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White House Honors John Goodenough

Professor John Goodenough, who developed materials critical to the development of lightweight and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, ushering in the wireless revolution, has been awarded the Enrico Fermi Award, one of the most distinguished science and technology honors given by the White House.

Goodenough identified and developed the cathode materials for the lithium-ion rechargeable battery that is ubiquitous in today's portable electronic devices. This cathode material for power batteries has proven to be inexpensive, environmentally friendly, safe, sustainable and capable of thousands of charge cycles with a constant output voltage without a loss of capacity. Batteries incorporating his cathode materials are used worldwide for cell phones and other portable wireless devices, power tools, hybrid automobiles, small all-electric vehicles, as well as increasingly for electrical energy storage for alternative energy, such as wind and solar power. As this technology continues to develop, it can be expected to have an enormous impact on the U.S. economy and the environment by helping to reduce carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions.