John Holoubek
Bio: John Holoubek researches electrochemical systems for the sustainable storage and conversion of energy. He earned his bachelor's degree from Oregon State University in chemical engineering, and researched novel low-cost secondary battery systems in the Chemistry Department. At U.C.-San Diego, John's PhD work aimed to describe and design the liquid electrolyte/electrode interphase in next-generation batteries employing high-energy chemistries. This technologically motivated, fundamental approach probed the effect of electrolyte chemistry and structure on device behavior through experimental and computational means. John won a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities fellowship, an ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) Foundation scholar award, and the 2022 Electrochemical Society Battery Division's student research award.
Postdoctoral research project: Computationally-guided design of electrolyte structure and dynamics for advanced electrochemical devices. Electrochemical technologies could provide sustainable means to achieve various ends currently met by hydrocarbon-based processes. For example, low-cost secondary batteries could store solar and wind electricity for the grid while electrochemical reactors could drive vital chemical syntheses without any greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, the achievable performance of these devices does not yet warrant mass adoption. Nearly all electrochemical devices are composed of solid electrodes, which transfer electrons to or from chemical species in the liquid electrolytes where they are immersed. These interactions occur in a region of space known as the interface, which spans only nanometers from the electrode yet defines the behavior of the device. John’s work at Stanford aims to predict, understand, and design liquid electrolytes and their interfaces to drive progress in sustainable energy storage and conversion.
Research focus: Energy Conversion & Storage
Advisors: Yi Cui - Materials Science & Engineering | Zhenan Bao and Jian Qin - Chemical Engineering