Recognized for developing innovative energy technologies
The husband and wife team of Stan and Iris Ovshinsky of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., will be honored on August 20 by the world's largest scientific society for 40 years of energy innovations, including development of better batteries for electric cars, roof shingles that convert sunlight to electricity, and hydrogen-fuel technology. As a team, they will be designated one of 12 Heroes of Chemistry by the American Chemical Society at its 220th national meeting, in Washington, D.C.
"It's not enough to generate energy -- you also have to store it," explained Stan Ovshinsky, president and chief executive officer of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc., and its subsidiary, the Ovonic Battery Co. "That's why we emphasize systems in our work."
The quest for a practical electric car illustrates their approach. "The Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, for example, use a small gasoline engine to boost performance of an onboard Ovonic nickel metal hydride battery, as well as to recharge it continuously," he said.
More than a billion other metal hydride batteries were produced last year, all under license from ECD, he added. They are used to power mobile telephones, computers and other devices.
Stan and Iris Ovshinsky, who founded ECD with her husband in 1960 and now serves as vice president, are already moving on to the next step: endeavoring to make use of hydrogen as fuel practical and affordable.
"The ultimate fuel, nonpolluting with the highest energy content, is hydrogen. Storing it as a gas or liquid isn't practical, but as a solid it is," he said. "We've solved not only its storage issue but also charging and infrastructure."
The Ovshinskys have also developed a more economical approach to producing solar energy. Thin films of noncrystalline silicon can be layered as roof shingles, for example, integrating photovoltaics with the very structure of a building.
Stan Ovshinsky, who never went to college, is quick to share credit for these inventions with his wife. "Iris is as much a part of these ventures as I am," he said.
The Heroes of Chemistry program, started in 1996, honors industrial chemists and chemical engineers who create commercially successful produts that improve the quality of life.
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A nonprofit organization with a membership of 161,000 chemists and chemical engineers, the American Chemical Society publishes scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences, and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.