitations of claim 2.

The amended Claim 1 with the inserted text “in brackets“ and the deleted text indicated with a “strike-through” is reproduced herein: Claim 1. A method of treating the[a] surface of an object, wherein the object is of such material that it can act as a working electrode, the method comprising: providing a reference electrode, a counter electrode, and the object acting as the working electrode; and passing electrical current through the working and counter electrodes, wherein the current through the counter electrode is varied such that the electric potential of the working electrode is substantially constant relative to the electric potential of the reference electrode.

2. The method of claim 1,; and wherein the object is implantable or implanted.

The applicants anticipated that addition of the limitation from Claim 2 should put the amended Claim 1 in condition for allowance, as noted in their response “Claim 1 is amended herein with the limitations of allowed claim 2. As such, the rejection of claim 1 is rendered moot. Those claims which depend from [amended] claim 1 are allowable for at least the same reasons as amended claim 1. Accordingly, Applicant respectfully requests removal of the rejection.”

Allowance of Patent Application Based on the amendment to Claim 1 and the other claims, the USPTO issued a notice of allowance on December 2, 2016. After payment of the issue fee on February 28, 2017, the 14/540,213 patent application was issued as U.S. Patent No. 9,616,142 on April 11, 2017.

Continuing Applications A continuing or child patent application may be one of three types.

A continuation patent application adds new claims enabled by the parent patent application. Specifically, no new matter is introduced to the patent application and the new claims receive the benefit of the parent patent application filing date. A continuation-in-part (C-I-P) application introduces new subject matter to enable additional claims not supported by the parent patent application. These new claims do not receive the benefit of the parent application’s filing date.40 A divisional application is in response to a USPTO-issued restriction requirement indicating that the patent application contains two or more inventions.41 The applicant elects which invention (claims) to prosecute first and the remaining inventions (claims) are prosecuted in one or more divisional patent applications. The divisional patent applications receive the benefit of the filing date of the original patent application.42 The basic attributes of the continuing patent applications are summarized in Table III. As noted in Table II, two additional continuing applications related to the subject invention were filed. Patent Application No. 15/266,620 was filed on September 15, 2016 as a divisional patent application of Patent Application No. 14/540,213 (now Pat. No. 9,616,142). This patent application is abandoned. Patent Application No. 15/945,727 (continued on next page)

Table III. Types of continuing patent applications.

TYPE

COMMON INVENTOR

NEW SUBJECT MATTER

PARENT PRIORITY DATE

CLAIM ENABLED

BY PARENT

INITIATED BY

Continuation

At least one

No

Yes

Yes

Applicant

Continuation in Part

At least one

Yes

No: Priority date of new subject matter

No

Applicant

Divisional

Yes: claim specific

No

Yes

Yes

USPTO: Restriction requirement

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

33

Taylor and Inman

(continued from previous page)

was filed on April 4, 2018 as a continuation-in-part of Patent Application No. 15/266,620. The USPTO issued a final rejection on September 7, 2021. At the time of finalizing this article, the applicants had not responded to the final rejection. The applicants generally have up to six months to respond to the final rejection, although extensions may be sought for special circumstances. If the applicants do not respond, the patent application becomes abandoned.43 Reasons an applicant may choose to abandon a patent application include 1) the basis for the rejection by the USPTO cannot be traversed, 2) to avoid publication by filing a petition with the USPTO,44 or 3) to pursue prosecution of the subject invention in a continuing patent application.45

Summary In this installment of our “Looking at Patent Law” series, we present a case study of the prosecution of U.S. Patent No. 9,616,142; “Electrochemical Eradication of Microbes on Surfaces of Objects.”

We have chosen this invention to align with the focus of this issue of Interface on diversity and inclusion in electrochemical technology, science, and engineering. Notably, several of the inventors are female, including Dr. Esther S. Takeuchi who is a prolific inventor with numerous awards, honors, and recognitions. The ‘142 patent was issued on April 11, 2017 with co-inventors Mark Ehrensberger, Anthony Campagnari, Esther Takeuchi, Nicole Luke-Marshall, and Jeremy Gilbert. The patent is jointly assigned to The Research Foundation for the State University of New York and Syracuse University. The case study begins with a brief synopsis of the background of the invention followed by 1) a discussion of the parent and child patent applications associated with the invention, 2) inventor assignment and power of attorney designations, 3) election/restriction requirement, 4) acknowledgment of government march-in rights, 5) submission of an information disclosure statement and duty of candor, 6) summary of office actions, 7) summary of applicant response to non-final rejection, and 8) allowance of the patent application. With this case study, we hope to de-mystify the patent prosecution process and better prepare electrochemical and solid-state scientists, engineers and technologists to interact with their patent counsel regarding their inventions. © The Electrochemical Society. DOI: 10.1149/2.F05221IF

About the Authors E. Jennings Taylor, Founder and Senior Advisor to Faraday Technology, Inc. Research Interest: Faraday Technology, Inc. is a small business focused on developing innovative electrochemical processes and technologies based on pulse and pulse reverse electrolytic principles. Patent Background: Taylor leads Faraday’s patent and commercialization strategy and has negotiated numerous patents via field of use licenses as well as patent sales. He is admitted to practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) in patents cases as a patent agent (Registration No. 53,676). Member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA).

Pubs & Patents: Numerous technical pubs and presentations, inventor on 40 patents.

Work with ECS: Member for 42 years, ECS Fellow.

Website: http://www.faradaytechnology.com/ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3410-0267

34

Maria Inman, Vice President, Faraday Technology, Inc. Patent Background: Inman serves as principal investigator on project development activities and manages the company’s pulse and pulse reverse research project portfolio.

Pubs & Patents: In addition to technical pubs and presentations, she is competent in patent drafting and patent drawing preparation. She is an inventor on seven patents.

Work with ECS: Member for 25 years. Serves ECS as a member of many committees.

Awards: ASTM member.

Website: http://www.faradaytechnology.com/ https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2560-8410

References 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

Esther S. Takeuchi and William C. Thiebolt, “Preparation of Silver Vanadium Oxide Cathodes Using AgO and V2O5 as Starting Materials” U.S. Patent No. 5,389,472 issued February 5, 1995.

Esther S. Takeuchi et. al., “Alkali Metal having an Improved Cathode Activated with a Nonaqueous Electrolyte having a Carbonate Additive” U.S. Patent No. 6,221,534 issued April 24, 2001. https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/ip-programsand-awards/national-medal-technology-and-innovation/ recipients/2008 (accessed 12-2-2021). https://www.invent.org/inductees/esther-sans-takeuchi (accessed 12-2-2021). https://www.electrochem.org/fellow (accessed 12-2-2021). https://www.epo.org/news-events/events/european-inventor/ finalists/2018/sans-takeuchi.html (accessed 12-2-2021). https://www.electrochem.org/acheson-award (accessed 12-22021). https://www.amacad.org/new-members-2021 (accessed 12-22021).

E. J. Taylor and M. Inman, Electrochem. Soc. Interface, 26(4), 57 (2017).

USPTO Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) https:// portal.uspto.gov/pair/PublicPair Mark Ehrensberger et al., “Electrochemical Eradication of Microbes on Surfaces of Objects” U.S. Patent No. 9,616,142 issued April 11, 2017.

Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP) §201.04(b) (5) Provisional Application.

Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP) §211.01(a) Claiming the Benefit of a Provisional Application.

37 CFR 1.78(a)(1)(i) Claiming the Benefit of Earlier Filing Date and Cross-Reference to Other Applications.

35 U.S.C. §112(a) Specification/In General.

35 U.S.C. §112(b) Specification/Conclusion.

35 U.S.C. §113 Drawings. https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-andpayment/uspto-fee-schedule#Patent%20Fees 35 U.S.C. §115(b)(1)(2) Inventor’s Oath or Declaration/Required Statements.

35 U.S.C. §101 Inventions Patentable.

37 CFR 1.211 Publication of Applications.

37 CFR 1.63 Inventor’s Oath or Declaration.

18 U.S.C. §1001Statements or Entries Generally.

E. J. Taylor and M. Inman, Electrochem. Soc. Interface, 26(2), 45 (2017).

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

25. Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP) §1481.02 Correction of Named Inventor.

26. 35 U.S.C. §261 Ownership; Assignment.

27. 35 U.S.C. §262 Joint Owners.

28. 37 CFR §1.27(a)(3)(ii)(A) Definition of small entities and establishing status as a small entity to permit payment of small entity fees; when a determination of entitlement to small entity status and notification of loss of entitlement to small entity status are required; fraud on the Office.

29. 37 CFR §1.33 Correspondence Respecting Patent Applications, Reexamination Proceedings, and Other Proceedings.

30. 35 U.S.C. §203 March-in Rights.

31. 35 U.S.C. §200 Policy and Objective.

32. 37 CFR §1.56(a) Duty to Disclose Information Material to Patentability.

33. Riverwood Int’l Corp. v. R.A. Jones & Co., 324 F.3d 1346, 135455, 66 USPQ2d 1331, 1337-38 (Fed Cir. 2003).

34. Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP) §2016 Fraud, Inequitable Conduct, or Violation of Duty of Disclosure Affects All Claims.

35. R. B. Taylor, Mich. Telecomm. & Tech. Law Rev., 99, 19 (2012).

36. Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP) §2004.13 Aids to Comply with Duty of Disclosure.

37. 35 U.S.C. §121 Divisional Applications.

38. Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP) §806.05(e) Process and Apparatus for Its Practice.

39. E. J. Taylor and M. Inman, Electrochem. Soc. Interface, 26(3), 39 (2017).

40. Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP) §201.08 Continuation-in-Part Application.

41. 35 U.S.C. §121 Divisional Applications.

42. Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP) §201.06 Divisional Application.

43. 37 CFR §1.135 Abandonment for Failure to Reply within Time Period.

44. 37 CFR §1.138(c) Express Abandonment.

45. 37 CFR §1.138(b) Express Abandonment.

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242nd ECS Meeting Atlanta, GA, US SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2022 Advanced Impedance Spectroscopy Mark Orazem, University of Florida Fundamentals of Electrochemistry: Basic Theory and Thermodynamic Methods Jamie Noël, Western University Devices and Materials of Oxide Thin-Film Transistors Hideo Hosono, Tokyo Institute of Technology Michael Shur, Rensselaer Institute of Technology

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36

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

TECH HIGHLIGHTS Design Parameters for Enhanced Performance of Li1+xNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 at High Voltage: A Phase Transformation Study by In Situ XRD

For the development of high energy density Li-ion batteries, one bottleneck is obtaining a higher reversible capacity in the cathode or positive electrode material. Starting with the material Li1+xNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 (NMC 622), there are two pathways to doing this: increase the Ni content or raise the charge cut-off voltage, thereby increasing the number of active redox sites. A team led by researchers from Hydro-Québec reported a method to safely raise the cut-off voltage to 4.6 V by doping the material with 2% Al. Using 1 Ah pouch cells, it was shown that the doped material resulted in lower internal resistance, better rate capability, and higher capacity at -10°C. To uncover the mechanistic reason Al provided this benefit, an in situ XRD setup was used to compare the doped and undoped material during cycling. This approach revealed the doped material completely converted to the H3 phase of NMC, while the undoped material had an unreacted core that remained in the H1 phase. The authors found evidence that this was due to higher Li+ diffusivity in the doped material, and due to its morphology of smaller, more porous particles than the undoped material.

From: W. Zhu, P. Hovington, S. Bessette, et al., J. Electrochem. Soc., 168, 100526 (2021).

A Combined Experimental and Computational Approach to Study Crevice Corrosion of Stainless Steel

Crevice corrosion is a primary corrosion type on stainless steel (SS). To better understand this corrosion, Malki et al. used a complementary experimental and computational method to investigate the effect of crevice solution environment, passive film, and cathodic capacity on the different stages of crevice corrosion and current/potential distributions along the crevice. The researchers used a threeelectrode cell setup with working electrode (ferritic SS) and counter electrode of same materials separated into two compartments.

An artificial crevice was designed and mounted on the working electrode. Current and potential were monitored to identify different corrosion stages over time.

The experiment showed that higher [Cl-] shortened the incubation time and higher pH resulted in metastable pitting during the incubation. Furthermore, higher [Cl-]/ pH/temperature of crevice solution and larger cathode capacity to sustain crevice corrosion led to higher current and more negative corrosion potential; passivated film and higher Cr content of SS increased corrosion crevice resistance. Finiteelement modeling delineated the critical

role of geometry in the severity of crevice corrosion—an occluded crevice favored pitting-like crevice propagation caused by large ohmic drop, whereas an open crevice favored depassivation-like propagation.

From: B. Malki, G. Berthomé, T. Souier, et al., J. Electrochem. Soc., 168, 101504 (2021).

Template-Free Preparation of Metal Nanowires

by Two-Phase Electrolysis Using Cells Composed of Water and Oil Phases

Unique characteristics of metal nanowires, such as anisotropic conduction and large surface area to volume ratio, make them a great set of candidates for their application in batteries, catalysis, and sensors. Synthesis methods employed so far, like liquid phase extraction, template-based synthesis, and use of ionic liquids, do not provide a high throughput pathway. Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University in collaboration with Mitsui Mining and Smelting company devised a novel method of two-phase electrolysis, with the water phase containing the salt and the deposition carried out in the oil phase. The team demonstrated the deposition of Sn and Cu nanowires, with the morphology confirmed through SEM and TEM. Resulting nanowires were found, via XRD, to be crystalline in nature. EDS analysis showed the presence of O and Cl in both Sn and Cu nanowires. The researchers hypothesized the source of O to be from oxidation of wires post deposition, whereas Cl came from being carried through to the oil phase as a salt complex. The group also completed the first-level optimization of operating conditions to yield dendrite-free nanowires and showed that salt concentration and the voltage were key parameters.

From: T. Yanagishita, Y. Nishioka, S. Miwa, et al., J. Electrochem. Soc., 168, 093502 (2021).

Electrocatalyst Screening on a Massive Array of Closed Bipolar Microelectrodes

Unlike conventional electrodes, a bipolar electrode (BPE) is a piece of electronic conductor in an electrolyte solution with no direct ohmic contact with any power source.

Electrode reactions, however, can still occur on a BPE due to the solution potential difference at its opposing ends generated by a separate pair of driven electrodes biased with a potentiostat. Therefore, high throughput screening can be achieved on multiple BPEs without the hassle of physical wiring of these electrodes. In the recent Focus Issue on Modern Electroanalytical Research in the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry, researchers from the University of Washington reported such an application with a massive array of 6000 microfabricated bipolar microelectrodes. The BPE array was configured in a closed fashion: The

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

reporter side was exposed to a solution that can generate electroluminescence on the electrodes, while the other side was exposed to solutions of interest to study. The setup was used to investigate the impact of varied Ni(OH)2 coverage on the catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction on Au electrodes in alkaline solution. The authors are expanding this unique platform to enable the screening of various metal alloy electrocatalysts.

From: T. J. Anderson, P. A. Defnet, R. A. Cheung, et al., J. Electrochem. Soc., 168, 106502 (2021).

“Mn” Incorporated Coconut Water Derived Carbon for Supercapacitor Application

This article is part of the Focus Issue on Selected Papers from the International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 2021 (ICONN-2021).

Carbon is the most commonly used electrode material for commercial electric double layer capacitors. Consequently, biomassderived carbon materials have attracted a great deal of attention in recent years as sustainable, cost-effective alternatives for other, expensive carbon precursors. To this end, researchers have recently reported on the preparation of manganese-incorporated carbon, derived from coconut water, for use in supercapacitors. A facile, one-step synthesis of Mn-incorporated carbon was achieved using a spray pyrolysis method.

Carbon samples with varying amounts of Mn (0.08 M, 0.05 M, and 0.02 M) were prepared by dissolving different concentrations of MnSO4 in coconut water. Carbon with 0.05 M Mn outperformed other samples tested, including a carbon sample without any Mn, exhibiting a high areal capacitance of 438.33 mF cm-2 and an energy density of 21.91 × 10-3 Wh cm-2, under an applied current density of 2 mA cm-2. This report highlights the importance of investigating sustainable materials as carbonaceous feeds as well as the benefits of Mn incorporation to enhance supercapacitor performance.

From: Y. T. Nakate, U. T. Nakate, R. Salunke, et al., J. Solid State Sci. Technol., 10, 091003 (2021).

Tech Highlights was prepared by Joshua Gallaway of Northeastern University, David McNulty of University of Limerick, Chao (Gilbert) Liu of Shell, Zenghe Liu of Abbott Diabetes Care, Chock Karuppaiah of Vetri Labs, and Donald Pile of EnPower, Inc. Each article highlighted here is available free online. Go to the online version of Tech Highlights in each issue of Interface, and click on the article summary to take you to the full-text version of the article.

37

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Addressing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Across Disciplines

by Alice Suroviec

I

n this issue we examine diversity, inclusion, and equity through several different lenses. This issue is of continuing importance to ECS, science, and the greater world population. Last year the ECS Board of Directors officially approved the Diversity and Inclusion Statement for The Electrochemical Society:

‟The Electrochemical Society strives to be an inclusive organization that promotes and values diversity. We recognize and respect the rights of all, and are committed to building and maintaining a culture that encourages, supports, and celebrates the unique backgrounds and experiences of our members, volunteers, employees, and constituents. Diversity is our strength. It fuels innovation, enhances collaboration, enables our best accomplishments, brings us closer to the communities we serve, and advances our mission to promote electrochemical and solid state science worldwide.”

Diversity and Inclusion There is a growing body of research that indicates that a diverse team, whether in academics, government, or industry, is the most productive team.1 This ECS statement really acknowledges that. We are committed to building a diverse organization and to maintaining a culture that supports that vision. However, getting to that point will require overcoming many roadblocks that are still in our path.

DEI Concerns at the Undergraduate Level According to the 2019 National Academies report, Monitoring Educational Equity, high schools with a population of greater than 75% students of color are half as likely to offer AP, IB, or higherlevel math and science courses.2 This inequity carries forward to the students entering college. In 2018 African American students earned 7% of STEM bachelor’s degrees, below their share of all bachelor’s degrees (10%).2 For first-generation students the burden of achieving academic success can weigh heavily on them, and they don’t have a support network of family members who have attended to college themselves and thus who have the experience to provide help when the students need it. Some studies point to the continued pressure on students of color and lack of mentorship as to why these students are not persisting in STEM fields.2

DEI Concerns at the Graduate Level While graduate programs have been working toward increasing the diversity of the applicant pool, this has not yet increased the diversity of PhDs granted in STEM. There are many reasons for this issue. Studies have shown that faculty hold a strong preference for

students who closely match their own backgrounds. There are also strong biases that come into play when reviewing graduate student applications. Halo biases give strong preference to students who come from more prestigious programs, whereas horn biases overlook students who come from less-known programs.1 Knowing about the biases and being willing to call them out in ourselves and others will be critical to increasing the diversity in our programs. Of the 18,300 PhDs awarded in 2020 in the United States in all areas of graduate programs, 6% were awarded to Hispanic adults and 9% were awarded to Black adults.3 These percentages have not been increasing, and with the pandemic, are expected to decrease over the next several years with fewer students starting and completing their bachelor’s degrees.

DEI Concerns in the Workplace As will be discussed in other articles in this issue of Interface, the diversity gap in the STEM workforce is large. Hispanic and Black workers are underrepresented in the STEM workforce compared to their representation in the population and in the overall workplace.3 And while STEM workers are paid more than in other areas of the workplace, there are significant pay inequities within the STEM field. There are many practices that prevent a workplace from being inclusive. Some of these practices are systematic and start with issues in hiring and supporting diverse candidates.1

Conclusions So, what can be done on such a large issue? This is a multilayered issue and there will not be any one solution. At the undergraduate level it seems that providing systems of support is most critical. For those of us who teach at the undergraduate level, mentoring of students and providing a positive role model that can help students transition from high school through college is essential and can be incredibly impactful. Also, allowing students an opportunity to work in a lab alongside graduate students and post-docs can provide a supportive system for these undergraduate students. For those teaching graduate students, the onus is on the faculty member to build a research group that is supportive of each other and inclusive of differing viewpoints.

The recruitment process of graduate students varies greatly, but acknowledging bias that can appear when examining student transcripts or when speaking with them about their previous scholarly work will be critical to increasing the diversity and inclusion within the STEM graduate field. Many of these same issues relate to the workforce, where examining recruitment and hiring practices with an eye to building a deep pool of applicants and then providing the support system to help those diverse employees thrive and grow in their jobs are good places to start.3 In conclusion, a holistic approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion is needed. These initiatives will need to include changes to recruitment, mentoring, educational training, and social accountability. Our job as members of the STEM community is to help change these practices in our domains of influence to build a more inclusive community. © The Electrochemical Society. DOI: 10.1149/2.F07221IF

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(continued on next page)

39

Suroviec

(continued from previous page)

About the Author Alice Suroviec, Professor of Bioanalytical Chemistry and Dean of the College of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Berry College, U.S. Education: BS in Chemistry (Allegheny College), PhD (Virginia Tech).

Research Interests: Enzymatically modified electrodes for use as biosensors.

Work with Work with ECS: Associate Editor, JES; Contributing Editor, Interface; Chair, ECS Education Committee; Member, ECS Individual Membership Committee; Past Chair, Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry Division; Chair, ECS Diversity Committee. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9252-2468

The contributors to this issue mentioned numerous resources for people who are interested in learning more about the science underpinning DEI, as well as the organizations that are working to advance DEI in STEM. To make it easy for our readers, we’ve gathered the resources mentioned by our authors into a single list, along with a few other useful resources.

40

References 1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Addressing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism in the 21st century STEMM Organizations: Proceedings of a Workshop in Brief, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC (2021). https://doi.org/10.17226/26294.

2. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Monitoring Educational Equity, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC (2019). https://doi.org/10.17226/25389.

3. Pew Research Center, “STEM Jobs See Uneven Progress in Increasing Gender, Racial and Ethnic Diversity” (April 2021).

RESOURCES ON DEI IN STEM • Society of Women Engineers • American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) • Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/ Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) • National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) • National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) • National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) • Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) • National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Diversity and Inclusion in STEMM Collection • Coalition of Communities of Color Organizational Self-Assessment Tool • Assessing the Landscape for DEI Efforts in U.S. STEM Graduate Education: A Systematic Literature Review for the Sloan Foundation • European Union Diversity Charters

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in Our Professions: A Thin and Leaky Pipeline

by Christina Bock What is DEI?

Some DEI Numbers in STEM

EI means making equality a reality; achieving this goal needs diversity, and diversity can only be achieved by being inclusive. Equality seems fair and just, and it sounds simple enough, yet statistics indicate that we, and specifically those of us within the STEM fields, are progressing at a slow rate toward the direction of DEI. Of course, there is more to DEI than this and, in fact, DEI holds many benefits for all of us.

Diversity implies the involvement of a group of people and not an individual, hence DEI means to work together, and working as a diverse team has benefits: diverse teams offer a variety of viewpoints, skill sets, experiences, education, and knowledge. Diversity is manifold and can refer to gender, ethnicity, age, demographics, and disciplines. Diverse teams are said to be better equipped to effectively address issues and develop products that address real needs, to identify gaps, and to possess effective problem-solving skills.

It is generally accepted that diversity stimulates innovation and creativity and correspondingly advances science. Companies, whose business is innovation, consider diverse teams as the most successful.1 Diverse teams are also reported to have a competitive edge.2 Studies have shown that research papers receive a higher number of citations when authored by individuals with names of different ethnicity.3 Working in diverse teams enriches our experience and increases our knowledge. It broadens our horizons and brings new perspectives.

Not integrating DEI and working with teams that lack diversity can result in missed opportunities and possible incomplete interpretation of data. Studies report that diverse teams win in science and have greater impact and outreach.3,4 Of course, such teams only function at their best if equality exists and all members are actually included.

Thinking about all this suggests that the creation of diverse teams and environments fostering DEI would be a no-brainer for the STEM fields, yet the data5–8 indicate a lag in progress, which makes one wonder why this is the case.

Individuals educated in the STEM professions are sought after and are working in professions that are drivers for our economies and provide innovation and solutions to address societal needs. Hence, it is not surprising that STEM employees are high-income earners.5 Yet, in the STEM occupations, the median salary for women is below that of men.7 The actual numbers depend on the country, but here is just one example of many: “…in 2017, women made on average 30% less than men employed in STEM in Canada.”8,9 This gender-based difference in median pay clashes with equality.

The STEM fields show a low unemployment rate, and individuals with STEM educations are desired; but the STEM occupations are dominated by men. For example: in the United States, 73% of STEM employees are male vs. 23% women.5 Even worse, many women are not active in the core occupations of STEM but at the periphery, meaning they apply some of their STEM skills and knowledge, but they often work in lower paying and less fulfilling jobs.7 Data collected for the United States suggest that STEM fields are also dominated by white males. In addition to having a low percentage of women in STEM, the percentage of non-white females in STEM is low. In 2017 in the United States, barely 14% of nonwhite females earned a bachelor’s degree in STEM. The percentage of women in STEM has increased; however, it is taking far too long.

For example, in the U.S., this percentage has increased from 8 to 27% between 1970 and 2019. A breakdown of women engaged in STEM occupations in the U.S. over time is given in Fig. 1. It also shows that women are employed at a high percentage in social or soft sciences, while the percentages of females working as engineers and computer scientists are low. In fact, since 1990 the percentage of females working in computer science has been declining and increases in engineering have almost stalled since 1980.5–7 In 2018, among all U.S. citizens and permanent residents, 15.1% of bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering were earned by individuals of Hispanic or Latino origin, 8.5% by Black or African Americans, and 0.4% by American Indians or Alaska Natives.

These percentages do not reflect the overall population, with people of Latino or Hispanic origin making up 18% of the U.S. in 2020, and African Americans comprising 13% of the general population, well above their 8.5% share of BS degrees. Furthermore, these discrepancies are magnified at the higher degree levels.

Detailed data for persons with disabilities are limited. However, a higher percentage of individuals with disabilities report that they support their studies by private means compared to individuals with no disabilities, reflecting inequality issues.5–7

D

Are We Truly Committed and Sufficiently Active to Make DEI in STEM a Reality?

You may say, in science and in our daily lives the implementation of DEI is progressing well. Yet, we can check if DEI in STEM is being achieved, as organizations and governments across the world are collecting data on the representation of marginalized groups in STEM. The data suggests that DEI in STEM is progressing at a slow rate.5–8 In fact, in some countries, which are considered to be part of the progressive first world where the DEI abbreviation is used by politicians and executives on a regular basis, DEI in STEM turns out to be progressing at a very slow rate or seems to be failing. An example of such an indicator is the following statement taken from a study carried out by Statistics Canada: “Women in Canada are less likely to enter; more likely to leave STEM fields.”9 One may say that we are doing everything we can to achieve DEI but it is not possible or at least not yet. Is this really true or is it a bias; maybe it is even an excuse for not dealing with something that requires a conscious attempt to actively change our ingrained habits and ways of thinking?

Why are Women and Minority Groups Underrepresented in STEM? Studies have found that female elementary and high school students are genuinely interested in science and engineering.11 Data show that worldwide an increasing number of women are enrolling in colleges and universities in the STEM fields and frequently women graduate faster than men.7,11 In the United States, students of Hispanic and Latino backgrounds are increasingly majoring in undergraduate STEM disciplines, although the increase is slow.5 Yet, Canadian studies find that many female students enrolled in a STEM program change direction within the first year, and the retention of women

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for people of color also increases when goals are implemented, but the actual share of people from marginalized groups in academia remains low (e.g., 8.5% in the U.S. in 2019).5,7 The numbers indicate that the academic STEM world is shifting toward diversification, but a closer inspection shows that many of the positions held by people of color are at a lower pay and a lower responsibility level.7 The small number of awards given in science to women also reveals equality issues;13 one of the reasons is gender bias and the fact that on average women are less likely to advocate for themselves than are men.

The precise situation in STEM depends on the location and the above numbers are not meant to be an absolute worldwide reflection. For example, Europe has been active in setting quotas for universities and company boards, and employment numbers show that Europe is closing the gender gap. Worldwide the STEM workforce is made up of less than 30% Fig. 1. The percentage of women engaged in STEM jobs since 1970. The information is broken down by women, albeit there are places where this STEM fields and data referred to social or soft sciences are also shown. The figure represents public data published by the U.S. Census Bureau.6 percentage is higher, such as: 48.2% in Central Asia, 45.1% in Latin America and 7,8,11 with a STEM degree in the actual profession is small.

This the Caribbean, 41.5% in the Arab States, and 39.3% in Central and leaking and thin STEM pipeline has received attention in Canada for Eastern Europe. In China, the retention of women in engineering is several decades.8,11 Studies are being published and actions are being higher than in North America; a reason given for this is the presence recommended, but the fruits of these actions are not yet seen and may of female role models.7 take more time and effort to come through as, up to now, a significant But either way, the numbers show that achieving DEI in STEM number of women still leave the STEM professions in Canada. is progressing slowly. In fact, we can say that full DEI in STEM is From 2006 to 2016, 34.7% of females left the STEM occupations long overdue and it seems appropriate to ask ourselves: Why is this vs. 26.4% men.7 When asked, some women have cited a hostile the case and what can be done to make DEI in STEM a reality? environment as a reason for leaving STEM professions.12 According

to a Statistics Canada study, some of the difference between females What Helps Women and People from and males leaving the STEM occupations could be related to the field of study selected by women versus men and the subsequent path of Marginalized Communities Pursue and employment. The percentage of male graduates in engineering is Stay in STEM Professions? higher than females, while a higher percentage of females graduate in the social and health sciences. In addition, engineers are more likely As we know, education is critical to employment and success to stay in their profession, while employment choices, including nonin STEM; hence access to education is crucial for people from STEM occupations, are broader for graduates with social and health underrepresented communities to enter and stay employed in the science degrees.7 STEM professions. Studies have shown that people of color are Employment numbers are also more likely to pursue a degree in revealing. In the U.S., more men STEM and to remain in the STEM with science and engineering professions if they have a support degrees are employed than ‟Leadership and education in our fields extend network. Other reasons stated women, but fewer men are beyond teaching the science; they involve teaching are the importance of feeling employed part-time than women inclusive behavior, working together, and setting included and the need to believe (1.6 million vs. 3 million). When positive examples.” in the benefit and significance part-time employed workers are of the work. Seeing other people asked if they would prefer to from diverse backgrounds being work full time, men will often say successful and holding leadership no, while women will say yes. The reasons for women not to work positions in STEM are also factors.10,14 Therefore, being part of a full time include domestic responsibilities such as taking care of the support network either as a family member, a friend, or a supervisor, household, children and sometimes elderly or sick family members.5 and providing mentorship to people from underrepresented Some of these data reveal the need to facilitate re-entry of women communities is crucially important and something each of us can do. into the workforce after giving birth and very importantly: the need Other actions we can take are to provide an encouraging to change our ingrained gender divided roles and responsibilities. environment for diversity in STEM and to welcome individual In fact, COVID has shown that traditional roles still dominate and differences. After all, progress is made by considering different views in addition to being breadwinners, women are still the ones who and perspectives; this opens up creativity and brings new ideas. predominantly provide family care. The latter is especially evident As scientists we are also mentors and educators. We serve as during lockdowns. examples and role models and provide leadership. Leadership and Goals set to achieve DEI seem to be having a positive effect, with education in our fields extend beyond teaching the science; they the number of women faculty employed by universities increasing, involve teaching inclusive behavior, working together, and setting albeit often slowly (in the U.S., an increase from 26.4 to 38.5% took positive examples. place between 1999 and 2019). The share of academic positions 42

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

We can change our ways of thinking, speaking, and listening.

We can actively change our behaviors to make DEI a reality. It is not sufficient to continue in our set ways just because they are more comfortable. We should select diverse individuals with the benefit of creating an effective team, instead of favoring team members who are similar to us because the communication is faster among likeminded people.

Be an advocate for DEI and speak up when you see wrongdoing and proactively deal with biases. Monitor your language and listen to others. Different individuals use different ways of expressing themselves, but do not ridicule or belittle, instead welcome different ways. For example, some women are known to say: “I think,” which is often frowned upon, but “I think” is an honest statement, which specifically in research should be appreciated rather than classified as the person not knowing the discipline.

Work as a team and give credit to others. Acknowledge the team and use “we.” We is inclusive and encourages all team members to work together.

Do not be blind and do not ignore facts; harassment in STEM is a reality and takes place all around us. Deal with situations that involve inequality rather than being passive.

How Can Employers Achieve DEI? Employers can help facilitate DEI by setting goals and by providing opportunities to encourage underrepresented groups to advance in their careers. Knowing actual numbers by collecting statistics and surveys can give a measure of the state of improvement and be a tool to achieve DEI. Providing DEI awareness courses for all employees, including training on how to deal with unconscious biases, can create a positive and inclusive environment. Ways of hiring can be changed by ensuring that interview panels are made of diverse members. The establishment of reward mechanisms for role model behavior and mentorship as well as rewards for individuals who facilitate and stand up for DEI are other tools. Employers can facilitate the re-entry of women into the working world and can also let women stay involved during maternity or other family-related leaves. Also, as a note to all of us: in an ideal world, domestic and professional responsibilities would not be gender-divided.

There are many more ways for an employer to achieve DEI, such establishing an independent third party, an ombudsperson or a committee, who can deal with DEI situations and judge free of bias. And, it is important to effectively and fairly deal with conflicts.

Not dealing with conflicts may be an easier thing to do but it only catalyses and encourages negative behavior.

Where is The Electrochemical Society Standing on DEI? In 1979, ECS members elected its first female president: Joan Berkowitz: an action which can be considered ahead of its times. This milestone was followed by a dry period, but since 1995, ECS has seen a steady increase in female presidents and in members of the executive committee. Overall, the society’s executive committee and board of directors have been growing more diverse. Since 2018, ECS has had a diversity statement and in 2019, an ad-hoc diversity committee was formed. However, ECS does not measure well in terms of male versus female plenary speakers. A look at ECS’s website shows that since 1970, out of 107 plenary speakers, a mere two were females.

Female winners are also spread very thinly amongst ECS awardees.

ECS is growing more inclusive and engaging its younger members in decision making, voting, and serving on committees. A true inclusion and engagement of younger as well as demographically diverse members is key for the health of ECS. As such, ECS could go further and actively engage younger members and early career scientists in its publications such as Interface, in symposium planning, and in the design of content like the website. In terms of symposium planning, ECS could institute a policy such as having at least one female and one demographically or culturally diverse member as organizers of each symposium.

ECS is a member-driven society that provides a place for scientific exchange, and members often state that ECS provides a feeling of belonging and of being part of a family. Therefore, ECS fulfills many favorable conditions for achieving DEI.

Concluding Words The need for DEI is real and, in fact, overdue. DEI holds strong benefits for us and our societies. I say it is time that we all blow off the dust that seems to sit on the DEI abbreviation in STEM and commit to action toward DEI. Changing our ingrained ways and consciously changing our behaviors is a beginning toward DEI. © The Electrochemical Society. DOI: 10.1149/2.F08221IF

About the Author Christina Bock, Senior Research Officer, National Research Council of Canada (NRC).

Research Interests: Electro-catalysis, energy conversion, and energy storage.

Pubs + Patents: >70 research articles, >5 book chapters, and numerous patents.

Work Experience: She has worked with industry, supervised undergraduate and graduate students, served as team and group leader, and as technical leader and advisor to various NRC programs. She also served on the scientific advisory board to the President of NRC. Work with ECS: Fellow of ECS and Member since 1995. Cofounder of the E2S Electrochemical Energy Summit series (2011).

Member of many ECS committees and the Board of Directors, and Treasurer, Vice President (2016–2019), and President of ECS (2019–2020).

References 1. V. U. Druskat and S. B. Wolff, Building the Emotional Intelligence of Groups, p.71, in: On Emotional Intelligence, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts (2015).

2. Nature News, These labs are remarkably diverse — here’s why they’re winning at science, June (2018).

3. J. C. Lerback, B. Hanson, and P. Wooden, Earth Space Sci., 7 (5), e2019EA000946 (2020).

4. B. K. AlShebli, T. Rahwan, and Wei Lee Woon, Nat. Commun., 9, 5163 (2018).

5. National Science Foundation, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering (2021).

6. U.S. Census Bureau, Women Making Gains in STEM Occupations but Still Underrepresented (2021).

7. Catalyst: Workplaces that Work for Women, Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) (Quick Take) (2021).

8. Pew Research Center, STEM Jobs See Uneven Progress in Increasing Gender, Racial and Ethnic Diversity (2021).

9. K. Frank, A Gender Analysis of the Occupational Pathways of STEM Graduates in Canada, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series, September 16 (2019).

10. DiscoverE, Despite the Odds: Young Women who persist in Engineering, Executive Summary (2019).

11. K. Wall, Persistence and Representation of Women in STEM Programs, May 2 (2019).

12. Pew Research Center, Women and Men in STEM Often at Odds Over Workplace Equity, January 9 (2018).

13. Nature News, Women Less Likely to Win Major Research Awards, September 13 (2021).

14. K. Kricorian, M. Seu, D. Lopez, E. Ureta, and O. Equils, Int. J. STEM Educ., 16, 7 (2020).

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Equality and Diversity in (Electrochemical) Sciences – 30 Years of Observations

by Sannakaisa Virtanen

L

in a foreign language and the proposals being reviewed by native et me start by introducing myself, as my background plays speakers feels like a disadvantage. Moreover, probably well-intended a role in my view on equality and diversity (in life and remarks on a “charming accent” do not feel like a compliment. in science). Growing up and being educated in Finland, During my time as a professor in Germany, I have been directly I did not truly realize how privileged I was in this Nordic involved in the university’s “gender and diversity activities” and country that enabled me to pursue my goals and dreams in have first-hand experience with different measures taken to increase life, never wasting a thought on possible gender-related limitations on women’s representation on various levels in academia. Such measures my choices and opportunities—and looking back I do not think it did for instance involved mentoring programs for young researchers (or else, I never came even in the vicinity of the “glass ceiling”). Of to fix the “leaky pipeline,” establishing day care options to support course, I knew that I grew up in a country where women had already families, and several initiatives to increase the number of women as gotten the right to vote in 1906 (one of the first countries in Europe senior scientists in permanent positions and as professors (including to do so), but in general gender equality (or inequality?) was not a proactive recruiting). significant issue in my life. After my studies of Materials Science and Not all of these well-meaning measures have had only positive Engineering in Finland, I moved to Switzerland and found myself in outcomes, and some may even lead to unexpected disadvantages for a country where in one part of the country women still did not have minorities. As an example: When women are recruited as professors the right to vote (in the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden, women in a faculty with very few female colleagues, they may be overloaded were granted the right to vote in 1991). I was somewhat surprised with extra work by the requirement to include a certain number of to realize that the “traditional” family model in this mid-European female professors on various committees. As such, a certain degree country was far more typical than what I had mostly experienced in of diversity in committees is well-justified, but it should not come at Finland, where it was quite typical that both parents worked outside the cost of reducing the available time of female professors for the of the home. During my PhD studies, I frequently encountered academic core activities, namely situations where I was the only research and teaching—especially female person in a research group as the latter activities are more or in a project meeting. Initially ‟During my PhD studies, I frequently encountered highly valued in assessing feeling somewhat intimidated in situations where I was the only female person in a academic performance than is a group of experienced (male) research group or in a project meeting.” involvement in academic selfscientists, I grew stronger and government. The easiest remedy more self-assured, convincing for such challenges would be, of myself that my research was not course, simply to hire more female less interesting due to my gender. professors—but that is an oversimplification of these issues.

In general, I did not feel discriminated against because of my gender To summarize, having lived for long periods of time in three or my nationality. And, if in a rare case, a doubt or a question was different countries (Finland, Switzerland, and Germany) and for raised about my ability to do something simply due to my gender, shorter research stays of 3 to 12 months outside of Europe (namely this skepticism merely triggered me to perform better. Through these in the United States, Canada, and Japan), has given me many insights early years I was mostly lucky to have been surrounded by people into the value of diversity. who trusted me and therefore challenged me to achieve more.

About twenty years later I moved to Germany, after spending time for research stays in the United States and Canada. Both stays Changes Observed – were very valuable for my professional development. Changing the From a 30-Year Perspective working environment and encountering new colleagues increased my energy and motivation and generated many new ideas and Apart from my everyday working life at universities, where inspirations. over more than 30 years the number of female students in many Today, the spirit of the Nordic countries, with their natural and selfengineering disciplines has grown significantly, and a steady— evident equal opportunities for women and men, is not yet fully alive albeit much slower—increase in the number of female professors is in mid-Europe, notwithstanding increasingly intensive discussions visible, I have also observed changes through frequent and regular on gender and diversity, topics ranging from children’s day care to attendance at international conferences, such as the meetings of The quotas for women in various high-level positions. When I lived and Electrochemical Society. worked in Switzerland—due to the highly international faculty and In my experience at the universities where I have worked, the the fact that this small country has four national languages—English leaky pipeline is still clearly observable. Even in disciplines where was commonly used and fully accepted as a working language; thus, there is a strong over-representation of female students up through the with it being a foreign language for many, there was a high level of graduate level, this seldom is directly mirrored on the faculty position tolerance on language (i.e., speaking a language perfectly was not level. However, as a very personal observation: joining the faculty of expected and language skills had little influence on the evaluation engineering in my current affiliation in 2003, I was the second female of scientific performance). However, after I moved to Germany, professor in the faculty—hence only two of the five departments in the importance of a good command of the German language the faculty had a female professor. Today, all our departments have became an issue. Despite having sufficient language skills for good at least one female professor. But this is not a great success story, as communication, being the only non-native speaker in a committee (continued on next page) meeting for instance can be challenging. Writing research proposals The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

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the timeframe for this change is almost 20 years and the numbers are still quite low.

In my very first ECS Fall Meeting in Chicago in 1988, I did not personally know a single person present. Observing the crowds, it was clear that I was not a stereotypical attendant, neither by age nor by gender. I do not have hard numbers to prove my case, but at current conferences just looking around in a lecture hall, during poster sessions, or at evening receptions, it is clear that the attendance is significantly more diverse than 30 years ago—and not only as it concerns gender. It should not only be every scientist’s right to attend, but also much more importantly: science clearly profits from participation of as many researchers from various backgrounds as possible. From a simple personal view: it is much more interesting to mingle in a diverse group than among a uniform set.

Moreover, and also a personal view: already at my first attendance at international conferences it was great to experience the lively interactions between researchers from many different countries, and not being “the one” with the “special” accent.

However, it is not merely the number of people from diverse backgrounds being part of a faculty or being a member of a professional society that is important. Of course, diversity should be also represented in important positions in these institutions. In The Electrochemical Society, for example, even without hard facts and figures, it seems that nowadays leadership in the society, in its divisions and sections, is more diverse. Such a large and prestigious professional society can therefore be a role model on integration of scientists of diverse backgrounds into all levels of activities.

Although women generally seem to be well represented in ECS activities, it seems that women are under-represented as award winners; this is not an ECS-specific case. The origin of this underrepresentation is not clear to me: are we in general more prone to consider male colleagues as candidates for prestigious awards and forget that there may be a well-qualified female candidate available as well? Do women not self-nominate to the same extent as males? Or should we proactively search for female candidates to be nominated?

Of course, gender should not be more important than qualification when choosing award winners and as such I do not recommend quotas for women for awards. Moreover, I am not convinced that establishing special awards only for women is the right way to go.

This is simply because women want to compete for the same and best awards as all scientists and not be rewarded with an award that may feel like a consolation prize.

The Value of Diversity in Science It is generally acknowledged that diverse teams are stronger. This increased strength is easily demonstrated in research: If all research group members have the same educational background, they often have the same tendency to interpret results in the conventional way that they learned coming from the same school—out-of-the-box thinking, alternative interpretations, and “unusual” ideas are missing.

As already mentioned, early on I learned for myself that the best way to boost my research is to introduce some changes into my working environment; for instance, to go to another institution to learn new methods and meet new colleagues, observe how others tackle research questions, discuss ideas with people with different backgrounds or from different disciplines. Unusual questions may lead to new ideas.

Working at a university allows one to remain flexible. It is a place where research group compositions are quite dynamic (frequent changes as students come and go) and often highly international.

Leading diverse teams can occasionally be challenging, but in most cases welcoming diversity will be rewarding.

Therefore, diversity has clear merit for progress in science.

Academia, on the other hand, can help by promoting diverse working environments. As concerns internationality, this already is the case, as mobility is often considered an important asset in a researcher’s CV— this is the case at least at universities I am familiar with. Therefore, research groups at the level of PhD students and postdocs typically are highly international. How far this internationality is directly 46

translated into higher-level (permanent) academic positions seems to vary greatly between different countries (and between individual universities and research institutions in a single country).

Remaining Challenges How to Fix the Leaky Pipeline?

In spite of a strong increase in diversity and especially in the number of women in science and engineering from students to postdocs, the number of women with permanent positions, including professors, is increasing much more slowly. Nevertheless, any woman in a leadership position can play an important role in inspiring and encouraging the younger generation to pursue an academic career.

Role models demonstrating that life and work can be balanced are especially important for women, even though a life/work balance should be welcome also for men. Of course, in mentoring the next generation of researchers, not only the positive but also the challenging aspects of an academic career should be realistically discussed.

Clearly, the boundary conditions to enable family-friendly research careers need to be set at a sufficient level. Not only are day-care options essential, but also tolerating unusual and flexible working hours may help to combine work and family.

In recruiting for faculty positions, an understanding of unusual career paths is required. Fixed standard criteria (or expectations) for evaluation of a candidate’s performance and qualifications may put at a disadvantage a candidate who could not, for example, carry out that expected “two-years postdoc abroad.” There may be personal reasons for this, but it is also important to emphasize that the selection committee should not inquire into the private life of a candidate (this should be self-evident, and required by standard HR practices, but in my experience search committees often ignore this).

Formal Measures vs. Self-driven Measures

It seems that today universities (and other working places), at least those that I am aware of, have established a wide range of policies and measures for promoting equality and diversity. However, such formal measures are insufficient, if they are only established to fulfill expected behavior or governmental requirements. These measures should be established by an institution's self-initiative and not due to political pressure. The self-motivation should stem from the firm belief that it is worthwhile and beneficial to promote diversity in view of achieving excellence in research.

In my experience there is little open and direct discrimination, and it hardly would be tolerated. Unconscious bias is much more difficult to fight against, and the least we can all do is to check our very own biases (from my own experience I can tell that results of a simple bias test can be surprising and eye-opening).

Support Programs for Women and/or Members of Marginalized Communities

Personally, I am not in favor of quotas for women for specific positions, awards, and similar areas. Because the natural increase in numbers of women in leadership positions seems very slow, it is understandable to consider more rigorous measures. This approach, however, may come at a cost of stigmatization for being considered less qualified.

Proactive recruiting may be helpful to increase the diversity of candidates. However, it should be clear (but it seems it is not always the case) that only candidates who fulfill the expected criteria should be considered (instead of being a fake exercise). Positions should be advertised as broadly as possible, as this increases the possibility of inclusion of people from underrepresented groups in the candidate pool.

Many universities have established special support activities for female researchers, such as mentoring programs for PhD students and postdocs. While such measures can be valuable in addressing specific gender-related challenges and are targeted to fix the leaky pipeline, in my opinion women-only support programs need to be carefully considered. A disadvantage of such efforts is that mentoring programs The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

that are only for women may evoke ideas that women are weaker and require special support to make their way in academia, or that women are preferentially treated. Both have negative consequences for acceptance of women as equal colleagues.

Concluding Remarks A career in science and research leads one to believe in the value and benefits of promoting diversity. In addition to the self-evident fact that any individual should not be discriminated against, science can greatly benefit from diversity in research teams.

My personal wish for the future is that we will at some point reach a situation where gender, background, disability, or other characteristics do not play any role at all when evaluating the professional qualifications and academic performance of a person.

Neither women nor men should be either favored or discriminated against. The person as a whole (scholarship, personality) should be the key to the evaluation of qualification, and not whether the person carries a certain diversity dimension. However, stereotyped performance evaluation should be avoided and tolerance and understanding of different types of career paths should be developed.

This appraisal does not come at a cost of accepting a low performance, if performance evaluation is made on a sufficiently broad basis.

Finally, looking back on my own journey, I can certainly state that for my professional and personal life, living and working in different countries has made me much more tolerant in accepting different ways of dealing with things, but most importantly, it has made my life much more interesting—and more diverse. © The Electrochemical Society. DOI: 110.1149/2.F09221IF

We asked student and early-career ECS members to share their experiences with diversity, equity, and inclusion in science.

About the Author Sannakaisa Virtanen, professor, Corrosion and Surface Science, department of Materials Science, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.

Education: MSc in metallurgy (Helsinki University of Technology, Finland), PhD in materials (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH-Zurich).

Research Interests: Elucidation of reaction mechanisms at solid/liquid- and solid/gas-interfaces: passivity, localized corrosion, and oxidation behavior of advanced metallic materials.

Work Experience: Senior scientist at the ETH-Zurich, with research stays at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA and at McMaster University, Canada. In 1997, she was elected assistant professor at the ETH-Zurich, and then joined FAU Erlangen as professor in 2003.

Awards: H.H. Uhlig Award of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) (2008); Elected Chair, Gordon Research Conference on Aqueous Corrosion (2016); Fellow of The Electrochemical Society (2018); NACE Fellow (2020).

Website: https://www.lko-corrosion.tf.fau.de/ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7179-7593

My Diversity Story Q: How have you been cared for by a mentor or colleague?

I am always grateful to my mentor, Prof. Prabeer Barpanda, without whom it might not have been possible for me to successfully ride the journey of my doctoral studies. I remember these three vectors (technical, interpersonal, and communication) from him on how to manage oneself, which have influenced and helped to improve my confidence. His giving me endless freedom and support to carry out my research work has allowed me to think without stress. It resulted in a beautiful story of “versatile battery cathodes.”

Q: What resources have been most helpful to you as you progress through your education/early career?

From childhood, I have admired the Indian national youth icon “Swamy Vivekananda (Arise! Awake! Stop not, till the goal is reached!)” as a source of motivation to strengthen my thoughts. He advocates building an attitude of accepting challenges and fighting for solutions to overcome difficulties. He has instilled in me a belief in TRUTH. Q: Has receiving an ECS Award or recognition opened a door for you?

Yes, receiving the E. G. Weston Summer Research Fellowship introduced me to the world of The Electrochemical Society and its leaders. It has become a bridge for me to form a diverse research network on electrochemistry.

KRISHNAKANTH SADA PhD Candidate, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru

Q: Do you have any advice for other early-career engineers, especially engineers from historically underrepresented communities?

It is all about how realistic imagination results in creative thoughts.

I believe nothing is impossible as long as we keep our motivation alive. Our inferiority complex is the first enemy to overcome. I always remember the quote from Michael Faraday, “But still try, for who knows what is possible?”

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Promoting the Need for Greater Diversity and Inclusion in Engineering

by Roberta Rincon

E

ach year, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) releases an annual report that identifies the number of students graduating with engineering degrees in the U.S. according to race, gender, and degree level. Over the past ten years, there have been two trends of note: • We are graduating more engineers than ever before • Women’s representation among engineering graduates continues to lag behind their proportion in the general population.

These case studies show how a lack of diverse perspectives can result in products and services that do not meet the needs of many end users and can even lead to unintentional life-threatening outcomes.

So how do we ensure that we are gaining diverse perspectives in our scientific and engineering endeavors? We must recruit and retain diverse talent.

There is a social justice component as well. Biases have become ingrained into the processes and procedures that many organizations rely upon to make decisions that affect their employees. Such biases are typically associated with traits that one is born with—gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, and sexual orientation, for example—and the systemic barriers built on these biases continue to challenge efforts to obtain equity in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and in the workforce. There is plenty of evidence to support the need to improve the way we evaluate and support talent in engineering.

This lack of gender diversity among engineering graduates directly impacts our ability to increase the diversity of the engineering workforce—especially when it comes to increasing the representation of women engineers of color, given their particularly low numbers among graduates. Couple this with the challenges of retaining diverse talent in engineering, and the situation is concerning.

What exactly do we mean when we talk about the need for greater The Importance of diversity in engineering? Diversity is about more than representation, Early Exposure to STEM although representation is one component of a diverse engineering pipeline. Rather, it is also about the appreciation of diverse experiences When it comes to recruiting students to study engineering, an early that can help a team view a problem from various perspectives and introduction to STEM is critical. Early exposure to STEM topics can lead to creative ideas and solutions. lead to developing an interest and greater confidence in math and Why does diversity in engineering matter? First, diversity makes science. Recruitment also involves good business sense. Research has tackling systemic barriers that shown that diverse teams are more exist along the educational innovative, which can impact pathway, from increasing STEM “...a lack of diverse perspectives can result the bottom line. Companies role models for young women in products and services that do not meet the with diverse leadership often to combating stereotypes that needs of many end users and can even lead to outperform their homogenous research has shown influence unintentional life-threatening outcomes.” competitors, with employees women’s and people of colors’ in more diverse companies decisions about whether to pursue more likely to report that their STEM degrees—not to mention company’s market share grew and the influence that these stereotypes that their firm has captured new markets.1 This makes sense, given have on the way that all students, regardless of gender, interact with that a team that includes members who share certain traits with their female students and students of color. product’s end user is much more likely to understand how a product In the past, researchers hypothesized that girls were just not as well can meet that user’s needs. prepared academically as boys to enter STEM programs in college.

Yet another reason why diversity in engineering matters is that Current research has shown that this is not the case. Girls do well diverse teams produce creative and inclusive solutions. Londa in math and science, with national test scores in 8th grade the same Schiebinger, PhD, at Gendered Innovations in Science, Health & among boys and girls.3 By high school, the classes that they take Medicine, Engineering, and Environment at Stanford University differ, particularly in high-level science advanced placement courses, studies the importance of considering sex, gender, and intersectional with more girls choosing to take biology and environmental science analysis in science and engineering design, particularly when it comes compared to physics and computer science.4 Survey data of entering to research.2 The case studies she covers in her research highlight the college freshmen highlight the need to increase young women’s importance of considering traits such as gender in research design. interest in pursuing a career in engineering, as men are almost For example, the crash test dummies used in auto safety testing four times as likely as women to indicate an interest in majoring in are often modeled on the average male body, resulting in women engineering or computer science.5 sustaining more severe injuries than men in comparable crashes due Tackling the issues affecting women’s choice to pursue an to the lack of attention given in the design phase to differences in engineering education is key to increasing the number of women size, shape, and age. Another example is that men account for almost entering the engineering workforce. ASEE’s data on the diversity of one-third of osteoporosis-related hip fractures in the U.S. and Europe, engineering graduates over the years highlight the need to increase but because osteoporosis is viewed as a disease that primarily affects the number of women prepared to pursue an engineering career. What postmenopausal women, the criteria to identify risk in men are not it does not show is how and why it is important that we increase well established. the retention of women who do become engineers. Specifically, more attention is needed to eliminate the barriers that are pushing women out of the engineering workforce. (continued on next page) The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

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Identifying and Understanding Bias

(continued from previous page)

Biases and stereotypes against women in male-dominated fields also contribute to the slow progress toward achieving greater diversity in engineering, and these biases are compounded when the female engineer is also a person of color. In a study of working engineers While the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of many conducted by SWE and the Center for WorkLife Law, 61% of women families with children, it is unclear how many women in engineering reported that they must repeatedly prove that they are as (or more) have self-selected to leave the workforce due to a lack of access to competent than their white male counterparts to be respected and childcare. However, prior to the pandemic, most women were not receive recognition.12 Almost half of women engineers reported that leaving the engineering workforce to care for their children. A 2012 other people often get credit for their ideas, and over half indicated study on why women leave engineering found that almost 70% were that they felt that they were held to higher standards than their white 6 still working, just in a different capacity. Many women noted that male colleagues. the working conditions and organizational climate were major factors Another bias pattern that was evident in this study centered on in their decision to leave engineering. Others stated that they had gendered expectations of what is considered acceptable behavior for lost interest in their work, that they did not like the culture within men and women. Generally speaking, while women are expected their organizations, and that they did not see a path toward career to be helpful, modest, and nice, men are expected to be assertive, advancement. competitive, and ambitious—traits traditionally viewed as leadership The uncomfortable and unsupportive environment reported in characteristics. This divergence can make many women feel that they many STEM workspaces is not experienced solely by women in the must walk a tightrope-of-sorts in the workplace. If a woman exhibits U.S. A Kelly Services survey of global STEM talent found that 27% of certain assertive or ambitious behaviors, she might be respected but women in the U.S. feel like their career is stalled, and 32% are likely not well-liked. If she is seen as too feminine, she may be well-liked, 7 to leave their STEM job within a year. However, in Brazil and India, but not respected. It becomes challenging for women to be seen as the percentage of women reporting feeling like their careers were leaders when their behaviors are viewed through the lens of such stalled was even higher. Women in the study reported experiencing assumptions about appropriate male or female behavior. A comment feelings of exclusion, double standards, and bias in performance provided by one woman in the SWE study evaluations. A number of women who had illustrates how this bias plays out: “I raised reached senior-level positions in STEM my voice during a meeting, and I was reported pessimistic feelings about women’s reprimanded for getting emotional. But two advancement opportunities within their male leaders…get into a yelling match in organizations, stating that their perception the same meeting, and it’s no big deal.” of women in the U.S. feel like at their workplace is that women would Many women engineers find it difficult their career is stalled, and never get a top position no matter how able to be recognized as a potential leader in or high-performing they are. their workplace, despite their capabilities.

These feelings of frustration and Women in the SWE study reported being disillusionment are concerning to many who are likely to leave their given more “office housework” than their see the benefits of retaining diverse talent in STEM job within a year.” male counterparts, including party planning, their workforce. Career advancement is a scheduling meetings, and note-taking— particular sticking point for many women— not exactly the type of work that prepares and not just in engineering. McKinsey & someone for a leadership role. Women Company discussed the “broken rung” in engineers were also less likely than men to report being assigned their 2019 Women in the Workplace report, stating that the proverbial to high-profile projects or having the same access to desirable glass ceiling is not the only thing that keeps women from reaching assignments as their male colleagues, highlighting another way top level positions. They note that the first step into management is in which this bias can directly impact a woman engineer’s career critical because it is where we begin to see fewer women becoming advancement. managers compared to men. This situation leads to a diminishing pool of female talent when companies are seeking candidates for senior Actionable Ideas leadership positions. “There are simply too few women to advance” 8 to Retain Diverse Talent into executive positions, the authors write.

Researchers at Pinsight note that women are often prevented Given the impact that biases and stereotypes in the engineering from accessing professional development opportunities, networking workplace have on women’s career advancement and, in turn, opportunities, executive coaching, and special assignments because retention, what can be done to ensure that everyone is treated fairly their leadership potential is overlooked.9 Holding women back early and has the same access to advancement opportunities? Some of these in their careers is resulting in a lack of diversity when companies seek biases can be addressed by reconsidering how certain decisions are to fill senior executive roles. made. For example, ensuring that managers are evaluating engineers’ In engineering, the situation is more acute. In their 2021 Women performance against transparent and objective criteria is a process in the Workplace report, McKinsey & Company note that women change that could lead to more diverse engineering talent being hold 32% of entry-level positions in engineering and industrial considered for promotion opportunities. manufacturing, but only 24% of first-level manager positions. This Also, consider how managers interact with colleagues and direct compares to 48% of entry-level roles and 41% of first-level manager reports. Ensure that everyone has an opportunity to speak during positions in other industries.10 a meeting—especially given the current virtual or hybrid work Career advancement is an important factor that women engineers environments in which we find ourselves since the pandemic began. consider when choosing to stay in the engineering profession. A Be open to listening to those who disagree with you. Consider ways survey by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) found that 24% of to interrupt bias when it is taking place. Doing so requires advance women attributed growth potential as the primary reason for staying preparation so that in the heat of the moment the interruption is with their current employer and another 23% indicated it was the helpful. The Center for WorkLife Law offers bias interrupter toolkits empowering work culture at their organizations.11

Workplace Climate Affects Retention of Women in STEM

“27% 32%

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The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

for use by organizations, teams, and individuals to help mitigate bias in the workplace. While this is not always an easy thing to do, it can go a long way in promoting a more equitable work environment.

Encouraging women to pursue engineering careers is essential to increasing diversity in engineering, but it is just as important to address the barriers in the workplace that are leading to women’s decisions to leave the engineering workforce. Creating an inclusive culture in engineering is vital to developing and sustaining a diverse workforce, and while addressing inequities in areas such as hiring, pay, and performance evaluations are critical to improving the environment in engineering that is causing so many women to leave, research highlights the need for organizations to also pay attention to how future leaders are identified. © The Electrochemical Society. DOI: 10.1149/2.F10221IF

About the Author Roberta Rincon, Associate Director of Research, Society of Women Engineers Education: BS in civil engineering (The University of Texas at Austin), MBA and MS in information management (Arizona State University), PhD in Educational Policy and Planning (The University of Texas at Austin).

Research Interests: Gender equity issues affecting girls and women in engineering education and careers.

Work Experience: Before joining SWE, Roberta was a Senior Research and Policy Analyst at The University of Texas System in the Office of Academic Affairs.

Website: https://swe.org/research/

We asked student and early-career ECS members to share their experiences with diversity, equity, and inclusion in science.

BILEN AKÜZÜM

References 1. S. A. Hewlett, M. Marshall, and L. Sherbin, Harvard Business Review, December (2013).

2. https://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/index.html 3. The Nation’s Report Card (2019). https://www.nationsreportcard. gov/ 4. The College Board, 2020 Program Summary Report (2020).

5. Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA. The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2019 (2020).

6. N. A. Fouad, R. Singh, M. E. Fitzpatrick, J. P. Liu, K. J. Cappaert, and C. Figuereido, J. Vocat. Behav, 83, 281 (2013).

7. Kelly Services, Women in STEM: Key Global Workforce Insights Report (2016).

8. R. Thomas, M. Cooper, E. Konar, A. Bohrer, A. Mohsenin, L. Yee, A. Krivkovich, I. Starikova, J. Huang, and D. Zanoschi, Women in the Workplace 2019, McKinsey & Co. (2019).

9. M. Lanik, M. Brown, N. Strah, D. E. Rupp, and Y.-J. Kim, Repairing the Broken Rung: Overcoming Bias in the Leadership Pipeline, Pinsight (2020).

10. J. Huang, I. Starikova, D. Zanoschi, A. Krivkovich, and L.Yee, Women in the Workplace 2021, McKinsey & Co. (September 27, 2021).

11. R. Rincon and D. Linstroth, Women in Engineering Talent Pulse Report (2019).

12. J. C. Williams, S. Li, R. Rincon, and P. Finn, Climate Control: Gender and Racial Bias in Engineering? Center for WorkLife Law & Society Of Women Engineers (2016).

My Diversity Story I grew up in a windowless apartment in Istanbul, living with twelve members of my extended family, none of whom went to college. It has been quite a journey to get where I am now. My interest in science started when I was very little, and my curiosity has been my fuel. Despite this, when I left my home country and came to the U.S. with big ambitions, I struggled to fit in amongst my fellow PhD students. My life experiences seemed to be so different from the rest of my colleagues. I remember going to conferences and feeling left out: watching other students make jokes and have fun with famous professors in coffee breaks, while I felt like I was just watching from the sidelines, trying to fit in…

Then I applied for the ECS Summer Fellowship, which gave me an opportunity to visit Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. There I met my current postdoc advisor Prof. Ashok Gadgil, a great scientist with very humble beginnings like myself. He has been a great mentor and a role model for me. After graduating from my PhD program at Drexel University, I joined Prof. Gadgil’s lab. Not only did I learn to gain confidence in my work, he also encouraged me to test my ideas in the context of entrepreneurship, which opened my eyes to what’s possible in this land of opportunity. During the past 1.5 years of my postdoc, I have founded Aepnus Technology with Dr. Lukas Hackl. Today, we are working tirelessly to develop the next generation of electrolysis systems for critical materials refining. All of this was possible because I was given a chance to come visit Berkeley Lab, where I met people who believed in my potential. To all my fellow hardworking “outliers” out there, all I can say is: you are worthy, and your ideas are precious! Don’t waste your time with people who say otherwise! Surround yourself with kind hearts who make you feel appreciated and never, ever give up your passion!

Co-Founder and CTO, Aepnus Technology The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

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Expanding The Electrochemical Society’s publishing program The Electrochemical Society (ECS) provides the research community with a diverse suite of interconnected journals sharing impactful research across the world and contributing to major advancements.

ECS Sensors Plus ECS Sensors Plus is the home for all content related to sensors technology. As a gold open access journal, the journal publishes high quality and impactful articles that advance the fundamental science and understanding of sensors and detection technologies for efficient monitoring and control of industrial processes and the environment.

Editor-in-Chief Ajit Khosla, Yamagata University Associate Editors Ronan Daly, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK Pratima Solanki, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India Haifeng (Frank) Ji, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA Harshini Mukundan, Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA Praveen Sekhar, Washington State University, USA Zhenhuan Zhao, Xidian University, China Trisha Andrew, University of Massachusetts, USA

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Japan Xuefeng Liang, School of AI, Xidian University, China Sheng-Joue Young, National United University, Taiwan Michael Adachi, Simon Fraser University, Canada Netz Arroyo, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA Thomas Thundat , University at Buffalo, USA Zhiyu Hu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

ECS Sensors Plus is now open for submissions. Find out more at electrochem.org 52

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

The Role of Professional Societies in Advancing Inclusion in Chemistry: Through the Lens of the American Chemical Society

by Natalie LaFranzo

“We embrace and promote diversity in all its forms, not only to create a more inclusive environment for the practice of chemistry, but also to provide fair and just outcomes for all to achieve their full potential. Inclusion of and respect for people of all backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, and ideas will lead to superior solutions to world challenges and advance chemistry as a global, multidisciplinary science.”

- ACS Core Value of Diversity. Equity, Inclusion and Respect (DEIR).

Updated and Approved by the ACS Board of Directors, August 2021.

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n response to a more heightened focus on social justice in recent years, many organizations have reflected on their values and on their role in championing diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect (DEIR). The American Chemical Society (ACS) is no different. While historically there may have been an unspoken belief that the role of the ACS was to “stick to science,” it has become more well-understood that advancing our core values, including DEIR, is the right thing to do — both for our members and for the scientific community. Yet, the journey to progress has not been straight nor smooth, and there is still much work to be done.

The American Chemical Society is a unique organization with a highly successful publishing and information services unit which supports a myriad of membership and outreach activities. This unit affords the organization the opportunity to impact the scientific community through multiple channels. At the institutional level, chemistry departments at colleges and universities interact with the ACS to secure and maintain ACS Approval of their programs (supported by the Committee on Professional Training, CPT). Impact is further driven through individual engagement with scientists who publish in ACS journals, attend webinars, conferences, events, and professional/leadership trainings, or who choose to volunteer as active members in ACS governance. In each of these settings, the ACS has worked to understand the needs of members, authors, editors, volunteers, and other stakeholders, with the goal of cultivating a sense of belonging within ACS that extends outwardly to impact the entire chemistry enterprise and broader scientific community.

Here, a summary of the history of these efforts is presented as a case study where challenges, opportunities, successes, and failures are described. Looking forward, it is not only the actions and attitudes of individual scientists, but the commitment of professional societies individually and in collaboration with other institutions and entities, that will create a scientific community where all can contribute fully and feel welcome.

History Efforts by ACS to address inequities in chemistry began decades ago, and the language used to describe these efforts often reflects the vernacular of the time. As a brief history, in 1991 the ACS president at the time, Dr. Al Heininger, commissioned the Task Force on Minorities in the Chemical Sciences. In response to the work of this Task Force, a Blue-Ribbon Advisory Panel on Minority Affairs was established in 1993 as well as the Committee on Minority Affairs (CMA). In the summer of 1994, the ACS Board of Directors held

a meeting to study the underrepresentation of minorities in the chemical sciences. An outcome of this meeting was a program that was approved by the Board of Directors: the ACS Minority Scholars Program (later changed to the ACS Scholars Program). A Special Assistant for Minority Affairs was hired and the Office of Minority Affairs (later renamed the Department of Diversity Programs, and now the Office of DEIR) was established to support CMA in developing and implementing programs, products, and services to attract members from underrepresented groups into the chemical sciences. The ACS Scholars Program and the later-established Project SEED are two major programs that represent ACS’ early and sustained commitment to this work.

In the early 2000s, internal and external collaborations for ACS continued to grow, with additional staff support provided for the Women Chemists Committee (WCC), Younger Chemists Committee (YCC), and Committee on Chemists with Disabilities (CWD).

Partnerships were also initiated with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), INROADS, and the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS).

The heart of internal ACS diversity efforts at this time resided in the Collaboration of Committees Working Group (later renamed the Joint Subcommittee on Diversity, JSD) which was created in 2006, with representatives from the four diversity committees described above (CMA, CWD, WCC, and YCC). This entity was created to establish stronger committee interactions, increase networking opportunities, and enhance scientific programming at meetings. One of the major accomplishments of this collaboration was drafting the ACS Statement on Diversity which was approved at the December 2007 board meeting. As a result, the ACS Strategic Plan has had “diversity and inclusion” as a core value since 2008.

By 2009, diversity efforts at ACS were driven by three major units: the staff-led Department of Diversity Programs, the ACS Presidential Task Force on Implementing the ACS Diversity Reports, and the JSD (described above). A report prepared by the Task Force was presented in March 2010; it contained a series of recommendations for the next steps to properly position the ACS to achieve the goals, which included aligning the demography of the chemical enterprise with that of the nation’s citizenry and assuming a national leadership role in broadening participation in the STEM disciplines. The Board (continued on next page)

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voted to refer the Task Force report to the Committee on Professional and Member Relations (P&MR) for prioritization, assignment of accountability, and development of implementation timelines.

This focus on governance and grassroots-level accountability, with support provided by ACS staff, was a model followed for many years.

D&I Advisory Board In December 2010, the ACS Board Committee on P&MR recommended that the Joint Subcommittee on Diversity (JSD) be reimagined and tasked with leading the ACS’ efforts to support a diverse profession and inclusive community. Then known as the Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board (D&I AB, later DI&R AB, and DEIR AB), this governance unit was charged to promote and advance diversity and inclusion within and on behalf of the ACS. The responsibilities of the D&I AB at this time included: • Advising the ACS Board of Directors on ways to increase the participation and membership of underrepresented minorities in ACS governance and other volunteer activities.

• Monitoring the implementation of the recommendations resulting from the Report of the Presidential Task Force on Implementing the ACS Diversity Reports.

• Advancing diversity and inclusion in the chemical sciences by raising awareness among ACS members, students, and relevant stakeholders.

• Recognizing and disseminating information on outstanding achievements in diversity by members, staff, and other stakeholders.

Beginning in 2011, the Advisory Board routinely engaged the Board of Directors, Executive Leadership Team, and Advisory Board members in an active dialog about the state of the ACS through facilitated workshops. Early on, efforts were focused on building trust, disseminating information, and aligning these stakeholders on the state and role of ACS. These conversations were not easy, and, often, it was felt by participants and outside observers that incremental progress was made. In fall 2018, the ACS Board of Directors recognized the need to emphasize the expectation that members behave in alignment with ACS policies, including the ACS Volunteer/National Meeting Attendee Conduct Policy and the Chemical Professional’s Code of Conduct. This resulted in the addition of Respect to the core value of Diversity and Inclusion.1 Increased traction toward institutional change began in late 2019/ early 2020 when this group of leaders (ACS Executive Leadership, Board, and Advisory Board members) met at the annual ACS Leadership Institute in another facilitated session. The output of this session was agreement on the need to take more intentional action with clear guiding principles as were defined by the group and are listed below.

ACS DEIR Guiding Principles – Established in 2020: 1. Cultivate a sustainable culture of inclusion that embraces the diversity of our entire community and advances the success of every member of the scientific community.

2. Actively communicate, advocate, and engage with our members to advance equity within the scientific community.

3. Empower ACS members, volunteer units, and staff to continuously drive diversity and inclusion within the scientific community.

4. Commit to embedding diversity equity in all levels of ACS programs, products, and services to contribute directly to the quality of life for those working within the scientific community.

5. Collaborate with external partners to correct the current and historical diversity equity shortcomings of the scientific community to advance our shared values.

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During this time, a joint Board Working Group on DEIR was established which brought together individuals from the Committee on P&MR and the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) to review the ACS Strategic Plan through the lens of inclusion. Updates were proposed, including the need for a Strategic Goal to ensure business success and accountability at both the staff and the governance level.

ACS Strategic Goal 5 At the end of 2020, equity was added to the Core Value, resulting in a Core Value of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Respect, or DEIR. In this update, the Board of Directors also approved the addition of ACS Strategic Goal 5: Embrace and Advance Inclusion in Chemistry.

ACS Strategic Goal 5 reads,

“Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect; identify and dismantle barriers to success; and create a welcoming and supportive environment so that all ACS members, employees, and volunteers can thrive.

ACS will exemplify diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect and highlight their importance to the profession at every level by embracing and celebrating our differences in our programs, products, services, and leadership. We recognize that the world has not been an equal nor equitable space for everyone, and science is no different. ACS will evaluate the impact of administrative and governance actions intended to enhance inclusion and will build sustainable processes for addressing inequities. The [ACS] will speak out against injustice, establish professional standards, and provide training for creating an inclusive culture, both internally and externally. ACS will recruit, retain, develop, and recognize members, employees, and volunteers from all backgrounds by building an inclusive culture. ACS will support partnerships aimed at creating equal opportunities and a sense of belonging in science.”

The language in this goal reflects a public acknowledgement of historic inequities, and the role the ACS and our leaders have in addressing these inequities and the current barriers that exist. Yet, ACS leaders recognize that words are insufficient if they are not coupled with action and change. The addition of this Strategic Goal ensures that business metrics are established and tracked. The next stage of the implementation of this goal was to explore how to bring this goal to life, and to build strategies and tactics that would benefit our members; effectively, how will ACS make Goal 5 a reality?

Office of DEIR and VP of DEIR One clear recommendation that had been regularly communicated by the DEIR Advisory Board was the need for a high-level staff member with a direct line of communication with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other executive leaders of the ACS. In early 2021, a major organizational change was announced, with the establishment of the ACS Office of DEIR, led by a newly created Vice President of DEIR. This structural realignment elevated the previous Department of Diversity Programs (DDP) and better integrated DEIR within business and membership decisions across the ACS. This also established the desired direct line of communication to the CEO to and from the VP of DEIR. Yet, understanding tactically how to embed DEIR into the complex organizational structure of ACS, which includes staff, governance leaders, members, vendors, and the scientific community, required some strategic analysis.

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To begin this work, a series of facilitated workshops were conducted in early 2021. The workshops invited members from all levels of the ACS to participate. Two key features of this series that are worth highlighting as successes include: (1) the intentional inclusion of voices that previously had not be heard by ACS leadership, and (2) the requirement that ACS leaders (including the CEO, Board Chair, VP of DEIR, and DEIR AB Chair) remain in listen-only mode throughout the series. Many challenges, barriers, cultural norms, and experiences were shared that reinforced the reality that not all members experience ACS equally. The group was tasked with establishing a “desired future state” that would make them proud to be engaged leaders and members of the ACS and ensure its future success. These visionary characteristics included: • An [seamless] environment where all have a sense of belonging across every level of the [ACS].

• Leaders at all levels are prepared, ready, and accountable for displaying DEIR. • Rewards and recognitions are reflective of inclusivity and the involvement of new members.

• Communication is transparent, accessible, and consistent to promote awareness of resources, policies, and opportunities throughout the [ACS].

This desired future state was further socialized within the ACS and was well-received. These statements ground the work that must be done to take Goal 5 forward to implementation.

Board Working Group Sustainable Strategy A collaboration between the Office of DEIR and the Joint Board Working Group on DEIR was initiated to gather information and insights from the work of other societies and organizations to inform this implementation plan. This team engaged >20 institutions and organizations to better understand their DEIR efforts, successes, challenges, and best practices. A number of key learnings were captured from this work and are summarized below.

The most important concept that was reinforced from nearly every organization was the need for a 3–5-year strategic plan with annual deliverables aligned with Strategic Goal 5 and the Core Value of DEIR. This plan should be driven by the Office of DEIR as the central hub, with engagement of all ACS members and staff. The plan should have metrics, and the data and benchmarking should have public visibility to maintain accountability. This approach builds on demographic and belonging data collection that has been underway for ACS governance and the wider membership, previously conducted on a smaller scale by the Committee on Committees (ConC) demographic survey and the ACS Insights Lab.2,3,4 To engage members and governance units more effectively, DEIR champions should be identified throughout all levels of governance and staff, and support and resources should be provided to these champions through the Office of DEIR. At all levels of governance, leadership, and decision making, representation of diverse voices, experiences, and perspectives must be intentionally included. There must be robust education and training opportunities offered to all members, and to the scientific community, to both leverage our position as a leader in education and to provide members, staff, and the community opportunities for personal growth and development. The ACS should also have an advisory unit that includes both internal and external partners to address unconscious bias/blind spots that actively engaged members and staff may not recognize. The ACS should grow its impact to extend beyond the organization itself, to impact chemistry education, the chemistry enterprise, and the scientific community at large. Importantly, this work requires an exceptional communication strategy (both internal and external), to ensure all stakeholders are aligned and understand the organization’s goals, strategy, and culture.

Looking Forward The progress described here represents foundational work which will now require significant time, energy, and resources to build upon. A concept that has been discussed regularly within ACS is organizational culture, often in relation to a quote from Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker which states, “The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.”5 The Society is committed to investing in the work required to achieve an inclusion culture, founded in strong ethics and accountability with anti-bullying, anti-racism, and anti-discrimination policies.

What does the future look like? The ACS has begun the work of implementing many of the best practices and strategies noted above, to impact both individual and institutional change.

The DEIR Advisory Board will soon be reimagined into a DEIR Experts Panel and governance-focused DEIR Roundtable. The DEIR Experts Panel will bring outside perspective to address blind spots, engage subject matter experts, and strengthen partnerships with partners with whom we have a Chemistry Enterprise Partnership (CEP). This Panel will be coordinated by and actively engaged with the Office of DEIR and accessible to the Board of Directors. The DEIR Roundtable will also be coordinated by the Office of DEIR and will bring together all levels of ACS in active conversations for learning, growing, and removal of systemic barriers. This level of grassroots engagement and harmonization has never been attempted at the ACS and represents a massive coordination effort that we believe will yield significant cultural impact, as well as better science.

The efforts of CPT to establish standards for ACS Approved Chemistry Programs centered on broadening participation from underrepresented students and ensuring inclusive practices began as early as 2004. Recently, the Committee adopted new DEIR standards for chemistry-degree programs, as described by Brooks, et al.6 This demonstrates the explicit and accountable requirement that educational institutions acknowledge and address their role in shaping the culture of the chemistry ecosystem. The impact of this will be measured in years to come.

The ACS Publications Division is also working to dismantle barriers in scholarly publishing. As a recent example, the Division has adopted a policy which allows authors to change their name on previously published articles. The Division is also invested in collecting and monitoring demographics of its editors, authors, and peer reviewers. Finally, Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly news magazine published by the ACS, has invested in inclusive science journalism. Collections such as Trailblazers (previous editions focused on black excellence and women in chemistry) and the Talented 12 program (focused on young industrial scientists), place diversity and inclusion in chemistry at the forefront of their reporting.

The history and progress described does not represent a straight path without challenges and setbacks, many of which are transparently acknowledged here. Yet, the motivation and investment in DEIR within the ACS should be celebrated as a step toward creating a sense of belonging and greater equity in chemistry. For this work to be successful, a collaborative and growth-oriented mindset must be adopted by all stakeholders in the scientific community, and ACS is eager to work with other organizations who are invested in this work. The greater impact of a more inclusive scientific community will certainly benefit the world through more innovative, diverse, and collaborative approaches to solving critical challenges.

Disclaimer Views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Interface, the American Chemical Society, or Personalis. © The Electrochemical Society. DOI: 10.1149/2.F11221IF

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LaFranzo

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About the Author

References

Natalie LaFranzo, Director at Large, American Chemical Society Education: BS with honors in chemistry (Bradley University), PhD in chemistry (Washington University).

Awards: ACS Fellow, 2021; IUPAC Periodic Table of Younger Chemists, recognition as “Cesium,” 2019; IUPAC Young Observer, 2019; New York Academy of Sciences NeXXt Scholars Mentoring Fellowship, 2014–15; The Biotechnology and Life Sciences Advising Group Project Manager of the Year Award, 2012; National Science Foundation International Materials Institute for Solar Energy and Environment Travel Award, 2012; ACS Younger Chemists Committee Leadership Development Award, 2011.

Work Experience: Personalis, director, business and market development, 2021–present; Cofactor Genomics, vice president, market development, 2019–21; director of scientific projects and market development, 2016–19; project scientist, 2013–15; Horizon Discovery, next generation sequencing product manager, 2016; customer support and technical support scientist, 2015–16; Washington University, head cheerleading coach, 2007–19; graduate researcher, 2007–13.

1. B. Charpentier, Adding Respect to Our Core Value of Diversity and Inclusion, Chemical & Engineering News, 97(35) (2019).

2. W. E. Jones Jr., Advancing Chemistry and the Society: Service on ACS Committees Matters, Wayne E. Jones Jr., Chemical & Engineering News, 94(12) (2016).

3. B. A. Sawrey, Creating a Membership Insight Community through ACS Insight Lab, Chemical & Engineering News, 95(4) (2017).

4. C. Ribes, Improving Diversity, Inclusion, and Respect on ACS Committees, Chemical & Engineering News, 98(43) (2020).

5. S. Gruenert, and T. Whitaker, School Culture Rewired: How to Define, Assess, and Transform It, ASCD, Alexandria, Virginia (2015).

6. M. M. Brooks, F. A. Fullilove, A. B. Mahoney, and E. A. Arriaga, J. Chem. Educ. Articles ASAP (2021). DOI: 10.1021/ acs.jchemed.1c00493

We asked student and early-career ECS members to share their experiences with diversity, equity, and inclusion in science.

CLAUDIA PATRICIA GRANJA BANGUERA

My Diversity Story I am a black woman from Colombia, proud of my Afro roots. I am a woman of science who firmly believes that inclusion is essential if we want to live in a more equitable society, and thus allow people to benefit, regardless of their origin, religion, or economic background.

In a country rich in ethnic and cultural diversity such as Colombia, in many aspects one might think that, being Afro-Colombian and even more so being a woman, it is easy to raise your voice for those who do not have such valuable opportunities, such as accessing an education and maximizing their potential in different areas of knowledge. For me as a woman of science, it is easy for me to see that highlighting the merits and value of women, not only in technological fields, but also in scientific and research areas, has a very relevant impact on society.

In addition, recognizing the effort and dedication of students through an award or recognition by organizations with scientific impact such as the ECS allows future generations to understand the importance of promulgating science by attending conferences and sharing the knowledge acquired there. Additionally, membership in ECS opens up many possibilities for students on both an academic and an investigative level.

Fighting for our dreams and goals without giving up should be our constant every day, without letting difficulties divert us from our goals.

If not, the very real danger is that the difficulties that are presented to women of color in our careers might lead us to resign, which is also an additional motivation to eliminate the gaps in education which can lead to fewer black people seeking careers in science.

Universidad Santiago de Cali, Colombia

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The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

Diversity Unlocks Creativity and Innovation

by Simona Badilescu, Muthukumaran Packirisamy

A

research lab (Optical-Bio Microsystem Laboratory), where international students are working toward their PhD and master’s degrees along with senior researchers, is like a unit cell in the body of the university (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada). What better model can be available for analyzing the success of research that comes from providing a supportive and inclusive work environment that welcomes and encourages students from a diversity of countries, languages, and religious and socioeconomic backgrounds? Instead of the rather outdated metaphor of “melting pot,” the environment of our lab is rather like a mosaic, where the inlaying small colored squares are the individual skills that fit in and enrich our culture with wisdom, intelligence, and new ways of thinking. Our highly multidisciplinary lab is a bonus as our students have a special gift to integrate knowledge from different fields, for example, engineering, physics, biology, chemistry, and fine arts, and to think differently and form new perspectives, outside the box, when making connections.

This paper also presents the mechanism that was instrumental in making the women researchers as well as the international students feel comfortable and helped them to explore and contribute to the multidisciplinary aspects of our lab. In this paper, we highlight the important milestones in our lab work environment over the last fifteen years, with a focus on diversity, and we stress the beneficial role of the direction of the lab and the diversifying faculty, providing critically needed role models to our students. We emphasize the strength of diversity that unlocks imagination and intellectual curiosity. The paper includes stories that demonstrate the building of a strong and creative lab culture.

If we could turn back the clock to recreate the image of our lab some eighteen years ago, we would find ourselves in a rather small, crowded space, in one of the old buildings of the university. In a small room, devoid of sophisticated research instruments, a few students are facing the screen of rather old computers. More recently, the situation has improved tremendously. In the new building, well-lit labs accommodate a diversity of instruments obtained from various grants, and international PhD students, in the beginning, especially, from India, are starting their work and a new life in Canada. These first students from India were selected by the director, based on merit and interest. During the first months, the sound of an Indian language floated from one end of the lab to the other, and the students sought out the moral support of other South Indian students. They missed their families back in India and often reached out to them on Skype and later on WhatsApp. The lab became their second home, where they were surrounded by colleagues and friends who soon became a true family. The students were inventive, easily solving practical problems, often by thinking outside the box. Their experiences growing up in India taught them to find ways to make things work, without always spending money to simply replace faulty parts. As the first wave of international students were settling, new students arrived who were supported by different programs (Commonwealth Scholarships, NSERC, FRQNT, Research Chair, MDEIE, Gestion Valeo, and industry). In addition to being regular students, they participated in short-term research projects. These programs brought the first women students into our lab. First, a young woman from IIT Roorkee and, later on, two from Bangalore, intending to work toward (continued on next page)

Fig. 1. Group photo: Optical-Bio Microsystem Laboratory.

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Badilescu and Packirisamy (continued from previous page)

MSc degrees. Their presence in the lab brought a subtle change in the atmosphere, at least for a while. It took some time to restore the equilibrium and the new students slowly started integrating into the lab. The permanent presence of a female senior researcher in the lab made the new young women more comfortable working and integrating into the mostly male environment of engineering. She also served as an important role model and a source of moral support.

She helped the students build the right attitude and seriousness which in turn helped change the attitude of even the most reluctant persons in the lab. A new project, regarding the synthesis of gold nanoparticles and their integration in PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane), was started and the students gathered novel and interesting data on these nanocomposites, which led to several publications. We do hope that despite the short time in our lab, the knowledge they acquired was beneficial for these female students in their future careers in science and engineering. We also hope that we were able to show them the beauty of research and the satisfaction of finding new materials and properties that were unknown to them before.

As mentioned above, our lab became, gradually, highly multidisciplinary. It is quite difficult to retrace the exact path, but we know that it started with our interest in the mechanical and electrical properties of pollen grains, studied in a microfluidic environment.

Some of the newly arrived students from Iran were critical to the success of the project due to their inventiveness and open-mindedness in tackling novel ideas as well as their willingness to collaborate with biologists. Based on their excellent publications, once they earned their PhD degrees, all the students involved in this project were able to secure interesting postdoctoral positions.

The first female PhD candidate in our lab was a young Iranian.

Her integration into an all-male lab was quite easy. An intelligent and sensitive person, she quickly changed the aspect of the lab by bringing plants to enliven the austerity of the space. She was a sociable person, having the gift of creating a friendly, relaxed atmosphere around her, and she contributed to building solid bridges between the communities of Iranian, Indian, and other students.

Since that time, new players have entered the scene of multidisciplinary projects. We have oriented our research toward the nano-bio interface and have investigated how gold ash (Swarna bhasma) particles, an important Ayurvedic ancient medicine, enter human cells and how they interact with the different components of cells, compared to the behavior of synthesized gold nanoparticles.

Our Indian students are passionate and deeply involved in this project.

They have learned new techniques and later contributed to setting up a new bio lab in our lab space, making possible the extension of these studies to other bhasmas (metal ashes) and similar Siddha medicines.

Their knowledge of traditional Indian medicines as well as their emotional involvement and their willingness to study the materials’ morphology and composition with modern physicochemical techniques were instrumental in discovering new mechanisms of interaction. The project was extended to silver, copper, and mercury ashes, and their behavior at the particle-cell interface was investigated with hyperspectral microscopy—a new technique that gives information on both position and spectral properties. The work was carried out by a female postdoctoral researcher from India, who specialized in Siddha medicines. For all of us, these studies were an opportunity to become immersed in the history of Indian medicine, in the myths and legends, parts of one of the world’s richest cultures.

It opened the door to other traditional medicines such as Chinese, but also to Tibetan medicine in exile in India. The work was published in prestigious journals such as Nature Scientific Reports and Plasmonics and became part of the students’ thesis work.

We have often been invited to give talks in various universities and colleges from South India and established connections and collaborations over time.

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Another example of a biology-oriented project is focused on the study of exosomes—their isolation and detection, as well as their role in the development of cancer. Several students worked, and others are still working, on the various aspects of these complex topics in the biological species involved in cancer therapy. One of our former PhD candidates designed a new and elaborate microfluidic device to separate and detect exosomes shed from breast cancer cells. Once improved, the device may someday be standardized and used for routine clinical tests.

All the students involved in these multidisciplinary projects had to read and learn about topics that normally are unfamiliar to a mechanical or electrical engineer. Generally, they did not have to take formal courses, but the effort required to integrate the new knowledge was tremendous. However, the students were thrilled by the new projects and the discussions around them were an invaluable intellectual exercise, widening their perception of phenomena.

Investigation of multidisciplinary projects is essential our work, and is part of our trying to restore to phenomena their multifaceted aspects, which have gradually been lost due to hyper-specialization.

The director of our lab realized this tendency quite early, opening the well-established barriers between disciplines and asking the students to think in a new and more general way. Even completely unexpected topics, for example, at the frontier of engineering and fine arts, are now studied in our lab and the preliminary results seem to be stunning.

The interactions with our students evolved, of course, at a more personal level as well. We learned so much about their families, their problems, and their expectations. They were part of our social life, parties, picnics, and celebrations, at least until the pandemic shattered all our lives. Keeping up the activity of the lab and supporting emotionally the students left on their own, after the lab had to be closed, was a challenge. We are slowly recovering now and regaining faith in normalcy, and the resiliency of our students in committing to research is helping to restore and expand our projects.

The mechanism that helped integrate female students slowly into our engineering lab involves (1) having a senior female researcher who served as role model and moral supporter and also as a confidence builder; (2) the multi-disciplinary nature of work that facilitates involving biology, physics, chemistry, fine arts, and other areas made the entry of female students into an engineering lab smoother and easier; (3) having students from many countries and cultures made the integration interesting and energizing; and (4) providing a very open environment to interact, share, and learn facilitated the blurring of differences and sharpened the focus on common goals.

In summary, the experience of having students from different cultures and multi-disciplinary fields in our lab has enriched our lives and expanded our sense of humanity far beyond professional accomplishments. © The Electrochemical Society. DOI: 10.1149/2.F12221IF

About the Authors Simona Badilescu, Senior Scientist, Concordia University, MontrÉal, CA Education: PhD in Chemistry (University of Bucharest).

Research Interests: Nanomaterials, plasmonic sensing, interaction of nanoparticles with cells, and Indian traditional medicines.

Work Experience: Associate Professor, University of Blida; Researcher, Spectroscopy Laboratory of the Université de Montréal and the University of Moncton. Since 2006, she has been part of the Optical-Bio Microsystems Lab at Concordia University.

Pubs + Patents: Author of several books and book chapters and ~300 articles and conference papers. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1925-2633

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

Muthukumaran Packirisamy, Professor and Concordia Research Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Concordia University, MontrÉal, CA Research Interest: Micronano-integrated labon-chips for applications in the life sciences.

Work Experience: Concordia University Research Fellow and Director of the MicroNano-Bio Integration Center and OpticalBio Microsystems Lab at Concordia. He has supervised >170 personnel, including 12 research associates, 31 PhDs, 51 master’s students, and 69 undergraduate students, and has obtained >$15 million in grants.

Pubs + Patents: >430 articles published in journals and presented at conferences, 40 invited talks, and 20 inventions.

Awards: Member, Royal Society of Canada; Fellow, Canadian Academy of Engineering, Engineering Institute of Canada, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Institution of Engineers (India), Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering; Recipient of the I. W. Smith Award, the Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award, and the ENCS Young Research Achievement Award. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1769-6986

We asked student and early-career ECS members to share their experiences with diversity, equity, and inclusion in science.

References (Selected) 1. C. G. Agudelo, A. S. Nezhad, M. Ghanbary, M. Naghavi, M. Packirisamy, and A. Geitmann, Plant J., 73, 1057 (2013).

2. D. Beaudet, S. Badilescu, K. Kuruvinashetti, A. S. Kashani, D. Jaunky, S. Ouellette, A. Piekny, and M. Packirisamy, Sci. Rep., 7, 10678 (2017).

3. S. S. Parimalam, S. Badilescu, R. Bhat, N. Sonenberg, and M. Packirisamy, Study of incinerated nanodiamonds and their effect on microglial cells, IEEE 20th International Conference on Nanotechnology (IEEE-NANO), 358 (2020).

4. S. S. Parimalam, S. Badilescu, R. Bath, and M. Packirisamy, Ad. Tradit. Med., (2021) https://doi.org/10.1007/s13596-02000540-9.

5. S. Bathini, S. Pakkiriswami, R. J. Ouellette, A. Gosh, and M. Packirisamy, Biosens. Bioelectron., 194, 113585 (2021).

My Diversity Story Q: What resources have been most helpful to you as you progress through your education/early career?

CONFERENCES! I was amazed at how many people were interested in my work, and how many suggestions they had for me to look into or to try, based on other things they had seen in the literature or at other conferences. I cannot recommend ECS conferences enough! The poster sessions are a great place to start!

Q: Has receiving an ECS Award or recognition opened a door for you?

Receiving the 3rd-place award at the 239th ECS Meeting really gave me a sense of pride and validation that my work is impactful to others in science. It was entirely unexpected, but a really nice recognition for all of my hard work. The full manuscript of that work (The TADAA Algorithm) is in preparation as I write this!

CHRISTIAN HAAS

Q: Do you have any advice for other early-career engineers, especially engineers from historically underrepresented communities?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if you feel like you are annoying your labmates! When I joined the Leddy group, I was ALWAYS asking questions so I could become a better electrochemist, and to make sure I was connecting the right alligator clips to the right electrodes. This is a field of inquiry; if you don’t ask questions, you will never know what you might have discovered because of it!

PhD Candidate, University of Iowa

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SECTION NEWS ECS San Francisco Section The ECS San Francisco Section hosted its inaugural Young Investigator Lecture Series on November 19, 2021. Over the course of the threehour virtual session, attendees were treated to 10 short presentations covering a wide range of electrochemistry research, from lithiumion batteries to CO2 reduction, fundamental examinations of ion transport, and charge transfer kinetics. The event featured researchers from California institutions including Rachel Zhuojun Huang, Dr. Fang Liu, and Dr. Yanbin Li of Stanford University; Dr. Wei Yin, Lawrence Berkeley Lab; Dun Lin, University of California, Santa Cruz; Kara Danielle Fong and Dr. Dimitrios Fraggedakis, University of California, Berkeley; Oyinkansola Romiluyi, University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Lab; Dr. Ryan DeBlock, University of California, Los Angeles; and Dr. Wurigumula Bao, University of California, San Diego.

The past two years have seen a pandemic-induced dearth of inperson conferences, which young scientists rely upon to build their professional networks and establish themselves in the scientific community. This lecture series endeavored to provide such a forum virtually. To attract the broadest audience possible, it was open to the public with no registration required.

We were proud to host this forum for a wide range of interested attendees, and to facilitate an engaged, frank, and open discussion of cutting-edge electrochemistry research. We expect to host such

lecture series on a regular basis and establish them as a forum for young researchers and a window into the future of electrochemistry.

The San Francisco Section has accepted nominations for speakers for the second Young Investigator Lecture Series, which will be presented in 2022.

Rachel Zhuojun Huang Stanford University

Dr. Yanbin Li Stanford University

Dr. Wei Yin Berkeley Lab

Kara Danielle Fong UC Berkeley

Oyinkansola Romiluyi UC Berkeley, LBL

Dun Li UC Santa Cruz

Dr. Fang Liu Stanford University

Dr. Dimitrios Fraggedakis UC Berkeley

Dr. Ryan DeBlock UCLA

Dr. Wurigumula Bao UC San Diego

The ECS San Francisco Section presents the inaugural Young Investigator Lecture Series.

ECS Singapore Section The ECS Singapore Section successfully held the 2nd Singapore ECS International Symposium on Energy Materials (SESEM2021) on 20–21 November 2021. The two-day virtual symposium took place on Zoom to provide a platform for researchers in Singapore and beyond to discuss advances and challenges in scientific work on electrochemical materials in energy systems. The symposium also aimed to promote interactions and the generation of new ideas to encourage further research progress in the electrochemical research community.

Consisting of presentations from invited speakers, oral presentations, and poster presentations, the symposium featured 40 presenters ranging from faculty members to graduate students from 14 educational institutions. The research fields covered included electrocatalysis for fuel generation, electrochemical energy storage, and nanostructured electrodes, as well as modelling and simulations.

Symposium participants had the opportunity to find out more about the presented works through real-time question and answer sessions after each presentation.

The symposium participants heard reports on research work in the field of electrocatalysis involving reactions such as water electrolysis, carbon dioxide reduction, and nitrogen reduction. Improvements to these reactions due to engineered defects, surface reconstruction, magnetic effects, and synergetic effects from multiple metal active sites were highlighted. Developments in electrochemical energy storage were also discussed, such as synthesis of porous materials and nanomaterials, hybrid alkali-metal-ion capacitors, improving separators in lithium-sulfur batteries, and facilitation of superoxide formation in lithium-air batteries. These advances are encouraging as society relies on researchers to improve various electrochemical systems by making them efficient, reliable, and accessible.

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The symposium attracted more than 100 participants and successfully sparked meaningful conversations about the development of electrochemical materials in the field of energy despite limitations due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “We expect the next symposium to be in person and to include more rigorous discussion on such developments as electrochemistry becomes an increasingly prominent part of governmental plans for a sustainable future,” said Dr. Zhichuan J. Xu, Chair of the Singapore Section.

Attendees participate in a virtual poster presentation question-and-answer session during the 2nd Singapore ECS International Symposium on Energy Materials (SESEM2021).

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

SECTION NEWS Section Leadership ECS Sections introduce and support activities in electrochemistry and solid state science within specific regions. They are critical to the Society’s regional and global success, providing a local network for members to interact and engage around shared interests important to electrochemistry and solid state science and technology—and connection to a larger global network of scientific interaction and collaboration.

Section Name

Section Chair

Arizona Section

Candace Kay Chan, Chair

Brazil Section

Luis F. P. Dick, Chair

Canada Section

Heather Andreas, Chair

Chile Section

Jose H. Zagal, Chair

China Section

Yongyao Xia, Chair

Detroit Section

Kris Inman, Chair

Europe Section

Philippe Marcus, Chair

Georgia Section

Open

India Section

Sinthai A. Ilangovan, Chair

Israel Section

Daniel Mandler, Chair

Japan Section

Seiichi Mayazaki, Chair

Korea Section

Won-Sub Yoon, Chair

Mexico Section

Carlos E. Frontana-Vázquez, Chair

Mid-America Section

Andrew J. Wilson, Chair

National Capital Section

Open

New England Section

Sanjeev Mukerjee, Chair

Pacific Northwest Section

Jie Xiao, Chair

Pittsburgh Section

Open

San Francisco Section

Gao Liu, Chair

Singapore Section

Zichuan J. Xu, Chair

Taiwan Section

Chi-Chang Hu, Chair

Texas Section

Jeremy P. Meyers, Chair

Twin Cities Section

Victoria Gelling, Chair

Visit www.electrochem.org/sections to learn more about ECS sections, or contact Mary.Hojlo@electrochem.org to become involved.

Open New Doors—Join ECS Sections Benefits: • Global reach • Access to innovative research • Networking and recognition

For more information, contact customerservice@electrochem.org.

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AWARDS PROGRAM

Awards, Fellowships, Grants ECS distinguishes outstanding technical achievements in electrochemistry and in solid state science and technology, and recognizes exceptional service to the Society through the Honors & Awards Program. Opportunities for recognition are offered in the following categories: ECS Society Awards, Division Awards, Section Awards, and Student Awards.

Highlights follow. Visit www.electrochem.org/awards for more information.

Society Awards The ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship was established in 2015 in partnership with the Toyota Research Institute of North America to encourage young professionals and scholars to pursue research into batteries, fuel cells and hydrogen, and future sustainable technologies. The fellowship is awarded to a minimum of one candidate annually. The fellowship consists of a restricted grant of no less than US $50,000 to conduct the research outlined in their proposal within one year, and a one-year complimentary ECS membership. Recipients must present at a Society biannual meeting and publish their research in a relevant ECS journal within 24 months of receiving the award. Materials are due by January 31 of each year.

Leadership Circle Awards were established in the fall of 2002 to honor and thank our partners in electrochemistry and solid state science. They are granted in the anniversary year that an institutional member reaches a milestone level. The award consists of a commemorative plaque and recognition on the ECS website and in Interface magazine. Nominations are not accepted.

The Allen J. Bard Award was established in 2013 to recognize distinguished contributions to electrochemical science. The award consists of a plaque containing a glassy carbon medallion; US $7,500 prize; complimentary meeting registration for the award recipient and companion; dinner held in the recipient’s honor during the designated meeting; and ECS Life Membership. Materials are due by April 15, 2022.

The Gordon E. Moore Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Solid State Science and Technology Award was established in 1971 for distinguished contributions to the field of solid state science and technology. The award consists of a silver medal; plaque; US $7,500 prize; complimentary meeting registration for the award recipient and companion; dinner held in the recipient’s honor during the designated meeting; and ECS Life Membership. Materials are due by April 15, 2022.

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Carl Wagner Memorial Award was established in 1980 to recognize mid-career achievement; excellence in research areas of interest of the Society; and significant contributions in the teaching or guidance of students or colleagues in education, industry, or government. The award consists of a framed scroll; sterling medal; complimentary meeting registration for the award recipient and companion; dinner held in the recipient’s honor during the designated meeting; and ECS Life Membership. Materials are due

by October 1, 2022.

The Olin Palladium Award was established in 1950 to recognize distinguished contributions to the fields of electrochemical or corrosion science. The award consists of a palladium medal; wall plaque; US $7,500 prize; ECS Life Membership; and complimentary meeting registration. Materials are due by October 1, 2022.

Division Awards The Energy Technology Division Walter van Schalkwijk Award in Sustainable Energy Technology was established in 2021 to recognize and reward researcher scientists, academicians, and entrepreneurs who make innovative and transformative contributions to sustainable energy technologies (devices, materials, and/or processes). The award consists of a framed certificate and monetary prize equal to 1/25th of the endowment with a maximum of US $2,500. Materials are due

by April 15, 2022.

The Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering Division New Electrochemical Technology (NET) Award was endowed by the Dow Chemical Company Foundation in 1997 to recognize significant advances in industrial electrochemistry. The primary motivation in establishing this award is to promote high-quality applied electrochemical research and development. Recipients, who receive commemorative plaques and tickets to the IE&EE Division business lunch, present a paper on the technology development during a division-sponsored symposium at the designated meeting. Materials are due by June 15, 2022.

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

AWARDS AWARDS PROGRAM The Dielectric Science and Technology Division Thomas D. Callinan Award was established in 1967 to encourage excellence in dielectric investigations, the preparation of high-quality science and technology papers and patents, and publication in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society, and to recognize outstanding contributions to the field of dielectric science and technology. The award consists of a framed certificate and US $1,500 prize. Materials are due by August 1, 2022.

The Electronics and Photonics Division Award was established in 1969 to encourage excellence in electronics research and outstanding technical contributions to the field of electronics science. The award consists of a framed certificate; US $1,500 prize; and ECS Life Membership or up to US $1,000 to facilitate travel to the designated meeting. Materials are due by August 1, 2022.

The Energy Technology Division Research Award was established in 1992 to encourage excellence in energyrelated research. The award consists of a framed certificate; US $2,000 prize; and membership in the Energy Technology division for as long as the recipient is an ECS member.

Materials are due by September 1, 2022.

The Energy Technology Division Supramaniam Srinivasan Young Investigator Award was established in 2011 to recognize and reward an outstanding young researcher in the energy technology field. The award consists of a framed certificate; US $1,000 prize; and complimentary meeting registration. Materials are due by September 1, 2022.

The Nanocarbons Division Robert C. Haddon Research Award was established in 2018 to encourage excellence in nanocarbon research and to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the understanding and applications of carbon materials. The award consists of a framed certificate; US $1,000 prize; and up to a maximum of US $1,500 to facilitate attending the meeting where the award is to be presented.

Materials are due by September 1, 2022.

Section Awards The ECS Pacific Northwest Section Electrochemistry Research Award sponsored by Gamry Instruments was established in 2021 to recognize excellence in electrochemistry and solid state science and technology research. The recipient is an independent scientist or engineer working in these fields in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho. The award consists of a framed certificate and US $1,000 prize. Materials are due by July 15, 2022.

Student Awards ECS Summer Fellowships were established in 1928 to help students pursue work from June through August in a field of interest to ECS. The Society awards up to four summer fellowships each year: the Edward G. Weston Fellowship, Joseph W. Richards Fellowship, F. M. Becket Fellowship, and the H. H. Uhlig Fellowship.

Each fellowship consists of US $5,000 in funding to support the recipient’s research and publication of a summary report in the award-year Interface winter issue. Materials are due by January 15 of each year.

The Colin Garfield Fink Fellowship, which was first awarded in 1962, assists a postdoctoral scientist/researcher to pursue work during the months of June through September in a field of interest to the Society. The award consists of US $5,000 and publication of a summary report in the award-year Interface winter issue. Materials are due by January 15 of each year.

ECS General Student Poster Session Awards were established in 1993 to acknowledge quality and thoroughness in candidates’ work; the originality and independence of their contributions; significance and timeliness of research results; and depth of understanding of the research topics and their relationship to the Society’s fields of interest. Three awards are given for each Society biannual meeting. The first-place award consists of a US $1,500 cash prize; second place is a US $1,000 cash prize; and third place is a US $500 cash prize. Awardees are also recognized with a certificate and an announcement in Interface that accompanies the respective meeting’s “Biannual Meeting Highlights” article. To be considered, students must submit an abstract to the General Student Poster Session by the biannual meeting abstract deadline. The 242nd ECS Meeting abstract submission deadline is April 8, 2022.

The ECS Outstanding Student Chapter Award (formerly the Gwendolyn B. Wood Section Excellence Award) was established in 2012 to recognize distinguished student chapters that demonstrate active participation in The Electrochemical Society’s technical activities; establish community and outreach activities in the areas of electrochemical and solid state science and engineering education; and create and maintain a robust membership base. Up to three winners are selected, with one named the Outstanding Student Chapter and up to two named Chapters of Excellence. The Outstanding Student Chapter award consists of a recognition plaque; US $1,000 US; and award recognition and chapter group photo in Interface or other electronic communications. Chapters of Excellence members receive mailed recognition certificates, and acknowledgement in Interface. Materials are due by April 15, 2022.

Biannual Meeting Travel Grants are awarded at each Society biannual meeting. Many ECS divisions and sections offer travel grants to undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and young professionals and faculty presenting papers at ECS biannual meetings. The awards consist of financial support ranging from complimentary meeting registration to luncheon/ reception tickets, travel support, and more. Each division and section maintains different application requirements. 242nd ECS Meeting applications open on April 8, 2022, and are due by June 27, 2022.

The Georgia Section Student Award was established in 2011 to recognize academic accomplishments in any area of science or engineering in which electrochemical and/or solid state science and technology is the central consideration. Recipients— PhD students at universities within the Georgia Section—are nominated by university faculty members. The award consists of a $500 prize. Materials are due by August 15, 2022.

The Energy Technology Division Graduate Student Award sponsored by BioLogic was established in 2012 to recognize and reward promising young engineers and scientists in fields pertaining to this division. The award consists of a framed certificate; US $1,000 prize; complimentary student meeting registration; and complimentary admission to the Division Business Meeting. Materials are due by September 1, 2022. (continued on next page)

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AWARDS AWARDS PROGRAM (continued from previous page)

The Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering Division H. H. Dow Memorial Student Achievement Award was established in 1990 to recognize promising young engineers and scientists in the field of electrochemical engineering and applied electrochemistry. The award consists of a framed certificate and US $1,000 prize to be used for expenses associated with the recipient’s education or research project (i.e., tuition, books, equipment, or supplies). Materials are due by September 1, 2022.

The Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering Division Student Achievement Award was established in 1989 to recognize promising young engineers and scientists in the field of electrochemical engineering. The award consists of a framed certificate and US $1,000 prize. Materials are due by September 1, 2022.

Award Winners Join us in celebrating your peers as we extend congratulations to all! The following awards are part of the ECS Honors & Awards Program which has recognized professional and volunteer achievement in our multi-disciplinary sciences for decades.

Henry B. Linford Award for Distinguished Teaching Martin Winter holds a professorship in Materials Science, Energy and Electrochemistry at the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the Westfälische WilhelmsUniversität Münster (WWU). He is the Founder and Scientific Director of the Münster Electrochemical Energy Technology (MEET) Battery Research Center at WWU, managing a team of 150 scientists, engineers, and technicians working on the research and Photo: FZ Jülich development of innovative electrochemical energy storage systems with higher energy density, longer durability, and maximum safety. In 2015 he founded and continues to serve as Founding Director of the Helmholtz-Institut Münster (HI MS) “Ionics in Energy Storage,” an institute branch of Forschungszentrum Jülich with some 70 employees.

For more than 30 years, Prof. Winter has conducted research in the field of electrochemical energy storage and conversion, focusing on the development of new materials, components, and cell designs for lithium-ion, lithium-metal batteries, and alternative battery systems. He received his PhD in 1995 from the Paul Scherrer Institut where he also completed a postdoctoral fellowship. The Technische Universität Graz appointed him Professor in 1997, then in 2007, University Professor and Head of the Institute of Chemical Technology for Inorganic Materials. From 2008 to 2012, he held an endowed professorship funded by Volkswagen, Evonik Industries, and Chemetall (today Albemarle) at the WWU Institute of Physical Chemistry; he held the Professorship for Applied Materials Science for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion there from 2013 to 2016.

Prof. Winter is a Fellow of The Electrochemical Society and the International Society of Electrochemistry. He has received more than 50 scientific awards and recognitions, including the ECS 2020 Europe Section Alessandro Volta Medal, 2015 Carl Wagner Memorial Award, 2015 Battery Division Research Award, and 2002 Battery Division Technology Award; 2018 Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class; 2018 WWU Research Award; and 2015 International Battery Materials Association Technology Award. His h-index is 105.

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Vittorio de Nora Award Robert F. Savinell is Distinguished University Professor and George S. Dively Professor of Engineering at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Prof. Savinell’s research is directed at the fundamental science and mechanistic issues of electrochemical processes, and device design, development, modeling, and optimization. Since 2018, he has been the Principal Investigator and Director of the Photo: CWRN DOE Emerging Frontiers Research Center on Breakthrough Electrolytes for Energy Storage (BEES).

He earned his PhD degree in chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh under the guidance of Prof. Chung-Chiun Liu. He was a research engineer at Diamond Shamrock Corporation, a faculty member at the University of Akron, and then joined the faculty of CWRU in 1986. Prof. Savinell was Director of the Ernest B. Yeager Center for Electrochemical Sciences at CWRU for 10 years, and Dean of Engineering there from 2000 to 2007. He took a sabbatical year in 2007 as a Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he worked with Prof. Yang Shao-Horn and her students. He was also a Visiting Professor at Yamanashi University with Prof. Masahiro Watanabe, and Denmark Technical University with Professors Neils Bjerrum and Qingfeng Li. Since 2013, Prof. Savinell has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society. He is a Fellow of The Electrochemical Society (2000), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (2003), and International Society of Electrochemistry (2013). His many awards and honors include the 2020 CWRU Frank and Dorothy Hummel Prize for exceptional achievements in teaching, research, and scholarly service.

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AWARDS AWARDS PROGRAM Division Awards Dielectric Science and Technology Thomas Callinan Award Stefan De Gendt is a scientific director at imec (Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre), an R&D hub for nano and digital technologies. He is responsible for research on the chemistry and physics of exploratory materials. He joined imec as a researcher in the Ultra Clean Processing Group in 1996, working on topics that include cleaning technology and analytical metrology for contamination control in CMOS processing.

In 2002, he became a group manager at imec and program manager of the imec Industrial Affiliation Program (IIAP) on high-k and gate metal materials, working to replace conventional SiO2-based gate dielectrics (with metaloxide high-k materials) and Si-based gate electrodes (with metal materials) to allow further scaling of transistor technologies. Dr. De Gendt assumed responsibility for imec’s post-CMOS nanotechnology program in 2005. This program’s goal was the exploration of devices using 1D (nanowire-like) architectures; synthesis and use of carbon nanotubes for exploratory interconnect applications; and exploration of graphene synthesis and applications. Currently he oversees material- and process-related research on a wide variety of exploratory materials for CMOS and memory technology.

Dr. De Gendt obtained his PhD from Universiteit Antwerpen in 1996. Today, he is associated on a part-time basis with the Department of Chemistry at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven where he has coached more than 15 postdocs and PhD students (more than 20 have graduated since 2006; 10 are currently in progress; and an average of three research students per year). He is the co-author of more than 400 technical papers in refereed journals and co-inventor of cleaning and gate stack process steps, resulting in several patent applications. Dr. De Gendt has been actively involved since 2004 in the organization of international conferences (primarily with ECS) on high-k gate stack, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and III-V materials and atomic layer deposition. At IEDM (International Electron Devices Meeting), he served in numerous roles leading to the position of General Chair.

Dr. De Gendt is a member at large of the ECS Dielectric Science and Technology Division and ECS Electronics and Photonics Division, as well as the ECS Europe Section. He served as technical editor for the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology from 2011 to 2017; Senior Vice President of ECS from 2017 to 2020; and ECS President from 2020 to 2021.

Electronics and Photonics Division Award Eddy Simoen is a senior researcher at imec, where he is currently involved in the study of defect and strain engineering in high-mobility and epitaxial substrates and defect studies in germanium and III-V compounds. His research interests cover the field of device physics and defect engineering in general, with particular emphasis on the study of lowfrequency noise, low-temperature behavior, and radiation defects in semiconductor components and materials. In these fields, he has either authored or co-authored more than 1,800 journal and conference papers and 12 book chapters. His monographs and books include Radiation Effects in Advanced Semiconductor Devices and Materials and Germanium-based Technologies – from Materials to Devices. Prof. Simoen has organized many workshops and symposia.

Prof. Simoen completed his PhD in Engineering in 1985 at Ghent University, then joined imec in 1986 to work in the field of low temperature electronics. In 2013, he was named part-time professor at Ghent University and also received a visiting professorship at the Beijing Institute of Microelectronics. Prof. Simoen is the lead organizer of the biannual High Purity Silicon Symposium at ECS meetings and in 2016 was named Fellow of The Electrochemical Society. An IEEE Senior Member, he has served as Chair of the IEEE EDS Chapter Benelux since 2016. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Semiconductor Science and Technology.

Energy Technology Division Research Award Vito Di Noto is Full Professor of Electrochemistry for Energy and Solid State Chemistry in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the Università degli Studi di Padova (UNIPD). He is head of the Section of Chemistry for Technology in the same department, and founder and team leader of the research group, Chemistry of Materials for the Metamorphosis and the Storage of Energy (CheMaMSE). Prof. Di Noto has more than 30 years of experience in the research and development of advanced functional materials for electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices, including ion-exchange membrane fuel cells, and primary and secondary batteries running on alkaline and alkaline-earth elements. In the late 1990s, he pioneered the secondary magnesium ion battery and devised breakthrough approaches for the synthesis of electrolytes and electrode materials. He also provided seminal contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms of ion conduction in condensed phases.

Prof. Di Noto received his PhD in Chemistry from UNIPD in 1992, then joined the faculty there. He has published more than 315 papers and holds 30 patents. Most of these were licensed to private companies and led to the development of products for application in the field of electrochemical energy conversion and storage (e.g., electrolyzers, electrocatalysts) that are commercialized all over the world. His work has attracted more than 8000 citations with an h-index of 49. Prof. Di Noto was recently included in the Stanford University list of the Top Two Percent of Scientists Worldwide.

A Fellow of The Electrochemical Society and Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Prof. Di Noto serves as President of the Italian Chemical Society’s Electrochemistry Division. He is highly involved in organizing research on fuel cells and batteries at the European Union level, taking an active role in top-notch supranational coordination.

Energy Technology Division Supramaniam Srinivasan Young Investigator Award James Young is a scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the Electrosynthesis and Fuel Storage Science and Engineering Group. He leads NREL’s HydroGEN Consortium PEC projects, the H2NEW Consortium membrane electrode assembly performance ex-situ characterization task, a technology commercialization project on low-cost electrolysis diffusion media materials, and a Photo: Dennis Schroeder, NREL

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AWARDS PROGRAM (continued from previous page)

Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project on electrochemical ammonia synthesis.

Dr. Young received his BS from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. Though his original interest was in semiconductors and solid state electronic properties of materials, as a 2010 undergraduate intern at NREL, his focus shifted toward electrochemical research.

He completed his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU-Boulder). There he developed tandem III-V PEC devices and atomic-layer-deposited thin films as protective, anti-reflective, and catalytic coatings co-advised by Drs. Steven George (CU-Boulder) and Todd Deutsch (NREL).

Dr. Young continued PEC work as a postdoc while contributing to low-temperature electrolysis research projects advised by Dr. Guido Bender. Dr. Young joined NREL in 2018.

Nanocarbons Division Richard E. Smalley Research Award Prashant V. Kamat is the Rev. John A. Zahm, C.S.C., Professor of Science in the University of Notre Dame Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Radiation Laboratory—and Concurrent Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Prof. Kamat works to build bridges between physical chemistry and materials science to develop advanced nanomaterials that promise cleaner and more Photo: University of efficient light energy conversion. He has Notre Dame directed DOE funded solar photochemistry research for the past 35-plus years. In addition to large multidisciplinary interdepartmental and research center programs, he has actively participated in industry-sponsored research and served on many national panels on nanotechnology and energy conversion processes.

Prof. Kamat earned his PhD in in Physical Chemistry in 1979 from Bombay University and completed postdoctoral research at Boston University (1979–1981) and the University of Texas at Austin (1981– 1983). He joined Notre Dame in 1983. Prof. Kamat has published more than 500 scientific papers with 76,000 citations and an h-index of 141. Thomson-Reuters featured him as one of the most cited researchers each year from 2014 to 2021. He is currently Founding Editor-in-Chief of ACS Energy Letters and advisory board member of several scientific journals. He served as deputy editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. From 2000 to 2004, Prof. Kamat was Chair of the ECS Fullerene (now Nanocarbons) Division. He is a Fellow of The Electrochemical Society, American Chemical Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Pravasi Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy. He received the 2013 Langmuir Lectureship Award; 2011 Chemical Research Society of India Medal; and 2006 Japanese Photochemical Society Honda-Fujishima Lectureship Award.

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Nanocarbons Division SES Young Investigator Award Ardemis Boghossian is a tenure-track assistant professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) where she started in 2015 as the lead principal investigator of the Laboratory of NanoBiotechnology. Her laboratory implements a highly interdisciplinary approach to addressing fundamental challenges and developing novel technologies that exploit the synergy between nanotechnology and synthetic biology. Through her focal points in the fields of optoelectronics and protein engineering, she contributes new biological and biochemical methods for the production of durable hybrid nanomaterials for energy and biosensing applications.

Prof. Boghossian earned her BSE in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2007 and completed her PhD in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012 under the supervision of Prof. Michael S. Strano. Her graduate work focused on applied nanotechnology, where she engineered nanoparticles that interface with light-harvesting biological constructs to enhance solar energy conversion. She also developed algorithms for quantifying stochastic fluctuations in fluorescence from single-molecule, nanotube-based biosensors. As a Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology in the laboratory of the 2018 Nobel Laureate Frances H. Arnold, she worked as a protein engineer applying methods of directed evolution to engineer cells that can electronically interface with electrodes.

Section Awards PNW Section Electrochemistry Research Award Wei Wang is Director of the Energy Storage Materials Initiative, a multi-million-dollar, multi-year project at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to fundamentally transform energy material discovery and development through a combined experiment/modeling/data approach. He also serves as the chief scientist and technical lead on stationary energy storage research at PNNL, with a primary focus on developing Photo: PNNL advanced redox flow battery technologies.

Dr. Wang has published in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Science, Nature Energy, Nature Review Materials, and other scientific journals. In 2018, he was included in Clarivate’s 1% Highly Cited Researchers. Dr. Wang has received multiple awards, including the US EPA Green Chemistry Challenge Award; FLC Excellence in Technology Transfer Award; and R&D 100 Award. A Battelle Distinguished Inventor, he holds more than 20 patents and multiple patent licenses. Dr. Wang co-founded the International Coalition for Energy Storage and Innovation (ICESI) and actively serves in energy storage–related professional societies, including the ECS Battery and Energy Technology Divisions.

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

AWARDS AWARDS PROGRAM Student Awards Energy Technology Division Graduate Student Award Sponsored by BioLogic Grace Lindquist is a fourth-year PhD candidate at the University of Oregon (UO) working under the advisement of Prof.

Shannon Boettcher. Her graduate work focuses on improving the performance and reducing the degradation of anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis in pure water using non-platinum group metal (PGM) catalyst materials. Using advanced electrochemical and analytical techniques, she works to characterize catalyst and ionomer degradation in these systems and develop mitigation strategies to prevent these pathways and improve durability.

Lindquist earned her BA in Chemistry from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. In 2020, as an intern with Nel Hydrogen, she worked to advance AEM technology and gained valuable technoeconomic insight into her work. Her results are in Joule, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, ACS Energy Letters, and other publications. She was featured in ACS Energy Letters’ 2022 series, “Women Scientists at the Forefront of Energy Research.”

Outside of the lab, she is a director for Mad Duck Science, an outreach program that hosts science experiments for middle school students, and outreach coordinator for UO Women in Graduate Science.

Energy Technology Division Graduate Student Award Sponsored by BioLogic Zachary Schiffer recently joined the Atwater Lab at the California Institute of Technology as a Postdoctoral Scholar working on photo(electro)catalytic nitrogen reduction and devices for carbon capture. He completed his PhD in 2021 with Prof.

Karthish Manthiram at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Chemical Engineering. His thesis explores electrification and decarbonization routes for industrial chemical processes with a focus on the development of electrochemical routes for ambient-condition nitrogen cycle reactions. In general, his research combines fundamental thermodynamics, kinetic analysis techniques, computational chemistry, and materials synthesis to explore electrochemical systems. For his Princeton University Chemical and Biological Engineering BSE senior thesis, he researched the mechanics of Li-ion batteries with Prof. Craig Arnold.

Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering Division Student Achievement Award Matthew Liu is a PhD student in the Chemical Engineering Department at Stanford University and a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Fellow. Liu studies electrochemical reactive-separation processes to recover ammonia from nitrogenrich wastewaters as a member of William Tarpeh’s lab. His particular focus is on electrocatalytic nitrate reduction, which has led him to investigate systems driven by heterogeneous catalysis, molecular catalysis, and single atom catalysis. Liu is also interested in how the structure and composition of the microenvironment at the electrode-electrolyte interface directs nitrate reduction performance. As an undergraduate studying at the University of California, Berkeley and researching at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, he also focused on energy and the environment, studying free-radical chemistry in aqueous aerosol under Frances Houle and electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction under Prof. Bryan McCloskey.

Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering Division H. H. Dow Memorial Student Achievement Award Arghya Patra is a PhD candidate and Mavis Future Faculty Fellow in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

He is part of the Paul V. Braun research group. Patra’s thesis research focuses on developing an alternative electrochemical manufacturing route for conventionally used slurry-cast ceramic oxide cathodes for lithium and sodium ion batteries. His work has demonstrated controlled electrochemical growth of dense, highly textured, thick ceramic oxide films important for electrochemical energy storage. He earned BTech and MTech degrees in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering in 2017 from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. His undergraduate research focused on electrodeposition of porous metals as current collectors and tin-based ternary anodes for Li-ion batteries.

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NEW MEMBERS ECS is proud to announce the following new members for October, November, and December 2021 (Members are listed alphabetically by family/last name.)

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Members

A Midori Akiyama, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Carlos Araujo, Colorado Springs, CO, USA Numan Arshid, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia Prabhu Arumugam, Bossier City, LA, USA

B Rachel Backhouse, Sheffield, England, UK Ganapathi Balasubramanian, Pleasanton, CA, USA Ana Borras, Seville, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

C Manjunatha C., Bengaluru, KA, India Christopher Cadigan, Wheat Ridge, CO, USA Chao-Yu Chen, Tainan City, Tainan, Taiwan Wei Chen, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Alexandr Chernomorskii, Brooklyn, NY, USA Shohei Chiashi, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan Xinhang Cui, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

D Wenrui Dai, Singapore, Singapore, SIngapore Cheng-Feng Du, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China Matthew Dula, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Christian Durante, Padova, Veneto, Italy

E James Earthman, Irvine, CA, USA Christopher Easley, Auburn, AL, USA

F Chengcheng Fang, East Lansing, MI, USA Delenn Fingerlow, Minneapolis, MN, USA Helga Flosadóttir, Kópavogur, RVK, Iceland Paul Francis, Highton, Victoria, Australia

G Federico Giannini, Vuillecin, BorgogneFranche-Comte, France Vinay Gupta, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

H T. Hatton, Cambridge, MA, USA Genki Horiguchi, Koganei, Tokyo, Japan

Francesca Iacopi, Sydney, NSW, Australia

J

Scott Jacobson, Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA

K Hwan Kyu Kim, Sejong, Chungcheongnamdo, South Korea Kensuke Kimura, Wako-shi, Saitama, Japan Junichiro Kono, Houston, TX, USA Sujeet Kumar, Pleasanton, CA, USA Hiroko Kuwata, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

L Hang Lau, Historic New Castle, DE, USA Shuxing Li, Xiamen, Fujian, China Ye Li, Xiamen, Fujian, China Xu Lian, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Zhiqun Lin, Atlanta, GA, USA

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T Yasunari Tamai, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan Jivan Thakare, Grand Forks, ND, USA Zhangliu Tian, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

U Tomokazu Umeyama, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan

V Anton Van der Ven, Santa Barbara, CA, USA Linas Vilčiauskas, Vilnius, Vilnius County, Lithuania Ritesh Vyas, Ahmedabad, GJ, India

Masashi Mamada, Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan Selma Mededovic, Potsdam, NY, USA Toshihiro Miyao, Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan Zainiharyati Mohd Zain, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

N Eiichi Nakamura, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Hitoshi Nakamura, Toyota City, Aichi, Japan Yasuo Nakayama, Noda, Chiba, Japan Akimitsu Narita, Onna, Okinawa, Japan Hirotomo Nishihara, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Suguru Noda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan

O Kaoru Ohta, Ikeda, Osaka, Japan Toshiya Okazaki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

P Sara Paydar, Tartu, Tartu, Estonia Andrea Perego, Irvine, CA, USA Frank Puhane, Waldenburg, BW, Germany

R Ken Rohly, Lino Lakes, MN, USA

S Matteo Saini, Cologno Monzese, Lombardia, Italy Hiroshi Sakaguchi, Uji, Kyoto, Japan Senthilkumar Sellappan, Vellore, TN, India

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Wenyue Shi, Sunnyvale, CA, USA Shabnam Siddiqui, Bossier City, LA, USA Ana Sobota, Eindhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands Kay Song, Fremont, CA, USA Hikaru Sotome, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan

W Hao Wan, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China Jessica West, Spokane, WA, USA Paul Williams, Richmond, TX, USA Bingbin Wu, Richland, WA, USA Xinglong Wu, Changchun, Jilin, China

X Tongtong Xuan, Xiamen, Fujian, China

Y Kazuhiro Yamada, Nasushiobara-shi, Tochigi, Japan Jinlin Yang, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Hong Yu, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China

Z Peng Zhao, Tullahoma, TN, USA Yixi Zhuang, Xiamen, Fujian, China

Student Members

A

Dhilip A., Tiruchirappalli, TN, India Fawaz Ali, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Ethan Alter, Halifax, NS, Canada Yaser Arteshi Kojabad, Winnipeg, MB, Canada Rebekah Attard-Trevisan, Canterbury, Kent, UK Majid Aziz, Newark, DE, USA

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

NEW MEMBERS B

Michael Baird, San Francisco, CA, USA Daina Baker, Vancouver, BC, Canada Eunice Evangeline Bariki, Mysore, KA, India Kevin Beaver, Salt Lake City, UT, USA Tinsley Benhaddouch, Miami, FL, USA Tyson Bittrich, Portland, OR, USA Hillary Bourger, Las Cruces, NM, USA Sara Bouzidi, Calgary, AB, Canada

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Marta Cazorla Soult, Elsene, Brussels, Belgium Ho Lun Chan, Charlottesville, VA, USA Jie Chen, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Diego Chicas-Banos, Toluca, Mexico City, Mexico Chiranjeev Chiranjeev, Kanpur, UP, India Keith Cleland, Calgary, AB, Canada Baihua Cui, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

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Yumin Da, Singapore, Singapore, SIngapore Olusola Dahunsi, Dekalb, IL, USA Pushpal Das, Kolkata, WB, India Basab Ranjan Das Goswami, Chicago, IL, USA William Dean, Cleveland Heights, OH, USA Iris Dienwiebel, Muenster, NRW, Germany Manuel Dillenz, Ulm, BW, Germany

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Alasdair Fairhurst, Newport Beach, CA, USA Austin Fehr, Houston, TX, USA Katherine Foster, Lexington, SC, USA

G

Anindita Ganguly, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan Carlos Giron Rodriguez, Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark Luisa Larissa Arnaldo Gomes, Cambridge, MA, USA Mengjun Gong, London, England, UK Tobias Graf, Ulm, BW, Germany

H

Youngjin Ham, Daejeon, Hoseo, South Korea Pouya Hashemzadeh, Cote Saint-Luc, QC, Canada Ian Haslacker, Orlando, FL, USA Kenta Hayashi, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Marius Hoffmann, Ulm, BW, Germany

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Alper Ince, Storrs, CT, USA

J

Karin Jaegle, Ulm, BW, Germany Chonglai Jiang, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Martin Jin, Cambridge, MA, USA Sooyoung Jung, State College, PA, USA Antonio Junior, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

K

Hanumant Kale, Mumbai, MH, India Vinay Kammarchedu, State College, PA, USA Brice Kessler, Bethlehem, PA, USA Bahman Khaki, Herndon, VA, USA Foroogh Khezeli, Baton Rouge, LA, USA Niklas Kinzel, Mulheim an der Ruhr, NRW, Germany Lukas Klass, Ulm, BW, Germany Megan Knobeloch, Bloomington, IN, USA Tanmay Kulkarni, State College, PA, USA Minkyoung Kwak, Eugene, OR, USA

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Meng Hao Lee, West Lafayette, IN, USA Zeheng Lin, Sydney, NSW, Australia Yuan Liu, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

M Manishvarun M. Kanyakumari, TN, India Shreyitha M. Bengaluru, KA, India Massimiliano Mastrogiorgio, Chicago, IL, USA Aigerim Meimanova, Calgary, AB, Canada Mantas Miliauskas, Homer Glen, IL, USA Nahla Mohamed, Los Angeles, CA, USA Omar Mohamed, London, ON, Canada Javith Mohammed, Trichy, TN, India Mohammadjavad Mohebinia, Houston, TX, USA Leshinka Molel, Atlanta, GA, USA Md. Moniruzzaman, BUET, Rajshahi, Bangladesh Elizabeth Monroe, Las Vegas, NV, USA Paranjothi Murugan, Trichirapalli, TN, India Chinnasamy Murugesan, Dharmapuri, TN, India Kashif Mushtaq, Porto, Beja, Portugal

N Oanh Nguyen, Calgary, AB, Canada

O Nicholas Oliveira, Elkton, MD, USA Renee Olney, Las Vegas, NV, USA Adekunle Omoboye, Kingston, ON, Canada

P Aditi Pandey, Bengaluru, KA, India Dhananjai Pangotra, Straubing, Bavaria, Germany Douglas Pedersen, Salt Lake City, UT, USA Saran Pidaparthy, Westmont, IL, USA Niket Powar, Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea Joseph Powell, Forest View, IL, USA

R Niranjan R., Perambalur, TN, India Srishyam Raghavan, Chicago, IL, USA Yashesh Rajyaguru, Mumbai, MH, India Shravan Ranga, Bengaluru, KA, India Davide Ripepi, Delft, South Holland, Netherlands Charles Rogers, Lockport, IL, USA Anaira Roman Santiago, Champaign, IL, USA

S

Chandru S., Trichy, TN, India Sai Drishya S., Bengaluru, KA, India Baharehalsadat Sadeghi, Altenberge, NRW, Germany Geethu Sasikala, London, ON, Canada Katey Sheets, Joliet, IL, USA Mekala Snehith Reddy, Piler, AP, India Jordan Sosa, Allston, MA, USA Eliza Spear, Somerville, MA, USA Ashna Sran, Naperville, IL, USA Bo Sun, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China Quanwen Sun, Las Cruces, NM, USA Zejun Sun, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

T

Stephen Tatarchuk, Waterloo, ON, Canada John Teye-Kau, Stillwater, OK, USA Shubhneet Thind, Winnipeg, MB, Canada Jan Thomas, Ulm, BW, Germany Varshith Tipirneni, Jamnagar, GJ, India

U

Kubra Uzun, Lexington, KY, USA

V

Veenasri Vallem, Raleigh, NC, USA

W

Meng Wang, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Yuxuan Wang, Calgary, AB, Canada Arthur Wierzbiak, Hickory Hills, IL, USA Luis Winkler, Ulm, BW, Germany Junlin Wu, La Jolla, CA, USA Kun Wu, Plainfield, IL, USA

X

Jingdong Xu, London, England, UK Xiangdong Xu, Coventry, Warwickshire, UK

Y

Haotian Yang, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Z

Qi Zhang, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Yifeng Zhang, London, England, UK Yuxiang Zhou, London, England, UK Zhimin Zhou, Muenster, NRW, Germany

Q Haozheng Qu, West Lafayette, IN, USA

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NEW MEMBERS New Members by Country

Look who joined ECS in the Fourth Quarter of 2021.

Australia

Iceland

Bangladesh

India

Belgium

Italy

Brazil

Japan

Canada

Lithuania

China

Malaysia

Denmark

Mexico

Estonia

Netherlands

France

Portugal

Germany

Singapore

Australia................... 3 Bangladesh.............. 1 Belgium................... 1 Brazil........................ 1 Canada................... 14 China....................... 9 Denmark.................. 1 Estonia..................... 1 France...................... 1 Germany................ 13 Iceland..................... 1 India....................... 21 Italy.......................... 2 Japan..................... 20

Lithuania.................. 1 Malaysia.................. 2 Mexico..................... 1 Netherlands.............. 2 Portugal................... 1 Singapore.............. 15 South Korea............. 3 Spain....................... 1 Taiwan...................... 2 UK............................ 7 United Arab Emirates................... 1 USA....................... 80

242nd ECS Meeting ATLANTA l GA October 9-13, 2022 Atlanta Hilton

SUBMIT NOW

Abstract Submission Now Open Advertisers Index BioLogic........................................................................ 8, 9 ECS Transactions 241st ECS Meeting.......................... 44 El-Cell.............................................................................. 25 Gamry................................................................................ 2

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IonPower........................................................................... 6 IOP............................................................... 52, back cover Pine Research Instrumentation......................................... 4 Scribner Associates........................................................... 1 Wiley............................................................................... 38 The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

STUDENT NEWS Student Chapter News ECS Florida International University Student Chapter During the fall 2021 semester, the Florida International University (FIU) chapter arranged two seminars: Commercialize Your Research on November 2, and Introduction to I-Corps on December 15. The chapter also attended the FIU Student Government Association’s beach cleanup on November 6, 2021.

Commercialize Your Research instructed the FIU research community on the fundamentals of entrepreneurship for researchers, how to commercialize research and build successful companies, resources available to help build a company, and what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. The ECS chapter invited Prof. Robert Hacker as speaker. He is the co-founder and director of StartUp FIU, where he focuses on commercializing faculty research in emerging technologies and curriculum innovation, professor in the FIU Honors College, and previously taught at MIT Sloan School of Management.

A successful entrepreneur, he built a billion-dollar publicly traded company in Indonesia. This seminar was a major success, answering a lot of questions for future entrepreneurs involved in cutting-edge research.

The chapter followed the success of Commercialize Your Research with a second seminar, Introduction to I-CORPS. Key speaker Prof.

Robert Hacker from StartUp FIU, accompanied by Dr. Yogeswaran Umasankar, Michael Burtov, and Stephanie Bergin, introduced attendees to the National Science Foundation I-CORPS program that places students and faculty into mentorship programs to commercialize their research and establish startup companies. I-CORPS teaches how to deal with investors; gather funding for startup companies; and make research more customer oriented.

The ECS FIU student chapter participated in the beach cleanup event, an attempt to make people aware of oceanic life and surroundings in order to protect the environment from pollution.

Attendees from the Commercialize Your Research seminar.

Dr. Yogeswaran Umasankar presents Introduction to I-CORPS.

ECS Helmholtz Institute Ulm Student Chapter The COVID-19 pandemic and attendant social distancing restrictions highly impacted 2021. Despite these challenges, we organized gettogethers and social gatherings for members as well as scientists and young professionals.

After a long lockdown in Germany, we planned an online social event, which included various games to strengthen team spirit in our chapter. Later that year, we finally met in person and organized a barbecue with our members.

We spent most of our time organizing a panel discussion at the Ulm Electrochemical Talks Conference (UECT), a biennial conference organized by the ZSW (Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg). “Meet your Future,” the topic of this year’s panel discussion, focused on questions regarding the early stages of careers in academia and industry. We invited

The ECS Ulm Student Chapter united during one of 2021’s rare in-person meetings.

The highly successful ECS Ulm Student Chapter’s “Meet your Future” panel discussion served as the opening social event for the November 2021 Ulm Electrochemical Talks Conference.

(continued on next page)

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STUDENT NEWS (continued from previous page)

Dr. Sonia Dsoke (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, KIT) and Dr. Dominic Bresser (Helmholtz Institute Ulm, HIU) to represent the academic career path, and Lei Shen (SAX Power) and Dr. Marcel Wilka (STIHL AG) to provide insight about work in industry. Our outstanding speakers shared their experiences and advice on topics such as career entry, work-life balance, and working abroad, with an audience of nearly 50 selected young scientists. After the panel discussion, participants gathered with drinks and snacks to network and engage in further conversation in a relaxed atmosphere.

At the end of 2021, the ECS Ulm Student Chapter included 21 members, connecting all Ulm-area institutes in the fields of electrochemistry, solid state science, and green energy. We look forward to 2022 with even more engagement in our community of young scientists, and the possibility to further widen our professional network.

Great speakers at the chapter’s “Meet your Future” panel discussion—an evening to remember. From left to right: Marius Flügel (ECS Ulm Student Chapter Vice President); Christin Hogrefe (Host); Dr. Sonia Dsoke (KIT); Dr. Dominic Bresser (HIU); Lei Shen (CEO, SAX Power); Dr. Marcel Wilka (STIHL AG); Sebastian Fackler (Host); and Lukas Pfeiffer (ECS Ulm Student Chapter President).

ECS Indiana University Student Chapter The Indian University chapter attended three conferences this past fall: the Faraday Discussion on Nanoelectrochemistry, the Turkey Run Analytical Chemistry Conference, and the PINDU (Purdue, Indiana, Notre Dame Universities) Inorganic Chemistry Conference.

Sasha Alden and Brian Choi of the Baker Group presented posters at the Faraday Discussion and Brian won the Best Poster Award.

Indiana University hosted PINDU this year. Chapter Treasurer Sheyda Partovi was heavily involved with planning. Over 100 people attended. Chapter member Sarah Braley received the Best Poster Award. Congratulations to Brian and Sarah!

Prof. Lane Baker hosted two visiting speakers this past semester.

Chapter members met with professors Justin Sambur, Colorado State University, and Long Luo, Wayne State University, to discuss student research and career aspirations. We hosted Prof. Jillian Dempsey from the University of North Carolina on February 2 and learned more about her research on proton-coupled electron transfer mechanisms.

The chapter is grateful for the opportunity to meet with accomplished and knowledgeable electrochemists.

Congratulations to Prof. Lane Baker on his new position at Texas A&M University (TAMU)! We thank him for all his work and dedication as our long-term ECS student chapter advisor. We wish him and his group the best of luck as they move forward. A goodbye note

from the Baker Group: “We have enjoyed being heavily involved with the ECS Indiana University Student Chapter and will try to carry on at TAMU the same tradition that makes the Indiana chapter so great.”

ECS Indiana University Student Chapter members Yunong Wang, Kaxiang Huang, Natasha Siepser, Sasha Alden, Cody Leasor, and Kristen Alanis.

ECS Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Chapter The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) chapter’s inauguration was celebrated with its first members’ meeting on January 13, 2022. The newly established chapter proudly presents its first report. Our mission is to promote the interest in and advancement of the design and application of cutting-edge nanotechnology and nanoscience-based biosensors with interest in diagnostics among JNU students. Our supportive faculty advisor, Dr. Partima Solanki, is head of the NanoBio Laboratory, Special Centre for Nanoscience (SCNS), JNU. With the enthusiastic efforts of President Amit K. Yadav, Vice President Reena Sajwan, Secretary Damini Verma, and Treasurer Navneet Chaudhary, our ECS chapter will undoubtedly succeed in achieving the tremendous yet attainable vision we have for the organization. We look forward to building a coherent community of electrochemists at JNU, new relationships with other student chapters, and partners outside the JNU community.

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Although this chapter had only been active for a few months, the founding members wanted to demonstrate their enthusiasm by hosting their first webinar on January 13, 2022. Dr. Anil Kumar, Staff Scientist at the Gene Regulation Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, presented “Gut Microbiota-derived Metabolites as

Members of the ECS Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Chapter.

Photo courtesy of Payal Gulati.

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

STUDENT NEWS Potential Biomarkers.” Dr. Kumar introduced his research on the use of gut microbiota-derived metabolites (e.g., trimethylamine, trimethylamine N-oxide, para-cresol, etc.) as prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers. Their early detection in body fluids has been presumed to be significant in understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of many diseases. He also shared his experience in developing molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)–based sensors for the detection of TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide), which, compared to conventional techniques, is affordable, sensitive, specific, userfriendly, robust, hassle-free, and deliverable. A question-and-answer session following the presentation allowed the formulation of a general meeting summary.

Participants in the “Gut Microbiota-derived Metabolites as Potential Biomarkers” webinar by Dr. Anil Kumar. Photo courtesy of Amit K. Yadav.

Students from various departments such as Physics, Materials Science, Chemistry, Biology, Nanoscience, Nanoengineering, and others participated in the webinar. JNU students show great interest in electrochemistry, biosensors, biomarkers, diagnostics, optical, and point-of-care devices, and in ECS. With this seminar, the organization gained a few new members. We look forward to planning events and more seminars and webinars for the 2022–2023 academic year. More information on the NanoBio Group at SCNS, JNU, is available on our webpage.

Members of the Nano-Bio Laboratory. First row left to right: student chapter Secretary Damini Verma; Dr. Deepika Chauhan; student chapter Faculty Advisor Dr. Partima Solanki; Dr. Manvi Singh; chapter Vice President Reena Sajwan; Dr. Payal Gulati; Dr. GBVS Lakshmi. Second row from left to right: Dr. Avinash Singh; chapter Treasurer Navneet Chaudhary; Mrinal Poddar; and chapter President Amit K. Yadav.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Awadesh Verma.

ECS Massachusetts Institute of Technology Student Chapter The MIT electrochemistry community proudly established its first ECS student chapter in fall 2021. The chapter draws student members from MIT departments that include Chemical, Mechanical, and Materials Science and Engineering, and is supported by experienced faculty across these departments. The chapter is led by Chris Mallia, Chair; Katelyn Ripley, Vice Chair; Trent Weiss, Treasurer; Nicholas Matteucci, Professional and Alumni Chair; and Alex Liu and Ruoxin Lu, Secretaries. Faculty support is provided by distinguished figures in the electrochemistry field: Professors Fikile Brushett, Betar Gallant, and Antoine Allanore.

The group’s leadership-planned kickoff event at the end of January 2022 fostered a sense of community across the university in the electrochemistry field. The virtual mixer event brought committed members of the Institute together for the first time to hear plans of seminar series and workshop events for the remainder of the academic year. Feedback was facilitated to encourage chapter members’ active participation in the chapter’s trajectory. A total of four faculty speaker series are planned, with student-led talks dispersed throughout.

Workshops geared toward first-time electrochemists and experienced

members will emphasize experimental skills, supporting techniques, and data analytics for better advances in electrochemical research.

Founding members and faculty sponsors of the ECS MIT Student Chapter.

Photo Credit: Chris Mallia.

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STUDENT NEWS ECS Oklahoma Student Chapter The Oklahoma State University chapter participated in the 2021 National Chemistry Week. On October 23, chapter members traveled to the Oklahoma Science Museum in Oklahoma City and made three presentations to children aged three to 14. The presentations consisted

of a copper plating experiment using a 9V battery, building silver crystals with a 9V battery, and lemon batteries that were used to light up LEDs. This event was hosted by the Oklahoma Section of the American Chemical Society.

Two members of the ECS Oklahoma State Student Chapter prepare for a day of demonstrations for National Chemistry Week at the Oklahoma Science Museum.

ECS OSU Student Chapter members demonstrate a blue LED lightbulb powered by three lemons placed in-line using copper and zinc for the electrodes.

ECS Pennsylvania State University Student Chapter Over the past months, chapter membership has continued to grow at Penn State. The chapter hosted socially distanced, in-person biweekly meetings for the first time since its founding over a year ago. Elections were held at the beginning of the fall semester to establish a new slate of officers, including an inaugural Web Coordinator to help increase the chapter’s outreach and social media presence.

The chapter has hosted several virtual events throughout the summer and fall months. The first was a technical seminar with Dr. Luis Diaz Aldana of Idaho National Laboratory (INL) titled “Electrochemistry as a Sustainable Alternative to Enable Circular Economy.” Attendees learned about research at INL which bolsters the role of electrochemistry in the circular economy, which includes the recycling of li-ion batteries and metals from electronic waste. Dr. Diaz Aldana highlighted the large-scale viability of electrochemical

recycling techniques, as well as some of the technological roadblocks that need addressing before becoming widely adopted. The chapter hosted a fall career workshop with recent Penn State graduates Drs. Ian McCrum, Sneha Akhade, Clara Capparelli, and Michael Regula. The speakers answered questions from attendees and shared valuable insight about graduate school, career choices, and life after graduation. A seminar with Dr. Ekaterina Pomerantseva of Drexel University took place in January.

Student chapter members actively participated in the 239th and 240th ECS Meetings. Many chapter members attended technical talks and poster sessions, with some members presenting their own research. The chapter looks forward to participating in the 241st ECS Meeting in spring 2022 in Vancouver, and the opportunity to learn more about the exciting research going on in the ECS community.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! 74

Send your student chapter news and high resolution photographs to education@electrochem.org www.electrochem.org/student-center

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

STUDENT NEWS ECS University of Guelph Student Chapter The chapter has been very active since it was chartered in May 2018.

Underlying goals include outreach in terms of fundamental and technical knowledge, as well as assisting young researchers in the disciplines of electrochemical science and technology. To achieve these aims, the chapter organized various symposia, workshops, and outreach events. Previously, annual young researcher symposia were organized that featured invited speakers from academia and industry, as well as oral and poster presentations from graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on in-person activities, the chapter launched a monthly virtual speaker series beginning in June 2021. Invited speakers included established researchers from academia and industry as well as young researchers (graduate student, postdoctoral fellows, and research associates). In 2021, the chapter hosted seven speaker series with 15 speakers (seven students/post-docs, one staff, and seven faculty) with topics spanning FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy), Raman spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, plasmonics, carbon dioxide reduction, machine learning, sensing, nuclear energy, prospects for an envisaged hydrogen economy, and computational electrochemistry.

The speaker series were well attended by undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty members.

The chapter extends a special thank you to all the invited speakers for their time and informative presentations. We would also like to acknowledge the strong and continuous support of faculty advisors Professors Aicheng Chen, Jacek Lipkowski, and Aizi Houmam; the University of Guelph Electrochemical Technology Centre and Department of Chemistry; and The Electrochemical Society.

Speakers from the ECS University of Guelph Student Chapter webinars. Top row from left to right: Emmanuel Boateng, PhD Candidate; Dr. Michael Grossutti, Postdoctoral Fellow; Lanting Qin, MSc; Joshua van der Zalm, PhD Candidate; Jesse Dondapati, PhD Candidate.

Middle row from left to right: Dr. Matthew Wolf, Postdoctoral Fellow; Dr. Rachel Chuoeiri, Postdoctoral Fellow; Prof. Leanne Chen; Prof.

Khashayar Ghandi; Prof. Jacek Lipkowski.

Bottom row from left to right: Prof. Dan Thomas; Dr. Grzegorz Syzmanski; Prof. Christa Brosseau; Prof. Aicheng Chen; Prof. Ian Burgess.

ECS University of Illinois at Chicago Student Chapter On October 20, 2021, Dr. Junko Yano, Division Deputy Director and Senior Scientist of the Molecular Physics and Integrated Bioimaging Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, joined the chapter for a webinar titled In Situ/Operando Characterization of Electrochemical Reactions using Soft and Hard X-Ray Spectroscopy.

Dr. Yano introduced webinar attendees to spectroscopy study of electrocatalytic processes under functional conditions using ambientpressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS), hard x-ray absorbance, and emission spectroscopy. Such studies can provide both molecular level insight of the catalysis process and information (continued on next page)

Participants in the In Situ/Operando Characterization of Electrochemical Reactions using Soft and Hard X-Ray Spectroscopy webinar. Photo courtesy of Khagesh Kumar.

ECS University of Illinois at Chicago Student Chapter webinar featured Dr. Junko Yano. Photo courtesy of Khagesh Kumar.

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STUDENT NEWS (continued from previous page)

about how the catalyst is changing under active conditions. Fifteen undergraduate and graduate students joined the webinar to appreciate and learn from Dr. Yano’s experience. Three lucky winners won raffle prizes at the end of the talk, and all participants were incentivized to join the chapter and become official ECS student members.

For more information, contact chapter board members via email at uicecschapter@gmail.com.

Participants and graphic from the ECS University of Illinois at Chicago Student Chapter webinar with Dr. Junko Yano. Photo courtesy of Khagesh Kumar.

ECS University of Waterloo Student Chapter The chapter continues hosting events to support its goal of promoting electrochemical and solid state science among students and researchers. Its first Electrochemistry Techniques Workshop Series kicked off in November with several electrochemistry experts who delivered virtual workshops on fundamental electrochemistry techniques. On November 11, 2021, Dr. Rodney Smith, Assistant Professor in the University of Waterloo Department of Chemistry and student chapter faculty advisor, delivered a workshop on the fundamentals and applications of cyclic voltammetry. On November 24, 2021, Dr. Aslan Kosakian, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Alberta Energy Systems Design Laboratory, delivered a workshop on the basic principles of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), with an emphasis on the theoretical background and practical aspects of the technique related to EIS measurement and reporting, data analysis, and applications. Both events were well attended, with approximately 100 registrants for each event. A workshop on reference electrodes took place in February 2022. Details on these events are available on the chapter webpage.

Screen capture of Dr. Aslan Kosakian’s Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy workshop.

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The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

STUDENT NEWS ECS Western University Student Chapter On December 16, 2021, the chapter held the 5th Annual Graduate Student Symposium, a great opportunity for graduate students to present their work in a friendly environment and foster connections between researchers across campus. The day consisted of seven presentations by graduate students and two keynote talks from invited speakers Dr. Philippe Marcus and Dr. Gillian Goward.

Starting off the day, Dr. Marcus from Chimie ParisTech presented a talk titled “Corrosion at the Nanoscale” which covered various topics in corrosion science, such as the stability of surface oxide films. Dr. Marcus presented data that was acquired using state-of-the-art surface analytical techniques coupled with electrochemical measurements.

In the afternoon, Dr. Goward from McMaster University presented the second keynote talk, “In Situ Magnetic Resonance Studies of Electrochemical Processes in Li-Ion Cells.” Throughout the day, student presentations were given by PhD and MSc candidates in the Chemistry and Engineering departments and one fourth-year thesis student. These talks covered a wide range of topics, including gold nanoparticles for biomedical applications, the safe disposal of nuclear fuel, lithium batteries, and carbon quantum dots. Following each presentation, attendees and presenters engaged in discussion that resulted in new ideas and possible future collaborations across

research groups at the university. The 5th Annual Graduate Student Symposium was a huge success. We are optimistic that the 6th Annual Graduate Student Symposium can be held in person.

On October 15, 2021, the chapter continued its virtual workshop series in a novel way with a career panel. Three panelists represented different post-graduation career paths: academia, government, and industry. Dr. Samantha Gateman, Assistant Professor at Western University, has expertise in electrochemistry and corrosion. She completed her PhD at McGill University and postdoctoral fellowship at the Sorbonne Université. Dr. Nafiseh Ebrahimi completed her PhD at Western University in the Shoesmith Group before becoming a research associate in 2016, then a research officer in 2019, at the National Research Council of Canada. Dr. Masi Naghizadeh completed her PhD at Western in the Wren Group before joining Hatch this past summer as a corrosion specialist working on various industry projects. Over the course of the panel, a wide range of topics was discussed, including interview processes, traits that are suitable for each career pathway, finding a job during the pandemic, and more. Career Searching in Electrochemistry was a massive success, running over the planned one-hour time slot. Attendee feedback was extremely positive due to the event’s practicality and insights gained from the discussion.

The ECS Western University Student Chapter virtual career panel featured (from left to right) Drs. Nafiseh Ebrahimi, Samantha Gateman, and Masi Naghizadeh.

The ECS Western University Student Chapter’s 5th Annual Graduate Student Symposium featured keynote speakers Dr. Philippe Marcus (left) and Dr. Gillian Goward (right).

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CALL FOR PAPERS 242nd ECS Meeting ATLANTA l GA Oct. 9-13, 2022 Atlanta Hilton

www.electrochem.org/242

Abstract Submission Deadline:

April 8, 2022

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The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

GENERAL INFORMATION The 242nd ECS Meeting takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, from October 9 to October 13, 2022, at the Hilton Atlanta. This international conference brings together scientists, engineers, and researchers from academia, industry, and government laboratories to share results and discuss issues on related topics through a variety of formats, such as oral presentations, poster sessions, panel discussions, tutorial sessions, short courses, professional development workshops, a career fair, and exhibits. The unique blend of electrochemical and solid state science and technology at an ECS meeting provides an opportunity and forum to learn and exchange information on the latest scientific and technical developments in a variety of interdisciplinary areas.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION To give an oral or poster presentation at the 242nd ECS Meeting, submit an original meeting abstract for consideration via the ECS website, https://ecs.confex.com/ecs/242/cfp.cgi, no later than April 8, 2022.

Faxed, e-mailed, and/or late abstracts are not accepted. Meeting abstracts should explicitly state objectives, new results, and conclusions or significance of the work.

After the submission deadline, symposium organizers evaluate all abstracts for content and relevance to the symposium topic, and schedule accepted submissions as either oral or poster presentations.

Letters of Acceptance/Invitation are sent in June 2022 via email to the authors of all accepted abstracts, notifying them of the date, time, and location of their presentations. How and when a poster or oral presentation is scheduled is at the symposium organizers’ discretion, regardless of the presenter’s request.

PAPER PRESENTATION Oral presentations must be in English. LCD projectors and laptops are provided for all oral presentations. Presenting authors MUST bring their presentations on a USB flash drive to use with the dedicated laptop located in each technical session room. Make requests for additional equipment in writing to meetings@electrochem.org at least one month prior to the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can be made, subject to availability, at the author’s expense.

Poster presentations must be displayed in English on a board approximately 3 feet 10 inches high by 3 feet 10 inches wide (1.17 meters high by 1.17 meters wide), and include the abstract number and presentation day as published in the final program.

MEETING PUBLICATIONS ECS Meeting Abstracts—All meeting abstracts are archived in the ECS Digital Library; copyrighted by ECS; and become the property of ECS upon presentation.

ECS Transactions—Select symposia publish their proceedings in ECS Transactions (ECST). Authors presenting in these symposia are strongly encouraged to submit a full-text manuscript based on their presentation. Issues of ECST are available for sale on a pre-order basis, as well as the ECS Digital Library and the ECS Online Store. Review each individual symposium’s listing in this Call for Papers to determine if your symposium is publishing an ECST issue. Visit the ECST website for additional information including overall guidelines, author and editor instructions, a downloadable manuscript template, and more.

ECSarXiv—All authors are encouraged to submit their full-text manuscripts, posters, slides, or data sets to ECS’s preprint service, ECSarXiv. For more information visit the ECSarXiv website. Note that submission to ECSarXiv does not preclude submission to ECST. ECS Journals—Authors presenting papers at ECS meetings and submitting to ECST or ECSarXiv are encouraged to also submit to the Society’s technical journals: Journal of The Electrochemical Society, ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, ECS Advances, or ECS Sensors Plus. Although there is no hard deadline for submitting these papers, six months from the date of the symposium is considered sufficient time to revise a paper to meet stricter journal criteria. Author instructions are available on the ECS website.

SHORT COURSES Four Short Courses are offered during the biannual meeting. Short Courses require advance registration and may be canceled if enrollment in the course is under 10 registrants. The following Short Courses are scheduled: (1) Advanced Impedance Spectroscopy; (2) Fundamentals

of Electrochemistry: Basic Theory and Thermodynamic Methods; (3) Devices and Materials of Oxide Thin-Film Transistors; and (4) Processes and Applications of Oxide Thin-Film Transistors. Learn more at https://www.electrochem.org/short-courses.

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT The 242nd ECS Meeting is the right place to exhibit. The Society provides a powerful platform for meeting major new customers while enhancing relationships with current customers from around the world. Traffic in the exhibit hall is generated by supplying coffee and networking breaks along with evening poster sessions.

Your presence at ECS’s leading industry event positions your brand as serious and reliable—and it’s a great way to build buzz for new products!

Exhibit opportunities can be combined with sponsorship items to suit your needs. Contact sponsorship@electrochem.org for further details.

MEETING REGISTRATION All participants—including authors and invited speakers—are required to pay the appropriate registration fees. Meeting registration information is posted on the ECS website as it becomes available. The deadline for discounted early registration is September 12, 2022.

HOTEL RESERVATIONS The 242nd ECS Meeting takes place at the Hilton Atlanta. Please refer to the meeting website for the most up-to-date information on hotel availability and blocks of rooms where meeting participants receive special rates. The hotel block is open until September 12, 2022, or it sells out.

LETTER OF INVITATION Letters of Invitation are sent in June 2022 via email to the corresponding authors of all accepted abstracts, notifying them of the date, time, and location of their presentations. Anyone requiring an official Letter of Invitation should email abstracts@electrochem.org. These letters do not imply any financial responsibility on the part of ECS. BIANNUAL MEETING TRAVEL GRANTS ECS divisions and sections offer travel grants to assist students, postdoctoral researchers, and young professionals attend ECS biannual meetings. Applications are available beginning April 8, 2022, at www.electrochem.org/travel-grants. The submission deadline is June 27, 2022. For general travel grant questions, contact travelgrant@ electrochem.org.

SYMPOSIA FUNDING ASSISTANCE Additional financial assistance is limited and generally governed by symposium organizers. Contact the organizers of the symposium in which you are presenting to inquire if additional funding is available.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Solidify and strengthen your brand with ECS sponsorship at Society biannual meetings. Sponsoring events at ECS meetings gives your brand even more visibility and reinforces your position as an industry leader.

Companies can choose from a wide array of activities—from symposia to special events—which deliver worldwide recognition as a supporter of electrochemical and solid state research—and enhance ECS meetings.

Please contact sponsorship@electrochem.org for further details.

ECS also offers specific symposium sponsorship. By sponsoring a symposium, your company helps offset travel expenses, registration fees, complimentary proceedings, and/or host receptions for invited speakers, researchers, and students. Please contact sponsorship@electrochem.org for further details.

CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have any questions or require additional information, contact ECS. The Electrochemical Society 65 South Main Street, Pennington, NJ, 08534-2839, USA tel: 1.609.737.1902, fax: 1.609.737.2743 meetings@electrochem.org www.electrochem.org

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242nd ECS MEETING-SYMPOSIUM TOPICS A— Batteries and Energy Storage

H03— Low-Dimensional Nanoscale Electronic and Photonic Devices 15

A01— New Approaches and Advances in Electrochemical Energy Systems

H04— Gallium Nitride and Silicon Carbide Power Technologies 12

A02— Research and Development of Primary and Secondary Batteries: In Honor of George Blomgren

H05— Electronic, Thermal, and Electrochemical Properties of Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) 3: Technology, Applications, and Emerging Devices

A03— Lithium-Ion Batteries A04— Next Generation Batteries A05— Extreme Batteries A06— Manufacturing in Electrochemistry B— Carbon Nanostructures and Devices B01— Carbon Nanostructures: From Fundamental Studies to Applications and Devices C— Corrosion Science and Technology C01— Corrosion General Session C02— Critical Factors in Localized Corrosion 10: In Honor of Gerald Frankel C03— Corrosion in Nuclear Energy Systems: From Cradle to Grave 2 C04— Electrochemical Techniques in Corrosion Research 2 D— Dielectric Science and Materials D01— Semiconductors, Dielectrics, and Metals for Nanoelectronics 19

I— Fuel Cells, Electrolyzers, and Energy Conversion I01— Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells & Electrolyzers 22 (PEFC&E 22) I02— Frontiers of Chemical/Molecular Engineering in Electrochemical Energy Technologies 2: In Honor of Robert Savinell’s 70th Birthday I03— Solid State Ionic Devices 14 I04— Photocatalysts, Photoelectrochemical Cells, and Solar Fuels 12 I05— Electrosynthesis of Fuels 7 J— Luminescence and Display Materials, Devices, and Processing J01— Luminescence: Fundamentals and Applications: In Memory of George Blasse K— Organic and Bioelectrochemistry K01— Advances in Organic and Biological Electrochemistry: In Memory of Jean-Michel Savéant L— Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry, Electrocatalysis, and Photoelectrochemistry

D02— Photovoltaics for the 21st Century 18: New Materials and Processes

L01— Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry, Electrocatalysis, and Photoelectrochemistry General Session

D03— Advanced 3D Interconnect Technologies and Packaging

L02— Molten Salts and Ionic Liquids 23 (MSIL-23)

D04— Plasma and Thermal Processes for Materials Modification, Synthesis, and Processing 4

L03— In Situ Electrochemical Systems 5

D05— Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Processing 2 D06— Quantum Dot Science and Technology 2 D07— Water-Energy Nexus Research Relating to Semiconducting Materials 2 E— Electrochemical/Electroless Deposition

L04— Charge Transfer: Electrons, Protons, and Other Ions 5 L05— Bioelectrocatalysis and Bioelectroanalysis 4 L06— Electrochemistry in the Environment L07— Electrochemistry of Mononuclear and Polynuclear Cyano Complexes M— Sensors

E01— Electrodeposition for Energy Applications 6

M01— Recent Advances in Sensors and Systems 3

E02— Electrochemical and Electroless Deposition of Functional Materials (Theory, Numerical Simulations, & Applications) 2

M02— Printed and Wearable Sensors and Systems 2

E03— Electrochemical and Electrophoretic Deposition of Ceramics, Oxides, and Composites

Z— General Z01— General Student Poster Session

E04— 100 Years of the Electrodeposition Division: Past, Present, and Future F— Electrochemical Engineering F01— Advances in Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering F02— Electrochemical Separations and Sustainability 5 F03— Tutorial on Industrial Electrochemistry 3 F04— Modeling Electrochemical Systems for Transportation Applications 2 G— Electronic Materials and Processing G01— The Long Reach of Electrochemistry – Semiconductors, Metallization, and Energy Storage: In Honor of D. Noel Buckley G02— Atomic Layer Deposition and Etching Applications 18 G03— SiGe, Ge, and Related Materials: Materials, Processing, and Devices 10 H— Electronic and Photonic Devices and Systems H01— State-of-the-Art Program on Compound Semiconductors 65 (SOTAPOCS 65)

IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES Meeting abstracts submission deadline................................... April 8, 2022 Travel grant applications open................................................ April 8, 2022 Notification to corresponding authors of abstract acceptance or rejection............................................. June 13, 2022 Technical program published online............................................ June 2022 Meeting registration opens............................................................ June 2022 ECS Transactions submission site opens................................ June 17, 2022 Travel grant application deadline........................................... June 27, 2022 Meeting sponsor and exhibitor deadline (for inclusion in printed materials).........................................July 29, 2022 ECS Transactions submission deadline...................................July 15, 2022 Travel grant approval notification...................................... August 29, 2022 Hotel and early meeting registration deadlines...........September 12, 2022 Release date for ECS Transactions......... on or before September 30, 2022

H02— Thin-Film Transistors 16 (TFT 16)

80

The Electrochemical Society Interface • Spring 2022 • www.electrochem.org

2022 ECS INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS BENEFACTOR

PATRON

BioLogic USA/BioLogic SAS (14*)

Energizer (77)

Duracell (65)

Faraday Technology, Inc. (16)

Gamry Instruments (15)

GE Global Research Center (70) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (18)

Gelest, Inc. (13) Hydro-Québec (15) Pine Research Instrumentation (16)

SPONSORING

Scribner Associates, Inc. (26) Toyota Research Institute of North America (14)

SUSTAINING

BASi (7)

Cummins, Inc (4)

Central Electrochemical Research Institute (29)

General Motors Holdings LLC (70)

DLR-Institut für Vernetzte Energiesysteme e.V. (14)

Giner, Inc./GES (36)

EL-CELL GmbH (8)

Ion Power Inc. (8)

Electrosynthesis Company, Inc. (26)

Kanto Chemical Co., Inc. (10)

Ford Motor Corporation (8)

Los Alamos National Laboratory (14)

GS Yuasa International Ltd. (42) Honda R&D Co., Ltd. (15) Medtronic Inc. (42) Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (15) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) (3) Panasonic Corporation (27) Permascand AB (19)

Microsoft Corporation (5) Occidental Chemical Corporation (80) Sandia National Laboratories (46) Sherwin-Williams (1) Technic, Inc. (26) United Mineral & Chemical Corporation (1) Western Digital GK (8) Westlake (27)

Plug Power, Inc. (1) Teledyne Energy Systems, Inc. (23)

Yeager Center for Electrochemical Sciences (24)

Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) (18)

*(years of membership)

Please help us continue the vital work of ECS by joining as an institutional member today.

Contact Anna.Olsen@electrochem.org for more information.

02/07/22

ECS, a prestigious nonprofit professional society, has led the world in electrochemistry, solid state science and technology and allied subjects since 1902, providing a rigorous and high-quality home for the whole community.

ECS is dedicated to moving science forward by empowering researchers globally to leave their mark on science. The Society connects a diverse and representative constituency of members and nonmembers to accelerate scientific discovery, facilitate the engagement of an inclusive network, and champion the dissemination of research to support a sustainable future.

For more information on becoming a member, or publishing in ECS publications, visit electrochem.org