Building community around electrochemistry and energy innovation
Professor Mike Toney
Building on the momentum of the well-attended 2023 materials chemistry gathering, a new workshop brought together students, faculty and national lab staff from across the Front Range for a focused conversation on electrochemistry—with a strong emphasis on batteries, energy storage and the role of machine learning in accelerating innovation.
Professor Michael Toney, co-organizer for the 2025 Front Range Electrochemistry Workshop (FREW), explained that while the meeting broadly addressed electrochemical science, this year’s focus on batteries reflects their increasing relevance to everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy infrastructure.Ěý
“Electrochemistry is a very energy-efficient way of driving chemical reactions to produce useful products,” he said. “That includes emerging battery technologies, which are key to storing electricity generated by solar or wind when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.”
Among the invited speakers was Assistant Professor Kayla Sprenger, who spoke on her group's innovative approaches using simulations to model battery interfaces. The event aimed not only to highlight cutting-edge research—including the potential of AI to optimize battery materials and testing—but also to build community among graduate students and early-career researchers. As Toney noted, many students work in small lab groups and don’t always realize how many peers and potential collaborators are just a short drive away.
Co-organized with Eric Toberer, a physics professor at Colorado School of Mines, the workshop also included collaborative pitch sessions, where student teams proposed new research ideas for cash prizes. Pitch and poster session awardees included CEAS graduate students Loren Andrews, Rebecca Beswick, Peter Romero, Bryce Rives and Cindy Wong.Ěý
With around 100 attendees—mostly students—the event fostered both technical exchange and professional networking, creating space for new ideas, mentorship and cross-institution partnerships across the region.