Georgia Tech is home to researchers who are shaping the future of energy, and Matthew McDowell, a professor [MM1.1]with a joint appointment in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and Mechanical Engineering (ME), is at the forefront of that work. His research group focuses on understanding how battery materials behave, evolve, and degrade inside devices to engineer next-generation batteries that last longer, store more energy, and are manufactured more sustainably.

At the core of McDowell’s research is a deceptively simple question: How do battery materials actually behave during charging and discharging? His team uses advanced, real-time experimental techniques— including X-ray microscopy— to image the inside of batteries as they operate. By watching materials expand, contract, transform, or fail, his group collects insights that allow them to redesign and engineer better-performing systems.

“Our goal is to understand how these materials operate and degrade, and then use that information to make them better,” McDowell explained. “Sometimes these changes are subtle, but it’s really important work to figure out how to design the next generation of batteries.”

McDowell’s interest in energy storage began during his undergraduate years in MSE, when a senior design project in Professor Gleb Yushin’s lab introduced him to the world of battery materials. “Batteries combine so much of what I love about materials science and engineering with an important energy application,” McDowell said. “It felt like something that could genuinely make an impact on how we use energy in our society.” That early exposure carried him through graduate studies at Stanford, a postdoc, and ultimately back to Georgia Tech as a faculty member.

His group studies a diverse portfolio of battery technologies, including lithium-ion, sodium-ion, solid-state systems, and even emerging chemistries suited for electric aircraft. Each chemistry offers unique advantages such as higher energy density, improved safety, lower cost, or better suitability for grid storage. Because society needs different batteries for different applications, McDowell believes it’s essential to pursue multiple pathways in parallel.

Battery research, McDowell noted, is both promising and difficult. “It’s really hard to get a new technology to do everything it needs to do: last a long time, store energy well, and be reliable,” McDowell said. Many challenges trace back to the materials themselves, making MSE expertise especially critical.

McDowell also acknowledged the realities of an academic research career. “People see the successes, but behind the scenes, there are a lot of proposals that don’t get funded and experiments that fail. Learning to take setbacks in stride and stay persistent is really important.”

This persistence has paid off. McDowell was recently honored as a finalist for the Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, one of the most prestigious recognitions for early- and mid-career researchers. “It was quite an honor,” McDowell said. “I feel lucky to have such talented students and postdocs. Our achievements are really a team effort.”

Sustainability is a major theme in McDowell’s work. While batteries enable cleaner transportation and energy use, the materials inside them are often mined, processed, or sourced in ways that carry environmental or social concerns.
McDowell pointed to graphite, a common anode material in lithium-ion batteries, as an example. Most graphite is currently produced in Asia through energy-intensive, high-temperature processes. “There’s a big push in the U.S. to synthesize graphite domestically, with lower temperatures, fewer emissions, and cleaner production methods,” McDowell said. “That would help develop a more sustainable supply chain and reduce environmental impact.”

McDowell’s group is also exploring materials and processing methods that can reduce energy consumption and improve the long-term sustainability of battery manufacturing.

One of the most exciting developments, McDowell shared, is the rapid growth of Georgia’s battery and electric vehicle landscape and Georgia Tech’s emerging leadership role. As co-director of the Georgia Tech Advanced Battery Center, he is involved in campuswide efforts to expand battery research, industry partnerships, and workforce development. The Center is currently leading the creation of a new battery manufacturing and scale-up facility on campus that will enable industry-relevant testing of large-scale battery systems.

“Georgia has become a hotbed for battery and electric vehicle manufacturing,” McDowell said. “This new facility will allow us to contribute even more to the companies moving here and to the broader U.S. battery ecosystem.”

From watching materials transform inside a working battery to shaping large-scale collaborations with industry, McDowell’s work exemplifies the impact of materials science on society’s most urgent challenges. “It’s exciting to be doing research that is both fundamentally interesting and potentially transformative,” McDowell said. “If we can make batteries even incrementally better, we can make a real difference in energy use, transportation, and sustainability.”

Read more articles from the Fall 2025 MSEConnect annual newsletter.