Iwnetim Abate wins ISSI Young Scientist Award for energy materials

 
Iwnetim Abate, assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE), has been honored with the seventh annual ISSI Young Scientist Award. Organized by the International Society for Solid State Ionics, the award recognizes innovative research in solid-state ionics—an area of study crucial for advancing technologies such as batteries, fuel cells, and sensors.
 
“Tim digs deep into fundamental aspects of solid-state ionics while tackling problems relevant for advancing clean energy technologies. His research is highly creative and outstanding, and he presents his work with a stellar approach,” said Bilge Yildiz, the Breene M. Kerr (1951) Professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and DMSE. Yildiz, also the ISSI president, congratulated Abate on stage at the International Conference on Solid State Ionics in London on July 19.
 
Abate’s research focuses on designing advanced materials that enhance electrochemical and chemical reactions, which are vital for renewable energy technologies. In addition to his work on batteries, Abate is the 2024 recipient of an MIT Bose Research Grant, which supports the development of a reactor to produce natural hydrogen from rocks in the Earth’s crust.
 
The ISSI Young Scientist Award, established in 2005, is presented every two years at the ISSI conference. Candidates must be 35 years old or younger, and the winner receives a $5,000 prize. After a rigorous selection process, Abate was chosen as one of five finalists to present research at the conference.
 
His presentation focused on layered materials, which are made up of stacks of thin layers, just a few atoms thick, with gaps between them. These materials are ideal for energy storage because the gaps allow tiny charged particles called ions to move in and out, which is crucial for the functioning of batteries and other technologies. Abate explored how defects—imperfections in the materials—affect their stability, performance, and efficiency.
 
“My work combines computational and experimental approaches to develop new theories that more accurately describe these defects and uses these insights to design high-performance materials for energy applications,” Abate said.
 
Jennifer L.M. Rupp, a professor of electrochemical materials at Technical University of Munich in Germany, praised Abate’s innovative research. She highlighted his use of new theories to develop next-generation rechargeable sodium-ion batteries. The batteries are similar to lithium-ion batteries but use sodium, manganese, and iron instead of lithium, cobalt, and nickel to store and transfer energy.
 
“This is important because sodium, manganese, and iron are much more abundant than lithium, cobalt, and nickel—which could make batteries cheaper and more sustainable,” said Rupp, a former associate professor at DMSE and vice president of ISSI.