Student Spotlight: Sayyam Deshpande

In this edition of our student spotlight, we sit down with Sayyam Deshpande whose research work on organic electrodes in Dr. Lutkenhaus Lab have prepared him to intern at NASA to work on solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries.

What motivated you about your research?

My motivation is the work on batteries that can provide a sustainable and weightless future. Now for sustainability, organic electrodes definitely come to mind since they are composed of redox active polymers which can be recycled and do not require mining for transition metal oxides.

What is a highlight in your PhD experience and what did you take away from  the experience?

 A highlight I can think of during my PhD experience is all the students I've mentored through TAs and the 72 students I taught during Organic Chemistry labs. While grading was a tedious experience, office hours and teaching were extremely rewarding and some of my students still say hi to me when they see me outside of class. It was rewarding to build those connections and know that my contributions in teaching and research have had a lasting impression on them and motivated them to do better in their careers.

What advice do you have for current graduate students?

For current graduate students I would say, research is a great area, it teaches you a lot about life and its struggles. While research is full of ups and downs, try to identify the root cause of them, and use your resources and characterization techniques wisely. Make sure you develop hobbies outside of work so that you don't burn out and can develop good networking skills.

Could you tell us more about your internship at NASA (i.e., what you did, what you learned, and how you learned about the opportunity?

During my internship at NASA, I worked on fabricating all solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries using different techniques. Sulfur is a unique element since it can accommodate large amounts of lithium per atom and is very lightweight. Unfortunately, sulfur undergoes a large volume expansion on lithiation and additives with high elasticity can help reduce the volumetric expansion. While this is a big problem to deal with, smart choices of additives allowed us to design all solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries without metallic lithium for safe, lightweight batteries for aircraft and spacecraft.