DECEMBER 29, 2021 | Joseph Sullivan is currently pursuing his Ph.D in Chemical Engineering at the University of Rhode Island. Studying under Dr. Arijit Bose, Sullivan was motivated by the thought of working alongside experts in public and private sectors to solve current, hands-on, real-world problems. “My project intended to create a high power, safer lithium-ion battery for underwater operation,” explained Sullivan. “To manage this, we developed a method to process safer, less flammable electrolyte materials without sacrificing too much performance.”
“I greatly enjoyed the practicality and focus of this project,” Sullivan continued. “The demand for improved energy systems is clear, and I will always appreciate the opportunities I have had to develop creative and new ways of dealing with these challenges.”
After graduating, Sullivan looks forward to a career working on similar problems in an industry with an immediate demand for solutions. “For this NIUVT project, we focused on manufacturing methods and materials which had a straightforward path towards scale-up by industry partners,” said Sullivan. “I see myself working on the other side of an NIUVT-like partnership, where an industry partner takes the result of this type of project and implements it in production.”