UChicago Researchers Honored with Prestigious Innovation Awards
University of Chicago Assistant Professor Chibueze Amanchukwu and PhD candidates Pengju Li and Shawn Shan were recently recognized for their groundbreaking innovations.
Shawn Shan, 26, has been named MIT Technology Review‘s 2024 Innovator of the Year as part of the “35 Innovators Under 35” list.
Shan and his advisors, Neubauer Professors of Computer Science Ben Zhao and Heather Zeng, both of whom were previously on the Innovators list, are the developers behind Nightshade and Glaze – for which Zhao this year was named to TIME Magazine’s prestigious “TIME100 AI” list. Shan also was named to the 2024 “Forbes 30 Under 30” list.
Chibueze Amanchukwu, Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering, joins Shan on the prestigious MIT Technology Review list, which is a yearly global recognition of “ingenious and elegant work that matters to the world at large.” UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering PhD candidate Pengju Li was also named to the “Innovators Under 35 Asia Pacific” list.
Past honorees of the “35 Innovators Under 35” list include Andrew Ng; Mark Zuckerberg; Helen Greiner (the cofounder of iRobot); Larry Page and Sergey Brin (the cofounders of Google); and Jonathan Ive (the former chief designer at Apple).
// Chibueze Amanchukwu
UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering Professor Chibueze Amanchukwu was named one of the MIT Technology Review’s 2024 Innovators Under 35 in honor of his battery research to help transition the planet off fossil fuels. (UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering / John Zich)
Amanchukwu, 31, was recognized for his work designing next-generation batteries, but the awardees spanned fields including biotechnology, materials, computer hardware, energy, transportation, communications, and the internet.
The selection recognized Amanchukwu’s pioneering work in developing a new type of electrolyte that’s a liquid when the battery is in use and is free of any fire-causing solvents.
“For as long as we’ve had batteries, we’ve always thought that if you wanted it to store more energy, you had to compromise on safety,” Amanchukwu said. “We are changing that paradigm, and showing that you can actually have batteries that can store a lot of energy and be safe.”
The process involved months of testing different combinations of salts to find a concoction with a low enough melting point. His team’s electrolyte, made from a mix of lithium, potassium, and cesium, melts at 45°C—meaning it could work in batteries built to power EVs or to store grid electricity. The researchers are now working to push that temperature as close to 0°C as possible.
Amanchukwu’s battery work, which also earned him a place on Chemical & Engineering News’ vaunted “Talented 12” this year, is a direct outcome of his commitment to transitioning the planet off fossil fuels in an effort to fight climate change.
// Pengju Li
UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering PhD candidate Pengju Li presents at the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 Asia Pacific award ceremony in Shanghai. (Photo courtesy Pujiang Innovation Forum 2024)
An offshoot of MIT Technology Review’s global Innovators Under 35, TR35 Asia Pacific was established in 2014 to highlight, recognize, and propel “outstanding young innovators in Asia-Pacific area onto the highest international stage.”
Li was recognized for his interdisciplinary work as a UChicago PME graduate student in the lab of UChicago Chemistry Professor Bozhi Tian, creating a light-powered, silicon-based device – a thin film 100 times lighter than facial tissue – to restart and control heartbeats following heart surgery.
The group also has invented a new, minimally invasive endoscopic procedure to apply the device to the heart’s surface.
Li, Tian, and UChicago Medicine Professor Narutoshi Hibino are working with the UChicago Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to launch a startup that aims to redefine cardiac care by introducing light-driven cardiac pacemakers.
“I believe that anyone with an entrepreneurial mindset can be considered an entrepreneur, and I see myself in that light,” Li said. “This mindset is characterized by a willingness to take risks, collaborate in teams, and translate findings and skills into tangible technologies. These qualities have been integral to my journey in both academia and research.”
In addition to his work on light-powered cardiac devices, Li was also part of an interdisciplinary team that recently created “living bioelectronics”: a combination of living cells, gel, and electronics that can integrate with living tissue.
For his work developing an artificial tissue that can monitor and improve health down to the level of individual cells Tian also was previously named to the prestigious list. Other University of Chicago researchers formerly recognized include Sihong Wang and Chong Liu.
Sihong Wang’s lab at the University of Chicago focuses on developing new materials to underpin a full suite of devices, drawing on innovation in the fields of semiconductor physics, solid mechanics, and material science.
Chong Liu’s research focuses on the design and synthesis of materials as well as the development of electrical and optical tools to address challenges in the water-energy nexus. This includes resource extraction from water systems, separation in liquid and gas phases, and catalysis. Liu also was recently named as one of Science News’ ten “Scientists to Watch.”
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