Lihong Zhao, an assistant professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of the Cullen College of Engineering, is the latest to earn a Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU).
ORAU is a consortium of more than 160 Ph.D. granting institutions, with its origins dating back to the 1940s and the energy research laboratories of the national laboratory bearing its name. The award is named after Powe, an ORAU councilor from Mississippi State that passed away in 1996.
The award is meant to support early-career faculty within three years of their appointment, and it comes with $5,000 in seed money. This funding is contingent on a $5,000 match by the University of Houston. Zhao received the award for his proposal on the fundamental understanding of solid-sate batteries.
“I’m honored to receive the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award,” Zhao said. “This recognition not only encourages me to push the boundaries of my research but also reflects the strong support system I’ve had from my colleagues, department, and students at the University of Houston.”
Zhao’s proposal is “Visualizing Strain Evolution at Metal–Electrolyte Interface in Solid-State Batteries.” In a provided summary, he notes that while all-solid lithium metal batteries offer high theoretical specific energy, they are limited by poor interfacial stability due to the significant volume changes (strain) of lithium metal anode during stripping and plating.
“While high stack pressures are known to improve stability, there is no quantitative strain characterization on metal anode during electrochemical process while simultaneous undergoing deformation under external pressure,” he wrote.
Zhao’s study employs operando scanning electron microscopy (SEM), combined with digital image correlation (DIC), to analyze strain evolution at metal–electrolyte interface in the µm scale. It will provide fundamental insights into the electro-mechanical evolution of metal anodes and the origins of electrolyte cracking.
“My research aims to bridge a critical knowledge gap in understanding how metal electrodes behave during battery operation,” Zhao explained. “Mechanical failure at the metal–electrolyte interface remains a key challenge in developing reliable, high-energy solid-state batteries. By visualizing these processes and quantifying their evolution in real time, we hope to build a mechanistic understanding that will guide improved material design and cell engineering. It’s an exciting and rapidly evolving field with the potential to transform energy storage.”
Zhao joined UH as a postdoctoral fellow in 2020, after earning his doctorate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In June 2023, he was promoted to research assistant professor, and then an assistant professor for the Fall 2024 semester.
The award continues previous recognition by the ORAU of Cullen research efforts. Past winners from UH include Xiaonan Shan, Renita Horton and Yan Yao.
For more information about the award and a full list of winners, visit the ORAU website here.