October 23, 2023 New Kazyak battery lab opens in ME Written By: Caitlin Scott Departments: Mechanical Engineering Categories: Faculty|Research Undergraduate student Ethan Mohr reattaches the reactor chamber after loading a sample to be coated with atomic layer deposition. A brand new battery lab opened in Mechanical Engineering this fall! The Kazyak Lab is led by Assistant Professor Eric Kazyak. Members of the Kazyak Lab are working to enable the next generation of energy storage technologies for applications including electric vehicles and grid storage. They utilize a wide range of techniques to characterize and understand the various types and causes of degradation occurring inside of electrochemical systems like batteries. Often this requires the design and construction of new experimental setups to make measurements possible while operating the cells. This approach is necessary to observe the complex, dynamic, and often coupled phenomena going on inside of these systems. Once they understand the underlying mechanisms driving performance limitations, the Kazyak Lab designs ways to improve things like safety, cycle and calendar life, rate capability, and energy density. They utilize precise control of surface chemistry, microstructure, and morphology to tailor the behavior of solid-state interfaces at the atomic level. PhD student Diprajit Biswas assembles an electrochemical cell inside an argon glovebox to evaluate next-generation battery electrode materials. The Kazyak Lab, located in ME building room 3163, is the first of several new electrochemistry-focused labs being constructed in Mechanical Engineering, which will work together on pressing societal challenges related to electrochemical energy storage and conversion. These related labs are led by Luca Mastropasqua who directs the Hydrogen and Electrochemical Research for Decarbonization (HERD) Lab and James Pikul who leads the Pikul research group. In addition, Kazyak, Mastropasqua, and Pikul are creating a series of 3 new courses on electrochemistry and energy systems for senior-level undergraduates and graduate students. Undergraduate student Logan Fitzpatrick loads a sample into an ion mill to polish a cross-section for imaging. Learn more about Eric Kazyak’s research>> Focus on new faculty: Eric Kazyak, investigating interfaces to enable improved batteries For society to transition from fossil fuels to renewable, but intermittent, energy sources such as wind and solar, there is a pressing need for new energy storage technologies that can… Read the article