Donald R. Sadoway, John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to speak at NTUA on October 26, 2018 at 17:00


LECTURE TITLE: Innovating towards an all-electric future via profitable sustainability

ABSTRACT: Electricity storage is critical to widespread deployment of intermittent renewables, solar and wind, while offering huge benefits to today’s grid, improving security and reducing price volatility. Invented at MIT, the liquid metal battery provides colossal power capability and long service lifetime at very low cost. Round-trip efficiency is greater than 80%. Measurements show retention of 99% of initial storage capacity after 10 years of daily cycling. In parallel, there are lessons more broadly applicable to innovation: how to pose the right question, how to engage young minds (not experts), establishing a creative culture, inventing technology, inventing inventors.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Donald R. Sadoway is the John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science, M.A.Sc. in Chemical Metallurgy, and Ph.D. in Chemical Metallurgy are all from the University of Toronto. He joined the MIT faculty in 1978. The author of over 170 scientific papers and holder of 29 U.S. patents, his research is directed towards the development of batteries for grid-scale as well as automotive applications and towards environmentally sound technologies for metals extraction. He is the founder of two companies, Ambri and Boston Metal. Online videos of his chemistry lectures hosted by MIT OpenCourseWare extend his impact on engineering education far beyond the lecture hall. Viewed 1,900,000 times, his TED talk is as much about inventing inventors as it is about inventing technology. In 2012 he was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

For more information, please contact Prof. Paul Sotiriadis (210 7721482).