Speaker Biographies

Dr. Asadi joined the Chemical Engineering Department at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) as Assistant Professor in 2017. Asadi completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at UIC and received his Master of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology. He spent seven years of working experience in the oil and gas industry before joining UIC. He has authored and co-authored 25 peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Science, Nature, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, ACS Nano, and Nature Communications, and has 13 US patents and four patent applications. He has more than 5000 citations (h-index 20) in the area of advanced functional materials, catalysis science, electrochemical energy storage, and energy conversion systems.

Dr. Halle Cheeseman has been working in the battery business for 40 years. From the growth of Alkaline in Europe in the 1980’s, to the emergence of Lithium Ion in the 1990s, to the avalanche of interest in every possible Electrochemical storage system that has dominated the first two decades of this century. After senior leadership positions in the battery industry, Dr. Cheeseman completed his career as a Program Director for the Advanced Research Program Agency for the US Department of Energy (ARPA-E). He now advises investors, institutions and battery ventures. Dr. Halle Cheeseman has a BSc with honors and a PhD in Chemistry & Materials Science from the University of Nottingham.

Justin Connell is a Materials Scientist in the Energy Conversion and Storage Group of the Materials Science Division, Deputy Director for Science for the Center for Steel Electrification by Electrosynthesis (C-STEEL), and manager of the Electrochemical Discovery Laboratory. He is also a member of the Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering affiliated with the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. His current research interests focus on utilizing a combination of vacuum synthesis, electrochemical analysis and spectroscopic tools to understand the bulk and interfacial (electro)chemical processes that govern the stability and reversibility of materials and electrolytes for energy storage and decarbonized manufacturing applications.

Dr. Tobias Glossmann is a Principal Engineer at Mercedes-Benz R&D North America and works on battery research from material level to vehicle integration for more than 20 years. He is engaged in community education as an officer of the Detroit section of the Electrochemical Society. His current research interests include Li-metal batteries and interfaces in batteries and electrochemical sensors.

As founder of Ion Storage Systems, Dr. Hitz led development of the groundbreaking multilayer garnet structure at the heart of ION’s battery. Greg now sets the vision for the company’s technology growth, oversees intellectual property and data science efforts, and leads technology roadmapping. He has fostered a culture focused on excellence, integrity, and rapid learning cycles across all activities.Greg has built a world-class team dedicated to delivering no-compromise customer solutions with highly scalable manufacturing. His leadership has also been key in developing new company capabilities and cultivating them into high-performance core competencies. He holds a PhD in Materials Science & Engineering and a bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Dr. Manas Likhit Holekevi Chandrappa is a Materials Researcher at the Materials Informatics (MI) team at the Nissan Advanced Technical Research Center – Silicon Valley (NATC-SV) and specializes in development and investigation of energy storage materials through atomistic simulation and machine learning tools. Manas earned his Ph.D. in Nanoengineering from University of California San Diego (UCSD), with a research focus on understanding structure-diffusion relationships in photovoltaic and battery materials using ab initio calculations and machine learning potentials (MLPs). His earlier research focused on halide ion migration in perovskites. Subsequently, his focus shifted towards investigating the stability of interfaces in Li and Li-S solid-state batteries (SSBs). He also contributed to determining the structure of the novel healable S-I cathode which was published in the Nature journal. In his current role, he continues to leverage his expertise and aid with development of next generation battery materials for Nissan's EVs.

As a Research Engineer at Ford Motor Company, Owen Lu has spent the past five years conducting research on solid-state batteries. His primary research interests lie in Si-dominant anodes and solid electrolytes, which encompass both solid polymer and inorganic sulfide types. In addition to his work on solid-state batteries, Owen has over a decade of experience in fuel cells and electrochemistry. He holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Penn State University and has co-authored over 40 publications and co-invented more than 15 patents.

Professor Y. Shirley Meng received her Ph.D. in Advance Materials for Micro & Nano Systems from the Singapore-MIT Alliance in 2005, after which she worked as a postdoc research fellow and became a research scientist at MIT. Shirley currently holds the Zable Endowed Chair Professor in Energy Technologies and is Professor of NanoEngineering and Materials Science, University of California San Diego (UCSD). She is the founding Director of the Sustainable Power and Energy Center (2015-2020) and was named as inaugural director of the Institute of Materials Discovery and Design. Professor Meng received the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award in 2011, UCSD Chancellor’s Interdisciplinary Collaboratories Award in 2013, C.W. Tobias Young Investigator Award of the Electrochemical Society (2016), International Coalition for Energy Storage and Innovation (ICESI) Inaugural Young Career Award (2018), American Chemical Society ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Young Investigator Award (2018), a Finalist for the Blavatnik National Award (2018), International Battery Associations Research Award (2019) and Royal Chemical Society Faraday’s Medal (2020). She is the author and co-author of more than 225 peer-reviewed journal articles, 2 book chapter and 5 issued patents. Professor Meng serves on the executive committee for battery division at the Electrochemical Society and she is the Editor-in-Chief for MRS Energy & Sustainability. She is an elected fellow of the Electrochemical Society (FECS) and fellow of the Materials Research Society (FMRS).

David Mitlin is a Cockrell Endowed Professor at the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to that, he was a Professor and General Electric Chair at Clarkson University, and an Assistant, Associate, and full Professor at the University of Alberta, Alberta Canada. Dr. Mitlin is an ISI Highly Cited Researcher (top 0.1% by impact in field), having published about one hundred and seventy-five journal articles on various aspects of energy storage materials, metallurgy, and corrosion. He also holds twelve granted U.S. patents and fifteen more pending full applications, with all of them licensed currently or in the past.

Dr. R. Mohtadi is a Senior Principal Scientist at the materials research department at Toyota Research Institute of North America TRINA and has been in the decarbonization R&D field for over two decades. She has been spearheading and leading research for the creation, design and demonstration of materials for chemical and electrochemical energy storage technologies, including the research of novel battery electrolyte chemistries for liquid and solid-state batteries, and has contributed important advancements in these areas. She has published influential research and has been awarded over 30 patents. Notable recognitions include receiving the R&D100 award (2011) and being named in “40 under 40” by the Automotive and Crain’s news (2014). She was recognized and showed cased in the “We Run on Brain Power” initiative by the State Governor in 2015 as a face of cutting edge innovation in the State of Michigan, USA.

Mike has significant energy storage materials value chain understanding with an emphasis on lithium-ion batteries and systems with 13 years of market knowledge and relationships. Successful program leadership experience with significant business growth in ventures and existing businesses with a proven track record leading mergers and acquisition teams to enter the lithium-ion battery materials market. He joined AVICENNE in May of 2016 as a Senior Advisor. Since joining the AVICENNE team, Mike has been leading the US AVICENNE activity working with many clients holding strategy workshops, validation of growth opportunities, helping clients establish their growth plans in energy storage, and establishing M&A targets/diligence. Before joining AVICENNE, Mike had a very long career with DuPont, his most recent role was the Global Marketing Director – Energy Storage Venture where he developed significant understanding and insights for the energy storage materials market, device manufacturing, and systems while leading global marketing and customer interface efforts to establish programs to enter the $20B energy storage materials market. Executed strategic and market planning for opportunity evaluation, research, choices, and M&A activity for entry into rapidly growing new market. He has a degree in Chemistry from the University of Delaware and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and Electrochemical Society.

Adrian Tylim is responsible for driving USA and America’s market at Blue Solutions, a Bolloré company. He has broad experience with renewable energy technologies as an engineer, designer, project, and business developer. He was part of NASA’s space station solar power module team, worked on various California wind energy projects, and was responsible for business development for a leading German solar engineering firm. As a sustainability champion, he designed a solution to eliminate landfills and economically produce renewable energy from waste. He earned an MS in Energy Systems Engineering from the University of Arizona and a BS in Applied Physics from California State University.

Steven Visco is the Chief Executive Officer, CTO, and founder of PolyPlus Battery Company in Berkeley, California, as well as a Guest Scientist in the Materials Science Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Steven J. Visco currently holds 127 U.S. patents, more than 200 international patents and has authored over 80 journal articles, as well as books, monographs and other publications. Dr. Visco graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts in 1977 and received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Brown University in 1982. Dr. Visco then joined the staff at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as a Principal Investigator in the Materials Sciences Division in 1984 where his research interests have included advanced batteries and fuel cells. Steven Visco co-founded PolyPlus Battery Company in 1991. In 2013 Dr. Visco was selected by the City of Berkeley for a “Visionary Award” for his work in next generation batteries. Steve also serves on the Technical Advisory the CIC Energigune Institute in Miñano, Spain and was awarded the 2011 International Battery Association Award for “Outstanding Contributions to the Development of Lithium-Air and Lithium-Water Batteries.” PolyPlus Battery Company was selected by TIME magazine for its 50 Best Inventions of 2011 Issue, and was selected for a Gold Edison Award in 2012. In May 2015 Dr. Visco was elected a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society.

Dr. Eric D Wachsman, Director of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute, is a Distinguished University Professor and the William L. Crentz Centennial Chair in Energy Research with appointments in both the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Maryland. He received his PhD in Materials Science & Engineering from Stanford University, and his BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Wachsman is Past President of The Electrochemical Society (ECS), Editor-in-Chief of Ionics, on the Editorial Board of Scientific Reports, Energy Systems, and Energy Technology, and a member of the American Chemical Society, the International Society for Solid State Ionics, and the Materials Research Society. He is a Fellow of ECS, the American Ceramic Society (ACerS), the National Academy of Inventors, and the World Academy of Ceramics; the recipient of the 2017 Carl Wagner Award from ECS; the 2014 Sir William Grove Award from the International Association for Hydrogen Energy; the 2014 Pfeil Award from The Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining; the Outstanding Invention of 2013 award from the University of Maryland Office of Technology Licensing; the 2012 Fuel Cell Seminar & Exposition Award; and the 2012 HTM Outstanding Achievement Award from ECS. His research is focused on solid ion-conducting materials and electrocatalysts, and includes the development of solid-state batteries, solid oxide fuel cells, ion-transport membrane reactors, solid-state gas sensors, and the electrocatalytic conversion of CH4, CO2, and NOx, using advanced ion conducting materials. He has more than 280 publications and 40 patents on ionic and electronic transport in materials, and their catalytic properties, and device performance, and to date four companies have been founded based on these technologies.

Andrew S. Westover is a staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with a focus on solid-state batteries. Andrew obtained his PhD from Vanderbilt University in 2016 in interdisciplinary materials science and engineering. After graduating he worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a postdoctoral research associate for 1 year before transitioning to a permanent staff position. At ORNL, Andrew leads research programs focused on Li metal for solid-state batteries, the mechanics of solid-state batteries, and ionic glass electrolytes.

Mr. Alvin Wu has been working as a researcher in studying batteries and for more than 20 years, including 5 years in battery industries and more than 18 years with research group of UL. Up to present, Alvin has provided more than 60 technical presentations, professional consulting services and training to international conferences, battery research organizations and industries all over the world. Alvin is the technical leader in handling a number of battery research projects and setting up battery research test facilities in UL Taiwan battery lab. He is the winner of UL 2014, 2016 and 2021 Mark of Excellence awards. Alvin’s strong foundation in battery technology has a foundation from degrees in chemical engineering (BS and MS) from National Taiwan University where he conducted research on solid polymer electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries.

Kevin Wujcik serves as the Chief Technology Officer at Blue Current, leading the development of the company's fully dry solid-state battery utilizing silicon-active materials. Before joining Blue Current, Kevin worked on the research team at Ford Motor Company, concentrating on battery materials and fuel cell systems research and development. His contributions include being named in over 12 peer-reviewed scientific publications and 9 patents. Kevin earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley, with a thesis centered around lithium-sulfur batteries containing solid polymer electrolytes. Additionally, he holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Drexel University, where he contributed to the advancement of novel fuel cell electrode microstructures.

Dr. Eongyu Yi is Director of Battery Technology at Ampcera, where he leads the development of advanced sulfide-based solid-state batteries. He holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan and completed postdoctoral research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where his work earned an R&D 100 Award. Dr. Yi has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications and holds multiple patents in solid electrolyte and battery interface technologies. At Ampcera, he drives innovations in electrolyte design, interface engineering, and high-loading electrode architectures, advancing fast-charging, all-climate battery systems for defense, EV, and aerospace applications.