Nature as Mentor: Shaping a Greener Start for Energy Technologies

Shudipto Konika Dishari, Ross McCollum Associate Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Abstract:

Advancing the design of electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices is critical to generating electricity in a clean, sustainable manner for industry, transportation sectors, and beyond. Achieving these goals requires not only a deep understanding of state-of-the-art materials but also the development of more efficient next-generation alternatives that are both efficient and sustainable.

This talk will highlight our efforts to harness nature’s arts for a greener start in energy conversion and storage devices. Specifically, I will present our efforts to leverage plant-based feedstocks and nature-inspired design principles to create unique, durable, fluorine-free solid polymer electrolytes to boost ion transport at electrode interfaces and membranes.

Shudipto Dishari is the Ross McCollum Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Dishari completed her post-doctoral training at Penn State, working at Materials Science and Engineering, and Chemical Engineering, and earned her PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the National University of Singapore.

Her research centers on the design of synthetic, bio-derived and nature-inspired polymeric nanomaterials, with particular emphasis on interfacial phenomena and materials under confinement. These materials are central to advancing sustainable energy and biomedical systems.

Dishari’s contributions in research, teaching, and innovation have been recognized with numerous awards, including the DOE Office of Science Early Career Award (2019), NSF CAREER Award (2018), ACS Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering (ACS PMSE) Young Investigator Award (2023), 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award (2021), ACS-CES Award for incorporating Sustainability in Chemistry Education (2026), ASEE Midwest Outstanding Teaching Award (2024), ASEE National Best Paper Award (2025), WEPAN Accelerator Award (2022), NUTech Emerging Innovator of the Year Award (2020), and Baxter Young Investigator Award (2014). Beyond her research and teaching, Dishari is an active contributor to the professional community.

She has held leadership roles within the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Materials Engineering and Science Division (MESD)—including MESD 2^nd Vice-Chair (leading to Chair) (2025-), Area 08A (Polymers) Chair-Elect and Vice Chair and (2022–2024)—and is a member of the ACS Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) Executive Committee (2025-).

Register here: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/557278