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Nick Rolston
Assistant Professor at Arizona State University
Nick Rolston is an Assistant Professor in the School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU). He also holds a position as a Graduate Faculty member in Materials Science and Chemical Engineering. Rolston earned his B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Iowa in 2014, followed by a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University in 2020. His doctoral research focused on the design and fabrication of thin-film perovskite photovoltaic devices, which are crucial for renewable energy applications.12
His current research interests include renewable energy technologies, materials science, and the mechanics of thin films. Rolston leads a research group that investigates the fundamental mechanical and material properties of thin-film energy devices, aiming to develop scalable manufacturing methods for next-generation renewable energy technologies. His work encompasses the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning for optimizing energy devices and systems.12
Rolston has received several accolades for his contributions to the field, including the NSF CAREER Award in 2024 and the Inorganics Young Investigator Award in 2023. He is also recognized as a Scialog Fellow in Sustainable Minerals, Metals, and Materials.123 His research lab at ASU focuses on the relationship between material degradation in energy devices and environmental stresses, contributing to advancements in photovoltaic and battery technologies.2
Highlights
Shameless plug for Joelina Peck, CRA and her small business to help provide proposal development support to other small businesses and startups: https://lnkd.in/gqeNJ8-P.
I can say that working with her (she manages the pre-award team at ASU) has been one of the best experiences at the university, and I know many of my colleagues in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering — ASU ECEE will agree!
Congratulations to Mohammed Sahal and Jinzhao Guo for their publication in "Batteries" entitled "Surface Reduction of Li2CO3 on LLZTO Solid-State Electrolyte via Scalable Open-Air Plasma Treatment"! Special thanks to Candace Chan and our industry collaborators at Ampcera Inc., Hui Du and Emery Brown who are working with us on an National Science Foundation (NSF) Partnerships for Innovation project. Also, we benefitted significantly from the open-air plasma equipment Plasmatreat and the expertise of Daphne Pappas for developing our process. We also appreciate the availability of shared facilities at ASU, specifically the Eyring Materials Center and Xin G. for his expertise along with the Advanced Electronics and Photonics Core Facility.
In this article, they demonstrate an open-air plasma process to improve the interfacial properties of a garnet-type solid-state electrolyte (Ta-doped lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide, or LLZTO). LLZTO is notoriously unstable in ambient environments, and the ability to remove undesirable products that improve the ionic conductivity of the material paves the way for future open-air manufacturing of solid-state batteries! You can check out the work here - https://lnkd.in/gENp9MBA
#solidstatebatteries #manufacturing #renewableenergy #plasma #engineering #lithiumion
