Thanks to the MRC Alumni Research Scholarship, I was fortunate enough to spend 10 weeks week researching and developing a novel manufacturing method for solid state batteries. Currently, solid state manufacturing is time consuming, costly, and inefficient. The goal of this project is to streamline the solid state battery manufacturing process in order to rapidly advance solid state battery development.

When I started working on this project in Fall 2016, it was broken up into three stages of development. The first stage is a pressurized powder chamber, and it was completed in early 2017. The next two stages, a motorized two-dimensional stage and a vacuum chamber respectively, have been in development since early 2017. During my time in the summer, I worked to further develop these stages, and I have neared completion. I have been fortunate enough to have been hired on for the 2017-2018 academic year, so I will be continuing to work on this project as it leaves the prototyping stage.

I originally started working on this project through MRC as a project assistant. Since then, I have become a lead on the project, and it has opened the doors to numerous academic and professional opportunities for me. Namely, I have been able to network with members of the Army Research Facility in Warren, MI along with academic professionals that have come to visit the lab. Outside of networking, this project has allowed me to grow my repertoire of design, fabrication, and analysis skills more than I ever have before. Working on this project has been a tremendous opportunity, and I am a better student, researcher, and professional because of it.