Kent Zheng
Assistant Professor, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering & Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin
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Speaker Biography:
Kent Zheng is an Assistant Professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at UT Austin. He was appointed as the Associate Editor for ECS Advances by the Electrochemical Society in 2024. Kent conducted his postdoctoral research at MIT Physics from 2021 to 2023 and earned his PhD in Materials Science & Engineering in 2020 from Cornell University. His group's research focuses on understanding and controlling the electrochemical synthesis of crystalline materials for energy and sustainability.
Abstract:
The global transition to electrification is essential for energy security and sustainability, highlighting the urgent need for advancements in electricity generation, transmission, and storage. As energy storage demand surges, developing next-generation battery chemistries is key to enabling efficient, scalable, and sustainable solutions. This talk will provide an overview of the evolving battery landscape and cutting-edge research accelerating the discovery of novel materials for sustainable energy storage. In particular, we will discuss the promises, challenges, and recent progress of emerging battery chemistries that utilize earth-abundant, intrinsically safe elements such as Zn and Al.