David Arnot, a graduate student at Stony Brook University, has been awarded the silver award by the Materials Research Society (MRS) during its fall 2025 conference. Arnot is currently studying Materials Science and Chemical Engineering.
“This research was significant to mostly material scientists, but it’s also very important in terms of electrochemistry and physical characterization techniques,” Arnot said. “I was very happy to be selected as a finalist.”
Arnot participated in the graduate student awards section of the conference. Finalists were chosen by a committee and then delivered oral presentations about their research.
The focus of Arnot’s research is on batteries used in implantable medical devices such as heart defibrillators. These batteries must provide both high energy and high power output.
“This particular combination is historically very difficult for batteries to achieve,” Arnot said. “So we’re looking at a particular mixture, which is a hybrid electrode. It uses two different active materials. One of them gives you energy density, the other gives you power density. You combine them together to get both properties at the same time.”
The project team includes Esther Takeuchi, Amy Marschilok, and Kenneth Takeuchi. The team uses three different techniques that utilize resources available at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University.
“This research required detailed understanding of materials, mechanical design, electrochemistry, and several advanced characterization methods,” Takeuchi said. “We are delighted that the research that David conducted was recognized favorably by the MRS.”
Arnot explained that combining various characterization methods allows them to leverage unique tools for greater results: “The main idea is that we use these different characterization methods in a synergistic way and get something that’s bigger than the sum of its parts by combining all these unique tools that we have.”
He also noted challenges due to limited prior work on this subject: “It’s a niche system that a lot of people aren’t necessarily studying,” Arnot said. “The real challenge is that batteries themselves are already very complicated. Developing advanced characterization methods allows us to continue pushing the envelope with materials design to enable next-generation technologies.”
— Angelina Livigni
