Sossina M.

Haile
Sossina M. Haile (born July 28, 1966) is an Ethiopian-American chemist,
Sossina M. Haile
known for developing the first solid acid fuel cells.[1] She is a professor of
Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University, Illinois, USA.[2] Born Sossina M. Haile
July 28, 1966
Haile received the NSF National Young Investigator Award (1994–99), Ethiopia
Humboldt Fellowship (1992–93), Fulbright Fellowship (1991–92), and AT&T
Nationality Ethiopian-American
Cooperative Research Fellowship (1986–92). The Humboldt and Fulbright
Occupation Professor of Materials
fellowships supported her research at the Max Planck Institut für
Science and of
Festkörperforschung [Institute for Solid State Research], Stuttgart, Germany
Chemical Engineering
(1991–1993). She earned the 2001 J.B. Wagner Award of the High Temperature
at Northwestern
Materials Division of the Electrochemical Society, the 2000 Coble Award from
University
the American Ceramic Society, and the 1997 TMS Robert Lansing Hardy
Award.[3] In 2018, Haile was elected a Fellow of the Materials Research
Society.[4]

Contents
Early life
Research
Solid-state ionics
Thermoelectric and ferroelectric materials
Device development
Alternative fuel
See also
References
External links

Early life
Haile's family fled Ethiopia during the coup in the mid-'70s, after soldiers arrested and nearly killed her historian father. They
settled in rural Minnesota where she attended Saint John's Preparatory School (Collegeville, MN), graduating in 1983.

She received her B.S. and PhD (1992) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and M.S. from the University of
California, Berkeley.

Haile spent three years as an assistant professor at the University of Washington, Seattle. She joined the Caltech faculty in 1996,
where she worked for 18 years before moving to Northwestern University in 2015.

Research

Solid-state ionics
Haile's research centers on ionic conduction in solids. Her objectives are to understand the mechanisms that govern ion transport
and to apply that understanding to the development of advanced solid electrolytes and novel solid-state electrochemical devices.
Applications of fast ion conductors include batteries, sensors, ion pumps, and fuel cells. The latter is her particular concern.

Her group is investigating proton-conducting solid acid compounds, proton-conducting perovskites, mixed oxygen- and electron-
conducting perovskites, oxygen-conducting oxides, and alkali-conducting silicates. The group's standard technique for the
characterization of electrical properties is A.C. impedance spectroscopy. Ionic conductivity is closely tied to the crystal structure
of and structural transitions in the conducting solid. Crystal growth, structure determination by X-ray and neutron diffraction, and
thermal analysis are also important aspects of Dr. Haile's research.

The group showed for example, that a broad range of proton containing solids undergo a monoclinic to cubic transition that is
accompanied by an increase in conductivity of several orders of magnitude. In another example, her group demonstrated that
Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-d has exceptional activity as a cathode for ceria-based solid oxide fuel cells.

Haile's work in solid state ionics is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Army Research Office, and the
Department of Energy. In the past, support has also been provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA), the Office of Naval Research, the California Energy Commission, the Powell Foundation, and the Kirsch Foundation.
Industrial support has been provided by General Motors, EPRI (formerly Electric Power Research Institute), HRL (formerly
Hughes Research Labs), and Honeywell (formerly Allied Signal and now General Electric).

Thermoelectric and ferroelectric materials

Haile's research includes the investigation of structure-property relations in thermoelectric materials, in collaboration with
colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and ferroelectric materials as part of a multidisciplinary program at Caltech dedicated
to the computational prediction/optimization of material and device behavior. The project was supported by NSF and the Army
Research Office through the Caltech Center for the Science and Engineering of Materials.

Device development
Device development plays an increasingly important role in her research. Micropower generators, based on solid oxide fuel cells
are particularly attractive for portable power and were the subject of a DARPA project. Similarly, microactuators and micropumps
based on ferroelectric thin films hold promise for advancing Microelectromechanical systems technology and development efforts
are sponsored by an ARO MURI program. Both programs are highly interdisciplinary.

Alternative fuel
Haile created the first solid-acid fuel cell in the late 1990s, using a new type of "superprotonic" compound. Fuel-cell makers
balked at the changes needed for her solution. Two of her former graduate students formed a start-up they called Superprotonic to
commercialize the device.

See also
Timeline of women in science

References
1. Brueck, Hilary (20 September 2017), "Here's Why They Put A Bunch Of Women On The Ceiling At Grand Central
Terminal" (https://www.forbes.com/sites/hilarybrueck/2017/09/20/grand-central-ceiling-women-in-science-and-ste
m-ge-millie-dresselhaus/), Forbes
 2. "Sossina Haile: The Power Behind Cooler, Greener Energy" (http://www.newsweek.com/2007/12/22/sossina-hail
e-the-power-behind-cooler-greener-energy.html), Newsweek published 22 December 2007 (accessed 18
November 2010)
3. "Outstanding Women in Science lecture to feature Caltech's award-winning Haile" (http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/p
age/normal/16082.html), Indiana University website published 19 October 2010 (accessed 16 November 2010)
4. "List of MRS Fellows" (https://www.mrs.org/mrs-fellows-list). Materials Research Society. Retrieved 6 March
2019.

External links
"Fuel Cells: Powering Progress in the 21st Century" (http://www.eas.caltech.edu/engenious/fall01/haile.html),
lecture by Sossina M. Haile, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena website (Fall 2001)
"Super Protonic | Corporation" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160306051953/http://www.superprotonic.com/).
www.superprotonic.com. Archived from the original (http://www.superprotonic.com/) on 6 March 2016. Retrieved
1 March 2016.

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This page was last edited on 11 April 2019, at 10:24 (UTC).

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