Sciographies is a radio show and podcast about the people who make science happen, presented by The Faculty of Science and campus-community radio station CKDU 88.1 FM. This is the seventh article in a series that features excerpts from each new episode released this fall.
On this week’s episode of Sciographies, we talk to Drs. Michael Metzger and Chongyin Yang, physicists and research partners who are leading advanced battery research at Dalhousie.
Known at Dal as the battery experts, Metzger and Yang have unique career paths. Metzger who grew up in Germany and Yang in China, share their experiences in the battery industry and how they were recruited to Dal by lithium-ion battery pioneer, Dr. Jeff Dahn.
The duo, who made the move to Dalhousie in 2021, share their journeys of adjusting to life in Halifax, offering insight into their research partnership, energy store, electric vehicles and the latest research in sodium-ion batteries.
Drs. Metzger and Yang co-host international battery conference
Dr. Yang. (Cooked Photography)
Beyond the classroom, Metzger and Chongyin recently co-hosted the 2024 International Battery Materials Association (IBA) annual meeting in Halifax on Sep 8-13th. The conference brought together over 200 delegates to discuss research and developments in the battery industry.
Dr. Michael Metzger. (Cooked Photography)
Tesla, Novonix, Zen Electric, and Salient Energy were among the industry experts to provide prospective on the future of battery research and development, electric vehicles and energy storage.
Here are some excerpts from the podcast episode, edited for clarity and length.
David: Are you a football fan?
Michael: Yeah. Augsburg also has a team in first place now, that puts them on the map in Germany.
David: So, are you an Augsburg or a Bayern fan?
Michael: You know I'm a Bayern Munich fan because growing up in that area in the south of Germany.
David: Growing up, were your parents academic?
Michael: My mom was a teacher, and my dad had a village supermarket.
David: Let's talk about the same story but in China [Chongyin]?
Chongyin: I’m from a small town near Yangtze River in China. We have a big lake so it's pretty nice area to grow up.
David: I know the educational system is a little bit different in China right?
Chongyin: There's a big exam you write to get into university. You basically spend our whole childhood preparing for. When you pass the exam, and [if] you get a high score, you can go to a good university.
David: Okay. You can choose between a few schools based on your scores?
Chongyin: I found myself very interested in science especially physics in high school. I choose among the best schools with the strongest physics department.
David: Tell me a little bit about this large cash infusion that's recently being announced for your group?
Michael: We're very fortunate. Recently, Jonathan Wilkinson the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Canada announced funding for $8.1 million dollars towards the Canadian Battery Innovation Centre (CBIC). We also have support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Emera, Tesla and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).
It's also a lot of responsibility. The centre will be a new facility at Dalhousie for high-quality battery prototyping.
Listen to the entire episode of Sciographies at 4:30 PM today on CKDU 88.1 FM in Halifax or find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other popular podcasting platforms. You can also listen to previous Sciographies episodes on the same platforms and at dal.ca/sciographies.