October 2022
Donald Sadoway reflects on teaching,
batteries, and world peace
Donald Sadoway, nominated for the European Inventor Award 2022 in the category Non-EPO countries. (Copyright: European Patent Office). Photo by Todd Wilson.
Professor retires after 45 years at MIT
Over his long career as an electrochemist and professor, Donald Sadoway has earned an impressive variety of honors, from being named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2012 to appearing on The Colbert Report where he talked about “renewable energy and world peace,” according to Comedy Central.
 
What does he personally consider to be his top achievements?
 
“That’s easy,” he says immediately. “For teaching, it’s 3.091,” the MIT course on solid state chemistry he led for some 18 years. An MIT core requirement, 3.091 is also one of the largest classes at the Institute. In 2003 it was the largest, with 630 students. Sadoway, who retires this year after 45 years in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, estimates that over the years he’s taught the course to some 10,000 undergraduates.

Simplifying the production of lithium-ion batteries
The MIT spinout 24M Technologies uses fewer materials to make its batteries than conventional lithium-ion cells. Courtesy of 24M Technology, edited by MIT News
MIT spinout 24M Technologies designed a battery that reduces the cost of manufacturing lithium-ion cells
When it comes to battery innovations, much attention gets paid to potential new chemistries and materials. Often overlooked is the importance of production processes for bringing down costs.

Now the MIT spinout 24M Technologies has simplified lithium-ion battery production with a new design that requires fewer materials and fewer steps to manufacture each cell. The company says the design, which it calls “SemiSolid” for its use of gooey electrodes, reduces production costs by up to 40 percent. The approach also improves the batteries’ energy density, safety, and recyclability.

Desktop simulation of MIT.nano die bonder
enables virtual tool training
Students and technicians around the world can now practice operating a die bonder using a desktop virtual reality training simulation. This virtual view of the exterior of a die bonder is based on an actual tool located on the fifth floor of MIT.nano in the Lab for Education and Application Prototypes. Image courtesy of the researchers.
Digital twins to expand training capabilities through virtual reality
Packaging is the final step in the process for manufacturing a semiconductor device. A critical tool for packing is the die bonder, which facilitates device assembly typically by attaching a chip in a precise location on a substrate.

Die bonders are complicated and can be tricky to learn, but students and technicians all over the world can now practice operating one using a desktop virtual reality (VR) training simulation based on the die bonder located in the Lab for Education and Application Prototypes (LEAP) on the fifth floor of MIT.nano.

The simulation allows trainees to use the tool’s controls to practice lifting and placing semiconductors and glass substrates, and to zoom into the inner workings of the machine, capturing angles and views that sometimes aren’t possible during training with the physical instrument.

The tenured engineers of 2022
Top row, left to right: Guy Bresler, Otto Cordero, Michael Carbin, Ming Guo, and Stefanie Jegelka; Middle row, left to right: Jeehwan Kim, Angela Koehler, Mathias Kolle, Tim Kraska, and James LeBeau; Bottom row, left to right: Luqiao Lui, Robert Macfarlane, Desirée Plata, and C. Cem Tasan.
Fourteen faculty members have been granted tenure in five departments across the MIT School of Engineering
The School of Engineering has announced that MIT has granted tenure to 14 members of its faculty in the departments of Biological Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (which reports jointly to the School of Engineering and MIT Schwarzman College of Computing), Materials Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.

Events Calendar

Join the MRL Collegium
We invite your company to become a member of the MRL Industry Collegium. As a member, your company will receive:
  • premium access to member only briefing materials and information via our website
  • periodic publications and research activity highlights
  • invitations to workshops, conferences and symposia
  • support for research staff visits on-campus
  • facilitation of corporate meetings and events
  • customized interactions with MIT students
To join the collegium contact:

Mark Beals
Associate Director, MRL
617-253-2129
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-253-5179