Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science & Engineering
Professor of Applied Physics
Joint Professor with Chemistry
Email: sossina.haile@northwestern.edu
Sossina M. Haile
Sossina Haile received her B.S and Ph.D (1992) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and M.S. from the University of California, Berkeley. She carried out postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institut für Festkörperforschung [Institute for Solid State Research], Stuttgart, Germany (1992-1993) as a Humboldt Fellow. Haile joined Northwestern University in 2015, after having served 18 years on the faculty at the California Institute of Technology.
Sossina Haile's research broadly encompasses solid state ionic materials and devices, with particular focus on energy technologies. She has established a new class of fuel cells based on solid acid electrolytes and demonstrated record power densities for solid oxide fuel cells. Her more recent work on water and carbon dioxide dissociation for solar-fuel generation by thermochemical processes has created new avenues for harnessing sunlight to meet energy demands.
She is the recipient of several awards, including in 2008 an American Competitiveness and Innovation (ACI) Fellowship from the National Science Foundation in recognition of “her timely and transformative research in the energy field and her dedication to inclusive mentoring, education and outreach across many levels,” the 2010 Chemical Pioneers Award of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, and the 2012 International Ceramics Prize for the World Academy of Ceramics. In 2016 she was inducted into the African Academy of Sciences.
Postdocs
Ph.D. & M.E., Materials Science & Engineering
Chonnam National University
Focus: Solar-driven thermochemical fuel production
Ph.D., Materials Science & Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Focus: Proton transport in oxide materials and across grain boundaries
Ph.D. & M.E., Materials Science & Engineering
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Focus: Solar-driven thermochemical fuel production and proton conducting electrolysis cell
Ph.D., Materials Science & Engineering
University of Arkansas
Graduate Students
Materials Science & Engineering, G7
B.S., Chemical Engineering
Oklahoma State University
Focus: Solid state lithium ion batteries
Materials Science & Engineering, G5
B.S., Materials Science & Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Focus: Electrocatalysis on solid acid electrolytes
Chemistry, G5
B.S., Chemistry
University of Oregon
Focus: Electrochemical ammonia synthesis
Materials Science & Engineering, G5
B.A., Physics and Computer Science
Macalester College
Focus: Proton transport in materials and across interfaces
Materials Science & Engineering, G5
B.S., Materials Science & Engineering
University of California, Berkeley
Focus: Surface properties of mixed-conducting oxides
Materials Science & Engineering, G4
B.S., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
Colorado School of Mines
Focus: Solid-state sodium-ion batteries
Materials Science & Engineering, G4
B.S., Materials Science & Engineering
University of Pittsburgh
Focus: Controlling nanoparticle exsolution for (electro)catalysis
Chemistry, G4
B.S., Chemistry & Chemical and Biological Engineering
University of Maryland
On leave
Materials Science & Engineering, G3
M.E. & B.S., Materials Science & Engineering
Illinois Institute of Technology
Focus: Novel routes to oxyhydrides
Materials Science & Engineering, G3
M.Sc. & B.S., Materials and Metallurgical Engineering
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Focus: Nanomaterials for sustainable energy
Materials Science & Engineering, G2
B.S., Electrical Engineering
University of Connecticut
Focus: Proton-conducting oxide materials
Materials Science & Engineering, G2
M.Sc. & B.Sc., Materials Science & Engineering
Adama Science and Technology University
Focus: Oxide ionic conductors
Materials Science & Engineering, G2
B.S., Chemical Engineering
University of Cincinnati
Focus: Thermochemical fuel production
Chemistry, G2
B.S., Chemistry
University of California, San Diego
Focus: Superprotonic solid acid electrolytes
Master's Students
Materials Science & Engineering, M2
B.S., Materials Science & Engineering
Case Western Reserve University
Focus: SOFC electrolyte materials
Undergraduate Students
Materials Science & Engineering
Northwestern University
Materials Science & Engineering
Northwestern University
Visitors
Alumni
Academia
Professor, Michigan State University
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Former Graduate Student (2001-2007)
Professor, Auburn University
Department of Chemical Engineering
Former Graduate Student (2008-2013)
Professor, Stanford University
Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Former Graduate Student (2005-2011)
Professor, California State University Long Beach
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Former Postdoc (2015-2016)
Scientist, Korea Institute of Science and Technology
Former Graduate Student (2012-2017)
Postdoc, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Former Postdoc (2017-2019)
Undergraduate Student, Grambling State University
Former Summer Undergrad Researcher (2022)
Graduate Student, California Institute of Technology
Former Summer Undergrad Researcher (2022)
Undergraduate Student, University of Illinois Chicago
Former Summer High School Researcher (2022)
Graduate Student, Imperial College
Former Undergrad Researcher (2022-2023)
Former Visiting Scholar (2023)
Former Graduate Student (2022-2023)
Industry
Principal Engineer, Exponent
Materials & Corrosion Engineering
Former Graduate Student
Advanced R&D Engineer/Scientist, Honeywell-UOP
Former Graduate Student (2009-2015)
Sr. Engineer in Core R&D, The Dow Chemical Company
Former Graduate Student (2012-2017)
Staff Engineer, United Technologies Research Center
Former Postdoc (2012-2018)
Fuel Cell Stack Development Engineer, Hyzon Motors
Former Postdoc (2023)
Former Graduate Student (2017-2023)