2025 year in review

As the third year of the Stanford Energy Postdoctoral Fellowship concluded, remarkable research progress and new program initiatives shaped the community. This year saw the launch of the quarterly fellowship newsletter, the inaugural annual symposium, a farewell to the first fellows, and the welcoming of a new group of talented energy fellows.

Spring Symposium

The inaugural symposium connected leading scientists, policymakers, and economists with Stanford Energy Fellows —some of the brightest early-career scientists globally — to engage in meaningful discussions across science, engineering, and policy.

Summer SkillShare

SkillShares focus on skill-building and knowledge sharing. This initiative not only fosters a culture of learning and collaboration, but also allows fellows to showcase their individual strengths and enrich the collective skill set of the cohort.

Fall Research Bootcamp

The new Fall Research Bootcamp provided fellows with the opportunity to learn from experienced faculty. Through a series of workshops, fellows refined their long-term research objectives and prepared for the complexities of academic and professional pathways.

44 conferences

Plasma physics, Materials research, Data Science, Resource economics, Cell and molecular biology, High pressure science, Physics, Crystallography, Neural information systems, and more...

Highlighted publications

Economic Damages from Climate Change to U.S. Populations: Integrating Evidence from Recent Studies. Lisa Rennels reviews studies on the macroeconomic relationship between U.S. GDP and climate change, synthesizing evidence and identifying gaps, and estimating a domestic social cost of carbon potentially ranging from $31 to $85 per metric ton emitted in 2030, highlighting the need for more research.

Correlating Solvation Free Energy to Electrolyte Properties for Lithium Metal Batteries. Sang Cheol Kim examines how ion solvation in lithium metal battery electrolytes impacts performance, finding that weaker solvation results in larger ion clusters and better electrochemical stability, while also decreasing ionic conductivity, presenting a trade-off that is crucial to understand in designing electrolytes for lithium metal batteries.

Off-equilibrium reactivity of boron-enriched metal diboride surfaces in electro-reduction conditions. Unlocking Switchable Reactivity of MBene via Asymmetric Surface Adsorption. Dopant-Dependent Boron Arrangement and Chemistry of Metal Boride Surface. Over 3 papers, Zisheng Zhang highlights the unique properties of boron and its compounds, particularly a type called alpha diboride, whose surface atomic arrangement can be customized to enhance their effectiveness as catalysts for various electrochemical reactions, including hydrogen production and ammonia synthesis.

Multi-VT in Oxide--Semiconductor Transistors Leveraging Sub-1-nm Dipoles for Low-Refresh Energy Gain Cell Memory. Fabia F. Athena demonstrates that inserting a thin layer of aluminum oxide between a semiconductor channel and its gate can effectively adjust transistor operating voltage, leading to more efficient and stable performance, especially at low temperatures, thereby reducing energy consumption in memory applications.

A Solvation-Driven Reevaluation of Organic Electrolytes for Zinc Batteries. Jack Holoubek shows that organic electrolytes based on abundant chemistries enhance the negative electrode reversibility in zinc batteries by avoiding the corrosion reactions typically found in water-based systems, leading to more efficient and affordable energy storage solutions.

Highlighted fellows perspectives

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Cong Chen

Assistant Professor, Dartmouth College

Looking Forward to Year 4

Building on a strong foundation, the program aims to deepen connections among current and past fellows, creating a robust community of energy scientists. In the coming year, efforts will focus on enhancing networking, facilitating mentorship, and encouraging collaborative research.

Optimism for the future is high, with considerable potential for growth within the network of fellows to share insights and support, encouraging creativity and collaboration.

2025 photo album