His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will be presenting Dalhousie battery researcher Jeff Dahn with one of theGovernor General’s Innovation Awards.
The Governor General’s Innovation Awards honour Canadian innovation across all sectors while aiming to inspire a culture of entrepreneurial innovation. The awards are given to individuals, teams or organizations whose innovations are exceptional, transformative and impactful.
Dr. Dahn, one of the six inaugural recipients of the award, is Professor in the Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, cross-appointed with the Department of Chemistry. He is also the Canada Research Chair in Battery and Fuel Cell Materials. His passion for a sustainable energy future has driven him to become a world leader in electrical energy storage.
Dr. Dahn’s commitment to collaborate across academia, government and industry has led to the advanced Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology used in electric vehicles, grid energy storage and power tools. Internationally renowned, Dr. Dahn’s trailblazing research team has helped increase the amount of energy Li-ion batteries can store, developed ways to test and increase their lifespan, and helped reduce their cost. His research team includes undergraduates, graduate students, research assistants, technicians and post-doctoral fellows who’ve published, discovered and developed their own spin-off companies under Dr. Dahn’s guidance and supervision.
Many of Dr. Dahn’s studies over the last 20 years have been conducted as a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Industrial Research Chair in Materials for Advanced Batteries with 3M Canada. This year, that research contract will come to an end and Dr. Dahn will begin a five-year research partnership with Tesla Motors.
Dr. Dahn will receive his Innovation Award on May 19 at a ceremony at Rideau Hall.