The journey of Dr. M. Stanley Whittingham to the Chemistry Nobel Prize<\/p>\n
BINGHAMTON, N.Y.\u2014In the corner of the hall on the second floor of the Innovative Technologies Complex campus at Binghamton University, theres an office decorated with balloons. A modest way to celebrate Dr. M. Stanley Whittinghams 2019 Chemistry Nobel Prize.<\/p>\n
Now 78 years old, Whittingham is still excited about batteries, visiting laboratories, and giving lectures around the globe.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo people say, When are you going to retire?'\u201d Whittingham said. And hell reply, \u201cI like what Im doing. Im gonna keep doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
And his wife, Dr. Georgina Whittingham, who is a professor of foreign languages, says the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe keep teaching,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd my doctor says, Dont retire.'\u201d<\/p>\n
For more than 30 years, Whittingham has been working at Binghamton University in different positions. Currently, hes a distinguished professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering.<\/p>\n
Its a place he loves.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheres a lot more teamwork here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hes a busy man\u2014even more so since being announced as a key figure in history. What won him the Nobel Prize was that he was the first to develop the lithium battery in the 1970s at Exxon.<\/p>\n
He came from a small town\u2014Lincolnshire, England\u2014where his high-school teacher got him excited about chemistry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose days, you could make chemicals, blow things up, and things that you are not allowed to do,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cSo I got excited about chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n
He then made it to Oxford and finished his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D.<\/p>\n
At the end of his Ph.D., unlike many colleagues who went to North America and Canada, he decided to go to Stanford University.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to go somewhere with sunshine,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cIm still British at heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
After being there for two months, he was asked to take charge of the material labs of the Department of Defense for the next two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery successful time, I should say. During those two years, something even more important happened,\u201d Whittingham said. \u201cI met my wife at Stanford.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didnt waste any time. Within, I think, nine months, we were married.\u201d<\/p>\n
After finishing his postdoctoral research in two years, he went to work for Exxon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hired to work on energy, but not petroleum or chemicals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
With a keen interest in solar energy and fuel cells, he started researching batteries.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to build the next-generation battery,\u201d he said. \u201cThe big interest was electronic vehicles because of the gas crisis in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n
So they started building batteries in test tubes. At that time, they didnt have any unique environment, advanced machines, or even theories on what they might discover.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew there was something there. We didnt know how big it would be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whittingham never thought his invention would change the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven 15 years ago, the phone, youd need a whole briefcase to carry it. And I think lithium batteries helped all these little devices.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the 1980s, John Goodenough, using the foundation that Whittingham laid, made another breakthrough to even more powerful batteries.<\/p>\n
With a physicists eyes, Goodenough set out to test something that they thought wouldnt work, Whittingham said.<\/p>\n
Following that, in 1985, Akira Yoshino created the first commercially viable lithium-ion battery.<\/p>\n
After decades, these three scientists who changed the world have been recognized with the 2019 Chemistry Nobel Prize.<\/p>\n
And its all about perseverance.<\/p>\n