David Arnot, a Stony Brook University graduate student in Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, received the silver award from the Materials Research Society (MRS) at its fall 2025 conference.
“This research was significant to mostly material scientists, but it’s also very important in terms of electrochemistry and physical characterization techniques,” Arnot said. “I was very happy to be selected as a finalist.”
Arnot applied for the graduate student awards section. After the committee picks finalists, the finalists then give an oral presentation about their research.
The main goal of the research is to examine batteries that are used for implantable medical devices — for example, heart defibrillators. These batteries need to be full of energy and also capable of delivering a lot of power.
“This particular combination is historically very difficult for batteries to achieve,” Arnot said. “So we’re looking at a particular mixture, which is a hybrid electrode. It uses two different active materials. One of them gives you energy density, the other gives you power density. You combine them together to get both properties at the same time.”
The research team of Esther Takeuchi, Amy Marschilok and Kenneth Takeuchi uses three different techniques that take advantage of the facilities that they have at Brookhaven National Laboratory and also at Stony Brook University.
“This research required detailed understanding of materials, mechanical design, electrochemistry, and several advanced characterization methods,” Takeuchi said. “We are delighted that the research that David conducted was recognized favorably by the MRS.”
“The main idea is that we use these different characterization methods in a synergistic way and get something that’s bigger than the sum of its parts by combining all these unique tools that we have,” Arnot said.
Difficulties in the project include limited research on the subject. The research team is covering unexplored ground.
“It’s a niche system that a lot of people aren’t necessarily studying,” Arnot said. “The real challenge is that batteries themselves are already very complicated. Developing advanced characterization methods allows us to continue pushing the envelope with materials design to enable next-generation technologies.”
— Angelina Livigni
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