Ahmet Kusoglu is a Staff Scientist at Berkeley Lab, working on functional materials and interfaces for hydrogen technologies and electrochemical energy systems. Dr. Kusoglu received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from University of Delaware with graduate fellowship award and joined Berkeley Lab for his post-doctoral work. Since then, he has been leading the material characterization efforts and ionomer-related research in Energy Conversion Group as part of multiple DOE-funded consortia on fuel cells and electrolyzers.
His research theme focuses on fundamental aspects of ion-conductive materials and soft-hard interfaces as well as related electrochemical-mechanical phenomena to enhance their performance and durability in energy applications. He has published 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, delivered over 50 invited talks and lectures at industry forums, universities, and international meetings, and taught Polymeric Materials course at UC Berkeley. He is the recipient of Srinivasan Young Investigator Award of the Electrochemical Society, ECS Toyota Fellowship, and Presidential Early-Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) award.
His team’s work at Berkeley Lab encompasses modeling and experimental characterization of ion-containing polymers, composite membranes, thin films, and interfaces to understand their degradation and structure-stability-function interplay in materials for energy technologies (including fuel cells, water-splitting or CO2 electrolysis, flow batteries) by adopting a research approach involving chemical-mechanical interrogation of functional materials, merging data-driven systematic investigations with multi-modal measurements capture material-system environment and morphological characterization through advanced X-ray techniques at the Advanced Light Source (ALS).
His broader interests include hydrogen & energy technologies and data visualization. He serves as the communication officer of the DOE Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck Consortium, overseeing the outreach and education efforts related to fuel cells and transportation. He gave lectures and webinars on these topics for H2 hubs, DOE and California Council for Science and Technology. He is also a contributing editor for Electrochemical Interface, writing on energy & materials research as well as science communication.