Emma Latchem

Bio: I grew up in rural Lincolnshire, UK, which has shaped my love of the great outdoors. I’ve often found this to be an inspiration for my work; I am motivated to develop new technologies that can be used to protect our planet. During my undergraduate studies at the University of York, I began studying materials and their impacts on our atmosphere during summer projects at York’s Green Chemistry and Atmospheric Chemistry laboratories. For my PhD, I started to apply this understanding of materials to the dynamic environment inside an operating battery. Under the supervision of Prof. Alex Forse at the University of Cambridge, I developed new nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy techniques to identify and mitigate mechanisms in aqueous flow batteries. Here at UCSB I will continue to apply NMR spectroscopy to batteries, but this time with a focus on zinc and tin based aqueous batteries. I aspire that these fundamental studies will facilitate the development of cheaper, longer lasting, and more reliable energy storage in the future. In my spare time, I enjoy almost any activity that involves being outdoors. In particular, I love running, hiking, skiing and footy (Australian rules football).