We are excited to welcome Michelle Mercado, a rising fourth-year Chemical Engineering major at UC Irvine, to the Kaner group! She joins us for her second summer through the UC LEADS program, participating in an eight-week research experience with Sophia Uemura and Dr. Mackenzie Anderson. Outside the lab, Michelle enjoys learning piano, crocheting, caring for her growing houseplant collection, and spending time with her two cats, Joy and Coco.
Dr. Maher El-Kady (Ph.D. ’13) is featured in the Chemistry Shorts film Energy to Spare: Building Better Batteries, showcasing his research on zinc-ion batteries as a safer, more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion technology. Several Kaner group graduate students (Gray Carson, Isabelle Davis, Puyuan Du, Bradley Kroes, Haemin (Joanne) Oh, and Zhiyin (Tara) Yang) also appear in the film, which blends engaging visuals with insights into next-generation energy storage for the renewable energy era.
Read more
Several Kaner group members celebrated their graduations this year with notable honors, including Spencer Hamilton (Ph.D.) receiving the Herbert Newby McCoy Commencement Award; Haemin (Joanne) Oh (MACS) with the Excellence in Research Award; Min Kyu Lee (MACS) with the Outstanding Capstone Research Award; Celeste Elkort (B.S. Chemistry) with the James Blaine Ramsey Commencement Prize; and Suzy Matinyan (B.S. Chemistry) with the Maria Rebecca and Maureen Bellettini Commencement Award.
Congratulations also to graduates Puyuan Du (MACS), Malachi Warneke (B.S. Chemistry), Puyuan Du (MACS), Mark Munteanu (M.S., Materials Chemistry), and Mikołaj Sidziński (B.S. Bioengineering)
Kaner group graduate student Izzy Davis has successfully passed her candidacy exam, marking a major milestone toward the completion of her Ph.D. journey. Congratulations, Izzy, on this important achievement!
Yuto Katsuyama’s work, “A Rapid, Scalable Laser-Scribing Process to Prepare Si/Graphene Composites for Lithium-Ion Batteries,” has been published in Small. This study introduces a one-step laser-scribing method—completed in about three minutes and using just ≈5 W under air—to prepare Si/laser-scribed graphene (LSG) composites. Both Si nanoparticles and Si microparticles were employed, demonstrating the method’s versatility.
Read more about the Seaborg Symposium.
Dr. Maher El-Kady is one of three young scientists in the field of energy storage materials chosen for the prestigious Energy Storage Materials (EnSM) Young Scientist Award in recognition of his seminal contribution to the development of safer lithium-ion batteries, and for pioneering mass manufacturing methods of graphene batteries, driving transformative innovations in energy storage materials and devices.
Learn more about the MACS program here.
Professors Richard Kaner and Yuzhang Li from UCLA’s Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering have been awarded a $1M Climate Action Seed grant for their research project, which will create a breakthrough battery technology based on Zn chemistry. This technology aims to assist California in establishing a carbon-free electric grid, utilizing this new, safe, and long-lasting battery technology for grid storage.
From California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) News (by Nicole Wilkins):
