Dylan Hamilton has earned a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program award.
A PhD student in the Materials Science and Engineering Program, Hamilton is in the second year of his graduate studies, working under the leadership of Prof. Michael Toney and Donal Finegan, a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
The NSF GRFP awards recognize and support outstanding grad students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields who are pursuing research-based master’s or doctoral degree.
Hamilton's research is focused on advancing solid-state Li-ion batteries.
"They present a promising pathway to safely increase energy density for longer-range electric vehicles," Hamilton said. "The use of a solid electrolyte in solid-state batteries creates chemo-mechanical issues as the cathode expands/contracts with cycling that can lead to capacity fade and have yet to be fully understood. My research involves using a suite of advanced X-ray computed tomography characterization techniques (similar to a medical CT scan) to better understand these degradation processes to inform improvements on solid-state batteries."
Awardees receive a $37,000 annual stipend and cost of education allowance for the next three years as well as professional development opportunities.