Faculty of Science
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA | CANADA B3H 4R2 | +1 (902) 494-3540

Energy for the future

There's no question that Dr. Jeffrey Dahn's research is powerful. As one of the people who pioneered the lithium battery used today in cellular phones, laptops and many digital cameras, he has spent the last 25 years creating material that will help power the world well into the future.

Dahn feels that a stable supply of energy is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity. "We only have about a 50-year supply of fossil fuel," he muses. "Wind and solar are renewable options, but you need some way to store them in order to have a constant supply."

It is these types of storage challenges that Dahn, Canada Research Chair in Battery and Fuel Cell Materials, explores every day by developing and testing new materials. And, because of a unique apparatus he and his team developed, Dahn's lab is doing this testing faster and better than most other researchers around the world.

"Our two 'multi-target sputtinger machines' allow us to test over 60 material compositions at the same time under the exact same conditions. Our results are accurate and conclusive," says Dahn. A team of graduate students — all NSERC scholars — as well as research associate, Dr. David Stevens, have helped make this happen.

The ability to conduct many simultaneous tests is one of the reasons why Dahn's lab has an edge — most other labs in the world can only test one new material composition at a time. "We're leaving many other labs in the dust when it comes to material development," says Dahn.

The impact of his and other successful materials science research is widespread. Everyday, people are working more efficiently and using less fossil fuel-based energy because of it. The construction industry benefits from tools running on a battery that is more powerful, longer lasting and quickly recharged. A taxi driver uses a hybrid of battery and gas to power his car.

Dahn and his team have also begun to help test materials intended for medical procedures whereby success is dependant upon the properties of the material used. For example, a heart patient receives a stent — a kind of rod inserted in a blood vessel — made from material engineered to prevent the adhesion of proteins and cells, thereby avoiding potential clotting. On the other hand, in bone replacement surgery, it's important for tissues to adhere to the material being implanted.

For Dahn, this work is fun. "Identifying the sources of primary energy for the future and how that energy will be stored and used is like a 4,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. If my research group can put a few pieces in the right spot I will feel happy about what we've done."

(Source: Outfront, Spring 2006)

Dr. Jeff Dahn

Jeff Dahn

Canada Research Chair in Materials for Batteries and Fuel Cells
Physics & Atmospheric Science 

Highlights

  • Maintains one of the largest university laboratories in the world devoted to studies of materials for advanced batteries and fuel cells.
  • Helped pioneer the development of the lithium-ion battery.
  • The world leader in the development and understanding of carbonaceous materials for use in lithium-ion batteries.

Education

  • 1978, BSc Honours Physics, Dalhousie University
  • 1980, MSc, Physics, University of B.C.
  • 1982, PhD., Physics, University of B.C.

Selected awards and honours

  • 2006, The Electrochemical Award, Canadian Section of the Electrochemical Society
  • 2004, Faculty of Science Teaching Award, Dalhousie University
  • 2003, NSERC University/Industry Synergy Award
  • 2001, Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
  • 2000, Appointed associate of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Nanoelectronics program
  • 1996, British Columbia Science Council Gold Medal for “Solutions through Research”
  • 1996, Herzberg Medal, Canadian Association of Physicists (awarded to a physicist under 40 years old for career achievement)
  • 1996, Battery Division Research Award, The Electrochemical Society

Publications
Dr. Dahn has more than 330 publications in refereed journals and 48 separate inventions with associated issued patents and patents pending. He is ranked eighth world-wide for impact of publications in the area of Materials Science between 1990 and 1995 by Science Watch.  No other Canadian and no other electrochemical researcher was ranked in the top 25. He is one of only eight Canadian Materials Scientists or Physicists to be included in ISI's highly cited author list. 

Website
Dahn lab

E-mail: Dr. Jeffrey Dahn