MAE Professor George Nelson named recipient of prestigious NSF CAREER Award

Dr. George Nelson, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

Michael Mercier | UAH

Dr. George Nelson, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), has been awarded an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award.

Dr. Nelson's CAREER research seeks to understand degradation in lithium-ion batteries operating under elevated temperature conditions. This goal will be achieved by comparing the performance and reliability of battery electrodes with ordered and irregular microstructure based on electrochemical measurements and direct observation of 3D microstructure using x-ray nanotomography. The nanotomography measurements will include imaging electrode samples under operational conditions and at elevated temperatures.

Insights from this CAREER research will advance battery performance and reliability. Improved performance and reliability will in turn extend the range and lifetime of hybrid and electric vehicles, realizing significant savings to consumers while reducing negative environmental impacts.

The associated education and outreach program will provide mechanical engineering undergraduates hands-on experience with interdisciplinary energy storage fundamentals. Energy storage experiments developed for undergraduate laboratories will be adapted for K-12 teacher training programs at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

Dr. Nelson received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech. in 2003, 2006, and 2009. Prior to his appointment at UAH in 2012, he worked as Assistant Research professor at the University of Connecticut. His general research interests include transport phenomena, energy storage and conversion devices, sustainable energy systems, and multi-scale modeling and analysis.