Ben Appleby

Ben Appleby is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the Chemical Engineering group, focusing on fuel cell technology and industrial-scale electrode fabrication. He joined NREL in January 2024, applying expertise in material morphology-rheology relationships to optimize hydrogen fuel cell performance.

His educational background includes:

• PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines
• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Oregon State University

Appleby's research centers on drying mechanisms of complex fluids, non-Newtonian fluid rheology, and polymer-interface interactions. His work directly addresses industrial manufacturing challenges in fuel cell electrode production, aiming to control morphology through fundamental understanding of particulate-laden fluid behavior for scalable clean energy solutions.

He actively participates in:

• American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
• The Society of Rheology

Scientific Awards: No awards documented in available sources.

Advising and Grants: No student advisement or grant information disclosed in current records.

Labs and Teams: Works within NREL's Chemical Engineering research group on fuel cell electrode development, leveraging cross-disciplinary approaches to bridge laboratory-scale discoveries with industrial manufacturing processes.