Education

• Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, 2013
• M.S. Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, 2011
• B.S. Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008

Background

Matthew McDowell joined Georgia Tech in the fall of 2015 as an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Materials Science and Engineering. Prior to this appointment, he was a postdoctoral scholar in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology. McDowell received his Ph.D. in 2013 from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University.

Research

McDowell’s research group focuses on understanding how materials for energy storage change and transform during operation, and they use this knowledge to engineer batteries and other energy storage devices for improved performance. These technological advances impact society by enabling batteries with lower cost, higher energy density, and enhanced sustainability, opening the door to widespread vehicle electrification and use of renewable energy. Current projects in the group are focused on i) solid-state batteries, ii) lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, iii) low-temperature battery chemistries, iv) new battery materials with enhanced sustainability, and v) grid storage technologies. McDowell is the co-director of the Georgia Tech Advanced Battery Center (https://batteries.research.gatech.edu/).