David Juergens

Bio: David received his BS in Chemical Engineering in 2019 from the University of Washington (UW), Seattle. He received his PhD in Molecular Engineering from the UW in 2024. During his PhD he studied under David Baker at the UW Institute for Protein Design, developing deep-learning based methods for computational protein design. David is continuing to pursue the advancement of computational molecular engineering at Stanford University by pivoting to the intersection of quantum chemistry and deep learning for battery design. Beyond science, David enjoys camping in the Pacific Northwest, drinking coffee and picking wild huckleberries.

Postdoctoral research project: Artificial intelligence for battery design.  Lithium-Sulfur (LiS) batteries are an exciting alternative to Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries due to their high theoretical energy density relative to Li-ion cells, and electrodes comprising inexpensive and nontoxic components. They are not yet commercially dominant due to rapid performance degradation through charge and discharge cycles. To stop performance degradation, it is crucial to gain atomically detailed understanding of detrimental reactions occurring within LiS batteries so we can engineer ways of preventing them. David’s research aims to combine quantum chemistry calculations with modern techniques in deep learning to atomistically model these reactions. This will enable researchers to design better batteries on the computer by predicting ways to manipulate their chemistry for greater longevity.

Research focus:  Energy Conversion & Storage 

Advisors:  Todd Martinez - Chemistry  |  Stefano Ermon - Computer Science