Dr. Yossef Elabd, professor and associate department head in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). The Fellow designation is an honor signifying recognition by a professional peer group for exceptional contributions to the study and application of physics. APS is one of the oldest organizations of physicists, and the world’s second largest. APS, which formed in 1899, has more than 51,000 members.
According to the official citation, Elabd was elected to APS, “for fundamental contributions to transport phenomena in ion-containing polymers.” The bulk of these contributions are a result of Elabd’s work and research on the development of new polymers for clean energy including fuel cells, batteries and capacitors. There are many different areas and industries Elabd’s research impacts, but the largest potential impact is in the electric vehicle industry.
This is just the latest milestone in a long line of achievements for Elabd. In 2013, Elabd’s research led to two patents around the structure of fuel cells which both improve the efficiency of cells and reduce the production cost. In May 2015, Elabd was invited to become a visiting fellow at the University of Bologna, the world’s oldest university. In June 2015, Elabd was awarded a Department of Defense grant to conduct further polymer research.