UMD ECS Student Chapter receives national award

The University of Maryland’s Student Chapter of the Electrochemical Society (ECS) was selected as the Outstanding Student Chapter of 2017. As a result, ECS will present a recognition plaque to a chapter representative at the 232nd ECS Meeting in National Harbor, MD. Along with a plaque, the chapter will be highlighted on the ECS website and in an upcoming edition of Interface, the quarterly magazine of record for ECS. The chapter also receives an additional $1,000 in funding.

Said Steven Lacey, current ECS President, "On behalf of the chapter, it is a great honor to be selected for this prestigious award once again. This award is evidence of our chapter's continued drive to promote ECS's mission through public outreach activities as well as the electrochemical research of our student members."

Since the chapter's inception in 2011, student members have regularly participated in a diverse range of activities including: volunteering for NIST"s Adventures in Science program to teach middle school students about electrochemical principles, promoting scientific literacy and discussing federal funding for electrochemical and solid state science/technology through annual Science, Engineering and Technology Congressional Visits, inviting respected speakers in the field of electrochemistry to give special seminars at UMD as well as hosting research meetings such as the Center for Research In Extreme Batteries (CREB), which is a center developed by ChBE professor Chunsheng Wang and ARL senior chemist Kang Xu to promote open, collaborative battery-related research efforts among academic, government and industrial entities.

The UMD ECS student chapter won the inaugural Electrochemical Society Outstanding Student Chapter Award in 2013 and named the ECS Student Chapter of Excellence (~2nd place) in 2014, 2015, and 2016. The UMD Chapter’s faculty advisor, Dr. Eric Wachsman, Director of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute, noted that this was truly a record of excellence as he congratulated the students. Lacey also commented, "The success of our chapter over the years entirely stems from the enthusiasm and involvement of our members in and outside of the laboratory, which I believe will continue in the coming years."

Published August 30, 2017