Aleksandar Matic

Guest Editor for this issue of MRS Bulletin

Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden; tel. +46317725176; and email [email protected].

Matic is a professor of physics at Chalmers University of Technology and director of the Chalmers Area of Advanced Materials Science. He received his MSc degree in engineering physics from Uppsala University and his PhD degree from Chalmers University of Technology. Afterward, Matic worked for the establishment of the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Scandinavia and Sweden before returning to Chalmers as an assistant professor. Since 2011, he has held a senior researcher position with the Swedish Research Council. His research interests include soft matter, in particular for energy applications.

Bruno Scrosati

Guest Editor for this issue of MRS Bulletin

Helmholtz Institute, Ulm, Germany; email [email protected].

Scrosati is a visiting professor at the Helmholtz Institute in Ulm, Germany. Previously, he was a full professor of electrochemistry at the University of Rome. He has received the title of Doctor in Science honoris causa from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland (1996), from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden (2008), and from the University of Ulm, Germany (2012). Scrosati served as president of the Italian Chemical Society and president of the Electrochemical Society. He has been the European editor of the Journal of Power Sources and is a member of the editorial boards of various international journals. In addition, Scrosati is an author of more than 470 scientific publications.

Giovanni Battista Appetecchi

ENEA, Renewable Energy Unit, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy; tel. 39-06-3048-3924; and email [email protected].

Appetecchi is a senior researcher at ENEA, Renewable Energy Unit, Italy. For more than 20 years, he has been working on basic and applied research focused on electrochemical energy storage systems, mainly lithium batteries. He is author/co-author of more than 120 publications in peer-reviewed international scientific journals, two book chapters, and two Italian patents.

Andrea Balducci

University of Münster, Correnstrasse 28/30, D-48149 Münster, Germany; tel. 49-251-83-36083; and email [email protected].

Balducci has been the scientific leader of the supercapacitors group at the MEET Battery Research Center of the University of Münster since October 2009. Balducci received his PhD degree in materials science in 2006 from the Paul Sabatier University of Toulouse, France. His research includes the development of safe and high-performance supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries. He also is interested in the development of new high power hybrid devices. Balducci is the author or co-author of more than 40 scientific papers.

Adrian Brandt

University of Münster, Correnstrasse 28/30, D-48149 Münster, Germany; tel. 49-251-83-36778; and email [email protected].

Brandt is a PhD degree student in the supercapacitor group of the MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Münster. He earned his diploma in chemistry in 2011 from Münster. Brandt is working on the development of innovative electrolytes and active materials for supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, as well as lithium-ion capacitors.

Frank Endres

Clausthal University of Technology, Arnold-Sommerfeld-Strasse 6, D-38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany; tel. 49-5323-72-3141; and email [email protected].

Endres has been a professor at the Clausthal University of Technology since 2002. He studied chemistry at Saarland University, Saarbrucken, Germany, from 1988 to 1993 and graduated in 1993 with a diploma in chemistry. He received his PhD degree in 1996 from Saarland University. Endres earned his habilitation in physical chemistry in 2002 from the University of Karlsruhe. In 2012, he became the founding director of the Institute of Electrochemistry at Clausthal. His interests comprise the physical chemistry of surfaces and interfaces, ionic liquid electrochemistry, and materials science.

Maria Assunta Navarra

Chemistry Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; tel. +390-6499-13658; email [email protected].

Navarra is a researcher at Sapienza University of Rome. She has a master’s degree in chemistry and a PhD degree in materials science. She recently received the Eni Italgas Prize (“Debut in Research”) for her studies applied to fuel cell technologies. Her interests are focused on research and development of functional materials for energy storage and conversion, mainly, electrolytes for both lithium batteries and fuel cells. She is the author of 40 publications, including papers in international peer-reviewed journals and a book chapter.

Stefano Passerini

University of Münster, Correnstrasse 28/30, D-48149 Münster, Germany; tel. 49-251-83-36725; and email [email protected].

Passerini is a professor at the Institute of Physical Chemistry and co-founder of the MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Münster, Germany. His research activities are focused on electrochemical energy storage in batteries and supercapacitors. He has co-authored more than 200 scientific papers, a few book chapters, and several international patents. Passerini also has been awarded the Research Award of the Electrochemical Society Battery Division. He is the European editor of the Journal of Power Sources.

Sebastian Pohlmann

University of Münster, Correnstrasse 28/30, D-48149 Münster, Germany; tel. 49-251-83-36777; and email [email protected].

Pohlmann is a PhD degree student in the supercapacitor group of the MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Münster, Germany. He earned his diploma in chemistry from Münster in 2012. He is working on the development of innovative conducting salts for supercapacitors. Pohlmann also is interested in the interfacial process occurring in ionic liquid-based electrolytes.

Alberto Varzi

University of Münster, Correnstrasse 28/30, D-48149 Münster, Germany; tel. 49-251-83-36755; and email [email protected].

Varzi is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Münster, Germany. He received his master’s degree in chemistry of materials from the University of Bologna, Italy, in 2008. In 2009, he moved to Germany where he carried out his doctoral work at the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW) in Ulm. Varzi’s research interests are mainly focused on the development of composite electrodes for advanced Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors.

Masayoshi Watanabe

Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Yokohama National University, Japan; tel. 81-45-339-3955; and email [email protected].

Watanabe is a professor at Yokohama National University (YNU), Japan. He received his BS (1978), MS (1980), and PhD (1983) degrees from Waseda University under the supervision of the late Professor Isao Shinohara. After working as a postdoctoral researcher with Professor Royce W. Murray at the University of North Carolina, he moved to YNU in 1992 and was promoted to full professor. Watanabe’s current research interests include material design of ionic liquids and polymers for electrochemical applications, phase separation, and self-assembly of polymers in ionic liquids and nanostructured polymeric materials. He received the Lecture Award for Young Scientists from the Chemical Society of Japan in 1991, the Award for Creative Work from the Electrochemical Society of Japan in 2006, the Award of the Society of Polymer Science, Japan, in 2006, the Best Teacher Award from YNU in 2007, and the Distinguished Researcher Award from YNU in 2012.

Tomohiro Yasuda

Cooperative Research and Development Center, Yokohama National University, Japan; email [email protected].

Yasuda is a project researcher at Yokohama National University with Professor Masayoshi Watanabe. He received his BS (1999) and MS (2001) degrees from Tokyo Metropolitan University. After working in the Clean Energy Center at the University of Yamanashi (2003 to 2005), Yasuda received his PhD degree from Yamanashi in 2007under the supervision of Professor Kenji Miyatake. Yasuda’s research interests include physicochemical characterization of protic ionic liquids and applications of fuel cells that can work without humidification.