Nattbatt International, the not for profit trade association for the advanced battery industry, honoured both the living and the dead at its annual meeting in Phoenix last week.
A lifetime achievement award was made to Stan Whittingham, a key figure in the history of the development of Lithium-ion batteries and critical to the establishment of inercalation electrodes.
Whittingham, a Yorkshireman and thus a Brit, became part of the now famous British “Brain drain”, joining Exxon in Amercia during the early 1970s.
Dr. Whittingham is a key figure in the history of the development of Lithium-ion batteries discovering the concept of intercalation electrodes.
Naum Pinsky of Southern California Edison (SCE) received the NAATBatt 2015 Technology Commercialization Award.
Dr. Pinsky was an early pioneer in energy storage, establishing a Electric Vehicle Technical Center and responsible for the operation of the Large Energy Storage Test Apparatus facility, both at SCE.
During his 23 years at SCE he did some of the earliest work on vehicle electrification and electrochemical energy storage on the grid.
His work continues to serve as a valuable guide to investigating the uses and value of storage on the grid.
Sally Miksiewicz posthumously received the NAATBatt 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award-Industry.
While CEO of East Penn Manufacturing Co., the lead-acid manufacturer introduced the Deka UltraBattery, a major leap forward in lead-acid battery technology.
Ms. Miksiewicz, who died tragically last year, will be remembered in the advanced battery industry by the many friends she made and those to whom she served as both a mentor and a role model.
Picture caption: Dr Stan Whittingham (Left ) receives a lifetime achievement award from Ralph Brodd, chief technical officer of Nattbatt at the association’s meeting in Phoenix, US last week.
