Renewal of Funding for Ghosh, Battery Research

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering graduate student Ayan Ghosh, advised by Professor Peter Kofinas (Fischell Department of Bioengineering), has been awarded a second Wells Fellowship by the University of Maryland Energy Research Center (UMERC). The Fellowship provides annual funding for Clark School graduate students working on energy engineering and alternative energy sources. The Wells gift to start the fellowship benefited the Great Expectations campaign.

Ghosh is designing a new battery electrolyte that does not become corrosive when exposed to air, unlike the electrolytes found in many common batteries we use today. His electrolyte is a polymer film, not a liquid, so it also does not require a bulky container, making it smaller and allowing it to be incorporated into device coatings or flexible materials.

In the time since we reported on Ghosh's first Wells Fellowship award, his research has gained momentum. "Things are progressing nicely for me," he says. "Since last year, we've filed a patent disclosure on our material, I gave a talk at the ECS [Electrochemical Society] conference last fall and I got a paper accepted into the ECS journal. There are also a couple of conferences coming up this fall that I will be attending."

Related Stories

"Ghosh Wins Wells Fellowship" »

Graduate Student Profile: "Ayan Ghosh: The Flexible Future of Batteries" »

Ayan Ghosh and Professor Kofinas were also featured in "Getting Energized" in the Fall 2006 issue of E@M magazine. Download the issue at the E@M home page »

Articles Referenced

Nanostructured Block Copolymer Dry Electrolyte. Ayan Ghosh and Peter Kofinas, J. Electrochem. Soc. 155, A428 (2008)

Learn More:

Visit the UMERC web site »

Visit Professor Kofinas' Functional Macromolecular Lab web site »

To learn more about the Great Expectations campaign and how you can make a difference in the Clark School's progress, please contact Stu Stabley.

Published September 18, 2008