The Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN) welcomes newly appointed co-director Sossina M. Haile, the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. Haile served 18 years on the faculty at the California Institute of Technology before joining Northwestern in 2015. Since that time, she has been a member of the faculty of the McCormick School of Engineering and has been a steady contributor to ISEN’s mission to advance global sustainability and energy solutions through transformational research.
“Throughout her career, Sossina has made remarkable contributions to the development of materials and devices for sustainable energy,” said Michael R. Wasielewski, Executive Director of ISEN and the Clare Hamilton Hall Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern. “We are delighted to officially welcome her to the ISEN leadership team and look forward to her deepening level of engagement.”
As described on The Haile Group website, Haile's research broadly encompasses solid state ionic materials and devices, with particular focus on energy technologies. She has established a new class of fuel cells based on solid acid electrolytes and demonstrated record power densities for solid oxide fuel cells. Her more recent work on water and carbon dioxide dissociation for solar-fuel generation by thermochemical processes has created new avenues for harnessing sunlight to meet energy demands.
Haile has spent time conducting research in the ISEN Flex Lab, where she carried out her Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. Her interdisciplinary project seeks to improve the operation of electrochemical devices and has implications for fuel cells, electrochemical ammonia generation cells, and hydrogen producing electrolysis cells.
As an ISEN co-director, Haile will play a key role in advancing the work of the rapidly growing Institute by providing direction and insight into sustainability and energy research and education. At ISEN, she joins three other co-directors: Mercouri Kanatzidis, Kenneth Poeppelmeier, and Bradley Sageman, who alongside Wasielewski, represent core disciplines across engineering, natural sciences, and associated ISEN Centers.
“I’m thrilled to join the ISEN team to help advance research and education in sustainability,” said Haile. “It’s humbling to join the leadership team, and I am highly optimistic about our future together.”
Haile fills the position of McCormick School of Engineering liaison. Previously, this role was held by co-director Yip-Wah Chung, professor of materials science and engineering. Chung’s research focus is in the area of surface science, tribology, design and characterization of lubricant additives, hard coatings and alloys, as well as high throughput synthesis of multi-component systems, with which he will continue.
Chung served as an ISEN co-director for 3 years, teaches ISEN 220—Introduction to Energy Systems for the 21st Century, and serves on ISEN’s Curriculum Committee. He was the first faculty lead for the ongoing Wanxiang Energy Fellows Study Abroad Program in China.
“Yip-Wah has been an indispensable asset for ISEN during his service as co-director, and we look forward to an ongoing relationship,” noted Wasielewski.
