Jay Whitacre
Trustee Professor in Energy, Engineering and Public Policy, Materials Science and Engineering
Director, Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation
Jay Whitacre is the Trustee Professor in Energy with a joint appointment in the Departments of Engineering and Public Policy and Materials Science and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He examines the materials science of synthesizing, characterizing, and implementing promising materials and device architectures for energy storage and generation technologies such as Li-ion batteries, fuel cells, and photovoltaics. He will concurrently be addressing the policy implications involved with selecting and implementing these renewable technologies. Other research topics for Whiteacre include hybrid power systems for distributed and mobile platforms, high throughput materials selection methods, and ultra fast laser modification of materials for solid-state electrochemical devices.
Whitacre has authored or co-authored over 60 peer review papers and is an inventor on over 30 patents that are issued or pending. He has numerous honors to his name, including the 2014 Caltech/Resnick Sustainability Institute Resonate Award, was listed as one of the top 25 Eco-Innovators in the world by Fortune Magazine in 2014, and was the 2015 winner of the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize for Innovation.
Whitacre has authored or co-authored over 60 peer review papers and is an inventor on over 30 patents that are issued or pending. He has numerous honors to his name, including the 2014 Caltech/Resnick Sustainability Institute Resonate Award, was listed as one of the top 25 Eco-Innovators in the world by Fortune Magazine in 2014, and was the 2015 winner of the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize for Innovation.
Education
1999 Ph.D., Materials Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
1997 Master of Science in Engineering, Materials Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
1994 BA, Physics, Oberlin College
Research Interests
Media mentions
Instigators of Change
Whitacre interviewed on environmentally friendly batteries
Scott Institute Director Jay Whitacre was interviewed in a podcast on how batteries can still have a negative impact on the environment.
The Daily Beast
Whitacre quoted on lithium-ion batteries
Scott Institute Director Jay Whitacre was quoted in The Daily Beast on lithium-ion batteries and their effect on climate disaster.
CMU Engineering
Team builds tools, innovations to support federal investment
With major investments in infrastructure and innovation pending, a multi-disciplinary initiative lead by EPP’s Erica Fuchs is building the tools and innovations to inform government decisions.
CMU Engineering
AI-fueled batteries
A team of CMU mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering researchers are using AI to optimize battery electrolyte designs, and they found new electrolytes that researchers hadn’t thought of.
Carnegie Mellon University Africa
EST&P project course responds to Africa’s energy access challenges
This past spring semester, about a dozen master’s students in Carnegie Mellon University’s Energy Science, Technology and Policy (EST&P) Project Course worked hands-on with batteries to potentially identify re-use applications that could improve Africa’s energy access problem.
Fortune
Whitacre on EVs and lithion-ion batteries
Scott Institute Director Jay Whitacre was quoted by Fortune in an article discussing the race to solve lithium-ion battery recycling as electric vehicles (EVs) gradually become more common over the next decade.
Wired
Whitacre comments on VW’s new challenge of building battery cells
Scott Institute Director Jay Whitacre suggests VW’s new challenge by pointing out that the battery cells they plan to build have to be identical from a quality perspective.
WIRED
Whitacre evaluates VW’s expansion into battery cell production
Scott Institute Director Jay Whitacre evaluates VW's recent move to manufacture its own battery cells for electric vehicles.
CMU Engineering
Energy Week 2019: What’s next in energy innovation
From March 25 – 28, 2019, the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University will hold CMU Energy Week 2019.
CMU Engineering
How long until efficient fuel cells? Ask the experts.
In the quest for alternatives to gas-powered vehicles, experts believe one new method shows great promise: Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells.
The Wall Street Journal
Whitacre interviewed about Tesla’s battery
EPP/MSE’s Jay Whitacre was interviewed for a video by the Wall Street Journal and explained the main reason why Tesla’s cars have high costs. The big portion of the costs is due to the battery. Whitacre studies these lithium-ion battery cells produced by Panasonic and explains how Tesla has worked extensively to reduce costs from the battery pack.
CMU Engineering
Making green cars greener with battery recycling
Widespread use of electric vehicles will go a long way toward eliminating the greenhouse gas emissions of the transportation sector—but these emissions don’t just come from the tailpipe.