Storage energy nano-electronics

Debra R. Rolison is head of Advanced Electrochemical Materials at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). She received a B.S. in chemistry from Florida Atlantic University in 1975 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1980 under the direction of Royce W. Murray. Dr. Rolison joined the Naval Research Laboratory as a research chemist in 1980. Her research at NRL focuses on the influence of nanoscale domains on electron- and charge-transfer reactions, with special emphasis on the surface and materials science of aerogels, electrocatalysts, and zeolites. Her program creates new nano structured materials and composites for catalytic chemistries, energy storage and conversion (fuel cells, supercapacitors, batteries, thermoelectric devices), and sensors. 

With respect to current and future work, it appears that the issues of (1) charge transport and ionic liquids (with applications in energy storage), (2) heterogeneous materials, (3) nano-confined systems (with electronic applications), (4) functional materials (with electronic/optical applications), and (5) biological and aqueous systems will be at the center of the scientific interest. Advances in instrumentation together with input from theory and simulation are likely to further enhance our understanding of the physics of soft matter. 

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