معرفی
Daniel Steingart is the Stanley-Thompson Professor of Chemical Metallurgy and Professor of Chemical Engineering at Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science, where he also serves as Chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering. He is co-director of the Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center and affiliated with the Earth Institute. Previously, he was an Associate Professor at Princeton University in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, and before that an Assistant Professor at City College of the City University of New York in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
Professor Steingart's research focuses on electrochemical systems, particularly batteries and energy storage devices. His group studies material deposition, conversion, and dissolution in electrochemical reactors, with special emphasis on exploiting traditional failure mechanisms to create beneficial functions. Current research areas include acoustic monitoring of battery states, zinc-bromide systems, lithium metal behavior, and developing approaches to make batteries safer and more durable through understanding thermodynamics, kinetics, and mass transport. His work sits at the intersection of materials science and systems engineering, examining how chemistry, electronics, and mechanics interact at various scales in electrochemical reactors.
Over the last decade, Professor Steingart's research efforts have been adopted by various industries and have directly or indirectly led to five electrochemical energy-related startup companies, including Feasible, which focuses on exploiting acoustic responses of closed electrochemical systems. His publications reveal consistent focus on fundamental battery principles, safety mechanisms, and innovative approaches to energy storage challenges, with notable work on the 'Unfortunate Tetrahedron' framework describing the energy-power-cost-lifetime trade-offs inherent in all battery systems.
Professor Steingart's research is supported by diverse funding sources including:
- Current sponsors: DOE ARPA-E, DOT, NSF, Mercedes Benz Research and Development North America, General Motors, and ICL
- Previous sponsors: BP, ExxonMobil, AlphaEn, Princeton University and NASA
His research group has graduated 10 PhD students and 10 MS students, with alumni founding two companies based on lab research and software. Professor Steingart emphasizes direct communication with prospective graduate students, noting that faculty directly review applications and are responsible for funding students through research assistantships. His lab operates with a mission to advance technology-enabled post-scarcity economies while promoting diversity, inclusion, and representation in energy research.
