Daniel Scherson, Ph.D. – Frank Hovorka Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Ernest B. Yeager Center for Electrochemical Sciences at Case Western Reserve University

Dear Colleagues:

“Unsustainable” fuels, such as coal and petroleum products, have many practical advantages. The most important is that they exist as physical units that can be carried around, or set aside to be used later. In contrast, major forms of “sustainable” energy – such as solar and wind power – are ephemeral. They are here-and-gone, with supplies varying with the weather and time of day.

Therefore one of the key obstacles to shifting to more renewable energy sources is how to store energy once it is created or captured, for later use. The most obvious solution is better (more energy for less weight and expense) batteries. They could be vital, as Professor Scherson testified last year to Congress, both for the transportation sector and the management and optimization of the electrical grid. But progress faces many challenges, including a need for “novel chemistries” and “new methods of searching for next-generation battery materials.” Join us as Professor Scherson, past President of The Electrochemical Society, discusses progress and obstacles in the search for better energy storage.

All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies 

About Our Guest

Daniel Scherson was born in Santiago, Chile in 1951. He received his License in Chemistry from the University of Chile in 1974, and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Davis, in 1979. After post-doctoral work at UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CWRU and the Fritz Haber Institute, Dr. Scherson joined the CWRU faculty in 1983. He later became the Charles F. Mabery Professor of Research in Chemistry before being awarded appointment as Frank Hovorka Professor of Chemistry. He has co-authored over 250 publications and 5 patents in experimental and theoretical areas of electrocatalysis, energy storage, and energy conversion.

Dr. Scherson has been deeply involved in the activities of the Electrochemical Society, serving as Chair of its Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry and Battery Divisions, Editor of its Journal, and, in 2015-16, as President of the Society. He currently serves on the Advisory Committees of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research and of three Energy Frontier Research Centers, and directs CWRU’s Ernest B. Yeager Center for Electrochemical Sciences.

Where We Meet

The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Our programs are open to all and no registration is required. We usually meet in the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library.

* Kelvin Smith Library requires all entrants to show identification when entering the building, unless they have a university i.d. that they can magnetically scan. We are sorry if that seems like a hassle, but it has been Library policy for a while in response to security concerns. Please do not complain to the library staff at the entrance, who are just doing their jobs.

The Dampeer Room is on the second floor of the library. If you get off the elevators, turn right, pass the first bank of tables, and turn right again. Occasionally we need to use a different room; that will always be announced in the weekly e-mails.

Parking Possibilities

The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level (labeled as for the Thwing Center); it is less than 50 yards from that exit to the library entrance. You can get from the Severance garage to the library without going outside. Near the entry gates – just to the right if you were driving out – there is a door into a corridor. Walk down the corridor and there will be another door. Beyond that door you’ll find the entrance to an elevator which goes up to an entrance right inside the doors to Kelvin Smith Library.

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

March 31: Merkel’s Challenge: Managing Trump, Putin, and a Million Syrians. With Mark K. Cassell, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, Kent State University.

April 7: Trump, the Budget, and Health Care. With Joe White, Ph.D., Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies. ***Alternate Location: Mather House, Room 100***

April 14: Brazil’s Political Crises. With Juscelino F. Colares, Ph.D., Schott-Van den Eyden Professor of Business Law and Associate Director, Frederick K. Cox International Law Center.

April 21: Program to be Determined

April 28: Putin’s Russia. With Kelly M. McMann, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science and Director, International Studies Program.