Promoted to Chief Technology Officer for leading the development and scale-up of Urban Electric Power's core technology

Promoted to SVP role for leading the development of next generation Zinc|Manganese Dioxide technology

1. Built a strong and diverse team of engineers and scientists that work to build the next generation zinc-anode batteries. 2. Lead the successful development of 2nd generation improved zinc anodes and manganese dioxide cathodes that increased the capacity 2 to 5 times of the 1st generation technology.3. Implemented 2nd generation electrode technology in different form factors (prismatic and cylindrical) that demonstrated >5 times improvement in cycle life.4. Lead the successful translation of lab-scale technology (10-20Ah) to commercial-scale technology (100-400Ah). 5. Lead the development of commercially-viable gelled electrolyte technology which is transferred to the manufacturing line. Demonstrated successful implementation of this technology in 40 to 400Ah cylindrical cells.6. Responsible for meeting strict cost reduction targets of 2nd generation technology (<$80/kWh), which were achieved through increasing active electrode utilization, validating low-cost suppliers and reducing cost of inactive materials like current collectors and separators.7. Development and implementation of rigorous testing methodology to ensure 2nd generation cells meet product standards like long shelf life, rate-requirements for specific applications and also safety standards like UL certifications, DNV and FDNY certifications.8. Played a key role in ensuring product compliance by working with manufacturing and systems team to ensure final product installed has met standards. 9. Played a key role in company’s first commercial installations in data center (2MWh system), solar microgrid (15kWh system) and residential backup (50kWh) use cases.10. Also leading the company’s next research direction of high capacity and high voltage batteries through use of dual-electrolyte gelled systems. We have demonstrated accessibility of 2e capacity of manganese dioxide and >2V discharge with zinc anodes.

1. Co-lead a research group of 8 PhD students that worked on electrode and electrolyte development for aqueous batteries.2. Primary inventor and lead the development of high voltage (>2V) zinc-anode batteries for flow-assist and stationary batteries.a. This project was sponsored by Sandia National Labs, where I was the lead Project Investigator. This work was published in ACS Energy Letters. 3. Primary inventor and lead the development high utilization zinc anodes that accessed 70-100% of its theoretical capacity at high areal capacities.a. This project was sponsored by Sandia National Labs, where I was the lead Project Investigator. This work was published in Advanced Energy Materials.4. Lead Project Investigator for NYSERDA project, which looked into commercialization of conversion manganese dioxide cathodes with improved separator design.a. This entailed the development of ion-selective graphene oxide/polyvinyl alcohol membranes and scaling its production process. A patent was filed where I was the co-inventor.5. Co-lead a project, which was sponsored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, where we developed a comprehensive combinatorial study to analyze the main failure mechanisms of zinc anodes in alkaline electrolytes.

1. Co-lead ARPA-E Plus-up project that targeted the commercialization of low-cost and long cycle life zinc-manganese dioxide batteries.a. Responsible for guiding PhD students and also meeting strict ARPA-E targets in tight deadlines.b. Work in this project was instrumental in leading to the creation of a start-up called Urban Electric Power that focussed on commercializing low-cost and long-cycle life zinc-manganese dioxide batteries.2. Primary inventor and lead the development of 2e manganese dioxide cathodes that cycled at high areal capacities (>29mAh.cm-2) for >1000 times.a. This work was sponsored by ARPA-E, where I was the main Primary Investigator. This work was published in Nature Communications.3. Primary inventor and lead of zinc-ion blocking separators that was a major culprit in the poisoning of manganese dioxide cathodes.a. This work was sponsored by ARPA-E, where I was the main Primary Investigator. This work was published in Electrochemistry Communications.

1. Thesis title: Design & Assembly of Nanostructured Complex Metal Oxide Materials for the Construction of Batteries & Thermoelectric Devices2. Investigated the sustainability of a variety of complex metal oxides for large-scale deployment as energy harvesting and storage materials3. Developed novel synthetic approaches to produce nanostructured metal oxides for constructing thermoelectric devices and Lithium-ion batteries4. Demonstrated nanostructured complex metal oxides for use as cathodes and anodes in lithium-ion batteries.5. Research has already led to six high-impact publications.6. Gained experience setting up a laboratory for a newly hired Assistant Professor. I was also instrumental in starting the Lithium-ion battery research in the group.

• Investigated the sustainability of a variety of complex metal oxides for large-scale deployment as energy harvesting and storage materials• Developed novel synthetic approaches to produce nanostructured metal oxides for constructing thermoelectric devices and batteries• Research has already led to two high-impact publications in the journal Nanoscale• Gained experience setting up a laboratory for a first time advisor

• Taught fluid mechanics and heat & mass transfer to undergraduates• Awarded the Magoon Award for Excellence in Teaching

• Investigated several technologies and feedstocks for biodiesel production from oleogenic crops such as soybean• Designed several variations of the process implementing permutations and combinations of the available unit operations and conducted detailed techno-economic studies of the process designs• Constructed and tested the design at laboratory-scale and drafted the final process & instrumentation diagrams for the at-scale process

•Leader of a highly motivated and tight-knit group that pursued the development of sustainable energy solutions for rural communities in Canada• Team successfully designed a waste collection, transport and biogas production system• Design was submitted to EcoVentures, a Canada-wide business plan competition for green and sustainable technologies, and the venture placed in the final seven in the nation.