Abstract:

Classical electrochemical principles have revolutionized battery technology and enabled a new era of electronic devices since over 200 years, and after such a long period of time, current battery technology cannot keep up with increasing power demand. Moreover, overtaxing batteries via rapid discharge and charge can lead to performance degradation or even catastrophic failure (fire or explosion). There remain unknowns regarding microscopic electron-transfer and ionic transport phenomena through interfaces, especially electrode-electrolyte interfaces. Lack of precise control of these microscopic processes poses significant performance, safety, and fast charging limitations with uncontrollable features such as high internal resistance, slow ion diffusion, lithium plating, dendritic growth, hot spot formations, complex coupling, etc.

In this session, I will explain novel battery manufacturing techniques that will overcome traditional disadvantages in battery technology such as safety and energy density. New separator and electrode technologies, as well as an operando technique to determine lithium intercalation, will be highlighted. I’ll also cover quantum electron engineering, which is a whole new approach to physics and chemistry that can be used to rethink old battery technology and push beyond theoretical boundaries. At the end of the talk, I will also discuss some of our other recent works, such as wearable sensors, Al-assisted sensing, battery-free information via backscattering, and solar cells.

Short Biography of the Speaker:

Dr. Onur Ergen holds MS, MA, and Ph.D. degrees, in Electrical Engineering and Physics, all from the University of California Berkeley. He recently joined the faculty of Istanbul Technical University where he is currently an assistant professor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. He is developing future energy devices and Al algorithms, which are applicable for smart grid, healthcare, and new energy concepts. He is also the Senior Technologist at Ambeent Inc, developing next-generation Al algorithms for 5G platforms. Previously, Onur worked on developing new semiconductor technologies at Intel Corp.; was responsible for developing automated systems and Al interfaces at Apple Inc.; and worked on R&D research and development activities at Solo Power Inc. He has developed various new concepts and device architectures from wearable electronics lithium-ion batteries, etc. Onur has a strong academic foundation in energy and novel device architectures with over 25 publications and 12 patents. Dr. Ergen has received various awards including TÜBA, and the European Research Council (ERC). His ERC research titled QUEEN, quantum super-exchange energy storage platform leverages quantum electron engineering to introduce a whole new approach to physics and chemistry to redesign traditional battery technology and move it beyond existing theoretical limits.