Sossina M. Haile
Encyclopedia
Sossina M. Haile is Professor of Materials Science and of Chemical Engineering at the Caltech, who created a new type of fuel cell
.
during the coup in the mid-'70s, after soldiers arrested and nearly killed her historian father, settling in rural Minnesota
. Sossina Haile received her B.S and Ph.D (1992) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, and M.S. from the University of California, Berkeley
. Before joining the Caltech faculty in 1996, Haile spent three years as an assistant professor at the University of Washington, Seattle. Haile has received the NSF
National Young Investigator Award (1994–99), Humboldt Fellowship (1992–93), Fulbright Fellowship (1991–92), and AT&T Cooperative Research Fellowship (1986–92). The Humboldt and Fulbright fellowships supported her research at the Max Planck Institut für Festkörperforschung [Institute for Solid State Research], Stuttgart
, Germany
(1991–1993). She is the recipient of the 2001 J.B. Wagner Award of the High Temperature Materials Division of the Electrochemical Society, the 2000 Coble Award from the American Ceramics Society and the 1997 TMS Robert Lansing Hardy Award.
, sensors, ion pumps and fuel cells. It is to this last area that Dr. Haile's work is most closely tied.
Materials under investigation in Dr. Haile's group include proton-conducting solid acid compounds, proton-conducting perovskites, mixed oxygen- and electron-conducting perovskites, oxygen-conducting oxides, and alkali-conducting silicates. The standard technique used in her group for the characterization of electrical properties is A.C. impedance spectroscopy. Because ionic conductivity is closely tied to the crystal structure of and structural transitions in the conducting solid, crystal growth, structure determination by X-ray
and neutron diffraction
, and thermal analysis
are also important aspects of Dr. Haile's research. Using these methods, her group has shown, for example, that a broad range of proton containing solids undergo a monoclinic to cubic transition that is accompanied by an increase in conductivity of several orders of magnitude. In another example, her group has demonstrated that Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-d has exceptional activity as a cathode for ceria-based solid oxide fuel cells. Dr. Haile's work in solid state ionics is supported by the National Science Foundation
(NSF), the Army Research Office and the Department of Energy
. In the past, support has also been provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Office of Naval Research
, the California Energy Commission
, the Powell Foundation and the Kirsch Foundation. Industrial support has been provided by General Motors
, EPRI (formerly Electric Power Research Institute
), HRL (formerly Hughes Research Labs) and Honeywell
(formerly Allied Signal and now General Electric
).
Beyond the field of solid state ionics, Haile's research also encompasses the investigation of structure-property relations in thermoelectric materials, in collaboration with colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and ferroelectric materials as part of a multidisciplinary program at Caltech dedicated to the computational prediction/optimization of material and device behavior. The former project is supported by NSF through the Caltech Center for the Science and Engineering of Materials. The latter is supported by the Army Research Office.
While new materials discovery and understanding are central themes in many of Haile's programs, device development plays an increasingly important role in her research. Micropower generators, based on solid oxide fuel cells are particularly attractive for portable power and are the subject of a recently concluded DARPA project in her group. Similarly, microactuators and micropumps based on ferroelectric thin films hold promise for advancing Microelectromechanical systems
technology and development efforts are sponsored by an ARO MURI program. The transition from novel materials to useful devices requires the collective efforts of researchers from a broad range of fields, and both programs are highly interdisciplinary in nature.
by default. In the late '90s, the Caltech scientist had an idea that she thought might dramatically improve fuel cells, the clean technology that converts chemical energy to electricity to power cars, buses and power plants. Haile's idea was to employ an entirely new type of "superprotonic" compound that might help supply power at dramatically lower cost. But when fuel-cell makers balked at revamping their entire systems to try her solution, Haile decided to fabricate the world's first solid-acid fuel cell in her lab. Early in 2008 a Pasadena, California
, start-up called Superprotonic, founded by two of her former grad students—will ship the first commercial prototypes to energy-systems makers. The output is barely enough to power a 100-watt bulb, but hopes are high that the small start will someday produce powerful fuel cells for commercial use.
Fuel cell
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...
.
Life
Haile's family fled EthiopiaEthiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
during the coup in the mid-'70s, after soldiers arrested and nearly killed her historian father, settling in rural Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Sossina Haile received her B.S and Ph.D (1992) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, and M.S. from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Before joining the Caltech faculty in 1996, Haile spent three years as an assistant professor at the University of Washington, Seattle. Haile has received the NSF
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
National Young Investigator Award (1994–99), Humboldt Fellowship (1992–93), Fulbright Fellowship (1991–92), and AT&T Cooperative Research Fellowship (1986–92). The Humboldt and Fulbright fellowships supported her research at the Max Planck Institut für Festkörperforschung [Institute for Solid State Research], Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(1991–1993). She is the recipient of the 2001 J.B. Wagner Award of the High Temperature Materials Division of the Electrochemical Society, the 2000 Coble Award from the American Ceramics Society and the 1997 TMS Robert Lansing Hardy Award.
Career
Sossina Haile's research centers on ionic conduction in solids, with the twin objectives of understanding the mechanisms that govern ion transport, and applying such an understanding to the development of advanced solid electrolytes and novel solid-state electrochemical devices. Technological applications of fast ion conductors include batteriesBattery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
, sensors, ion pumps and fuel cells. It is to this last area that Dr. Haile's work is most closely tied.
Materials under investigation in Dr. Haile's group include proton-conducting solid acid compounds, proton-conducting perovskites, mixed oxygen- and electron-conducting perovskites, oxygen-conducting oxides, and alkali-conducting silicates. The standard technique used in her group for the characterization of electrical properties is A.C. impedance spectroscopy. Because ionic conductivity is closely tied to the crystal structure of and structural transitions in the conducting solid, crystal growth, structure determination by X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
and neutron diffraction
Neutron diffraction
Neutron diffraction or elastic neutron scattering is the application of neutron scattering to the determination of the atomic and/or magnetic structure of a material: A sample to be examined is placed in a beam of thermal or cold neutrons to obtain a diffraction pattern that provides information of...
, and thermal analysis
Thermal analysis
Thermal analysis is a branch of materials science where the properties of materials are studied as they change with temperature. Several methods are commonly used - these are distinguished from one another by the property which is measured:...
are also important aspects of Dr. Haile's research. Using these methods, her group has shown, for example, that a broad range of proton containing solids undergo a monoclinic to cubic transition that is accompanied by an increase in conductivity of several orders of magnitude. In another example, her group has demonstrated that Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-d has exceptional activity as a cathode for ceria-based solid oxide fuel cells. Dr. Haile's work in solid state ionics is supported by the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
(NSF), the Army Research Office and the Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
. In the past, support has also been provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Office of Naval Research
Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research , headquartered in Arlington, Virginia , is the office within the United States Department of the Navy that coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the U.S...
, the California Energy Commission
California Energy Commission
The California Energy Commission is California’s primary energy policy and planning agency. Created in 1974 and headquartered in Sacramento, the Commission has responsibility for activities that include forecasting future energy needs, promoting energy efficiency through appliance and building...
, the Powell Foundation and the Kirsch Foundation. Industrial support has been provided by General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, EPRI (formerly Electric Power Research Institute
Electric Power Research Institute
The Electric Power Research Institute conducts research on issues related to the electric power industry in USA. EPRI is a nonprofit organization funded by the electric utility industry. EPRI is primarily a US based organization, receives international participation...
), HRL (formerly Hughes Research Labs) and Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
(formerly Allied Signal and now General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
).
Beyond the field of solid state ionics, Haile's research also encompasses the investigation of structure-property relations in thermoelectric materials, in collaboration with colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and ferroelectric materials as part of a multidisciplinary program at Caltech dedicated to the computational prediction/optimization of material and device behavior. The former project is supported by NSF through the Caltech Center for the Science and Engineering of Materials. The latter is supported by the Army Research Office.
While new materials discovery and understanding are central themes in many of Haile's programs, device development plays an increasingly important role in her research. Micropower generators, based on solid oxide fuel cells are particularly attractive for portable power and are the subject of a recently concluded DARPA project in her group. Similarly, microactuators and micropumps based on ferroelectric thin films hold promise for advancing Microelectromechanical systems
Microelectromechanical systems
Microelectromechanical systems is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology...
technology and development efforts are sponsored by an ARO MURI program. The transition from novel materials to useful devices requires the collective efforts of researchers from a broad range of fields, and both programs are highly interdisciplinary in nature.
Creation of Alternative fuel
Sossina Haile created a new type of fuel cellFuel cell
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...
by default. In the late '90s, the Caltech scientist had an idea that she thought might dramatically improve fuel cells, the clean technology that converts chemical energy to electricity to power cars, buses and power plants. Haile's idea was to employ an entirely new type of "superprotonic" compound that might help supply power at dramatically lower cost. But when fuel-cell makers balked at revamping their entire systems to try her solution, Haile decided to fabricate the world's first solid-acid fuel cell in her lab. Early in 2008 a Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, start-up called Superprotonic, founded by two of her former grad students—will ship the first commercial prototypes to energy-systems makers. The output is barely enough to power a 100-watt bulb, but hopes are high that the small start will someday produce powerful fuel cells for commercial use.
External links
- "Fuel Cells: Powering Progress in the 21st Century", lecture by Sossina M. Haile, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena website (Fall 2001)