Fuel Choices Summit 2015 November 10-11 Tel-Aviv

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Prof. John B Goodenough
Prof. John B Goodenough
Virginia H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering

John Goodenough joined The University of Texas at Austin in 1986. He is known around the world for his pioneering work that led to the invention of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

He identified and developed the critical materials that provided the high-energy density needed to power portable electronics, initiating the wireless revolution. Today, batteries incorporating Goodenough’s cathode materials are used worldwide for mobile phones, power tools, laptops, tablets and other wireless devices, as well as electric and hybrid vehicles.

Goodenough currently serves as the Virginia H. Cockrell Centennial Chair of Engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering at UT Austin. Along with other materials scientists and engineers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, he continues to research battery materials. He studies the relationships between the chemical, structural and electrical properties of solids, addressing fundamental solid-state problems in order to design new materials that can enable an engineering function.

Goodenough received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Yale University in 1944 and his master’s and Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago in 1951 and 1952 respectively. He began his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory, where he laid the groundwork for the development of random-access memory (RAM) for the digital computer. After leaving MIT, he joined the University of Oxford as a professor and head of the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory from 1976 to 1986. It was during this time that Goodenough made the lithium-ion battery discovery.

In 1979, Goodenough showed that by using lithium cobalt oxide as the cathode of a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, it would be possible to achieve a high density of stored energy with an anode other than metallic lithium. This discovery paved the way for the development of lithium-ion batteries, which are now ubiquitous in portable electronic devices and electric vehicles.

After leaving the University of Oxford, Goodenough joined UT Austin, where he holds faculty positions in the Cockrell School’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is the author of eight books and more than 800 journal articles, and he is the recipient of numerous national and international honors, including the Japan Prize (2001), the Enrico Fermi Award (2009), the Charles Stark Draper Prize (2014) and the National Medal of Science (2011).

Prof. Jay D Keasling
Prof. Jay D Keasling
University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Jay D. Keasling is a Professor of Chemical engineering and Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also Associate Laboratory Director for Biosciences at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and chief executive officer of the Joint BioEnergy Institute. He is considered one of the foremost authorities in synthetic biology, especially in the field of metabolic engineering.

The winner of the 2015 SAMSON - PRIME MINISTER’S PRIZE FOR INNOVATION IN ALTERNATIVE FUELS FOR TRANSPORTATION.

Prof. John B Goodenough
Prof. John B Goodenough
Virginia H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering

John Goodenough joined The University of Texas at Austin in 1986. He is known around the world for his pioneering work that led to the invention of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

He identified and developed the critical materials that provided the high-energy density needed to power portable electronics, initiating the wireless revolution. Today, batteries incorporating Goodenough’s cathode materials are used worldwide for mobile phones, power tools, laptops, tablets and other wireless devices, as well as electric and hybrid vehicles.

Goodenough currently serves as the Virginia H. Cockrell Centennial Chair of Engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering at UT Austin. Along with other materials scientists and engineers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, he continues to research battery materials. He studies the relationships between the chemical, structural and electrical properties of solids, addressing fundamental solid-state problems in order to design new materials that can enable an engineering function.

Goodenough received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Yale University in 1944 and his master’s and Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago in 1951 and 1952 respectively. He began his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory, where he laid the groundwork for the development of random-access memory (RAM) for the digital computer. After leaving MIT, he joined the University of Oxford as a professor and head of the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory from 1976 to 1986. It was during this time that Goodenough made the lithium-ion battery discovery.

In 1979, Goodenough showed that by using lithium cobalt oxide as the cathode of a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, it would be possible to achieve a high density of stored energy with an anode other than metallic lithium. This discovery paved the way for the development of lithium-ion batteries, which are now ubiquitous in portable electronic devices and electric vehicles.

After leaving the University of Oxford, Goodenough joined UT Austin, where he holds faculty positions in the Cockrell School’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is the author of eight books and more than 800 journal articles, and he is the recipient of numerous national and international honors, including the Japan Prize (2001), the Enrico Fermi Award (2009), the Charles Stark Draper Prize (2014) and the National Medal of Science (2011).

Prof. Jay D Keasling
Prof. Jay D Keasling
University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Jay D. Keasling is a Professor of Chemical engineering and Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also Associate Laboratory Director for Biosciences at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and chief executive officer of the Joint BioEnergy Institute. He is considered one of the foremost authorities in synthetic biology, especially in the field of metabolic engineering.

The winner of the 2015 SAMSON - PRIME MINISTER’S PRIZE FOR INNOVATION IN ALTERNATIVE FUELS FOR TRANSPORTATION.

The winners of the 2015 SAMSON - PRIME MINISTER’S PRIZE FOR INNOVATION IN ALTERNATIVE FUELS FOR TRANSPORTATION  are announced -
The $1 million prize is the largest monetary prize awarded in the field of alternative energy 

On Oct. 7th , Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Science, Technology and Space Minister, Ofir Akunis announced the winners of the 2015 Samson-Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation:      

Professor Jay D. Keasling from the university of California, Berkeley, USA and Professor John B. Goodenough from  the University Texas at Austin, USA, who share the Prize equally.  These two distinguished scientists have been awarded the prestigious Prize for their innovative scientific and technological contributions that have the potential to lead to the development of alternative fuels for transportation, replacing the fast depleting fossil fuels which are the major fuels used nowadays in transportation.  This is the third time this prize has been awarded by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space and Keren Hayesod.

The Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister Prize, of one million dollars, is the world’s largest monetary prize awarded in the field of alternative energy and is granted to scientists who have made crucial advancements to the field.  The winners were selected from a distinguished list of worthy candidates nominated for the Prize by university presidents, heads of leading research institutes and CEOs in industry, from Israel and around the world.  The winners were selected by a panel of judges composed of international leading experts in the field of alternative energy who submitted their recommendation for approval to the board of trustees of the Prize, chaired by former Technion President, Professor Yitzhak Apeloig. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "This is the largest and most distinguished prize in the field, represents the highest esteem to the researchers for their efforts and support major technological breakthroughs in the field of alternative fuels for transportation".

Minister of Science, Technology and Space, Ofhir Akunis said:  “This prize symbolizes the commitment of the State of Israel to the advancement of the field of alternative fuels, which is of utmost importance to every aspect of our live here - to Israel’s economy, security, scientific research and society".

Professor Apeloig shortly described the innovations developed by the two Prize laureates:  The first recipient, Jay D. Keasling is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and an Associate Laboratory Director for Biosciences at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and chief executive officer of the Joint BioEnergy Institute which is the largest in the field in the USA. Professor Keasling pioneered the engineering of microorganisms to transform cellulosic biomass to hydrocarbon biofuels that directly replace gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Prof. Keasling achieved this scientific breakthrough by constructing biochemical pathways inside microorganisms to produce hydrocarbons with properties similar to those of fossil fuels while minimizing genetic alteration of the microbe and reducing the toxicity of the fuel to the engineered microorganism by expressing cellular “pumps” to export the fuel out of the microbe's cells. These major breakthroughs have already enabled production of hydrocarbon biofuels from cellulose which are now being used in buses and planes. A major advantage of Keasling’s technologies is that there is no need to alter the existing transportation infrastructure, which has the potential to save the world billions to trillions of dollars. 

The second recipient is Professor John B. Goodenough, from the University of Texas at Austin.  Professor Goodenough is a pioneer and giant in the field of Li-ion batteries. His inventions lead to the present high energy Li-ion batteries technology which is being applied on a large scale worldwide to power both electric cars and wireless devices. Goodenough identified the materials which serve as the cathode oxides in Li-ion batteries. These oxide materials and the fabrication of discharged cells developed by Goodenough are used in the Li-ion batteries which provide electric power to the fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars, as well as in wireless devices.  Professor Goodenough continues to develop the technology of Li-ion batteries as well as other types of batteries, which may further enhance the use of electric cars replacing fossil fuel cars. 

Professor Yitzhak Apeloig, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, stated:  “The basic scientific discoveries and the technological developments made by the Prize recipients have helped humanity advance one step closer to the moment in which fossil fuels for transportation will be  replaced by other sources “.

The Board of Trustees that reviewed the recommendations for the prize and oversaw the selection of the winners included in addition to renowned scientists also:  Prof. Eugene Kandel – former head of the National Economic Council; Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space, Prof. Nurit Yirmiya; Chairman of Keren Hayesod, Modi Zandberg and a representative of the donor’s family.

The prize will be presented to the two laureates on Nov. 10th of this year, as part of the International Conference, Fuel Choices Summit, which is being organized by the Fuel Choices Initiative at the Prime Minister’s Office, spearheaded by Eyal Rosner and Keren Hayesod.  The Summit, will gather business people, entrepreneurs, scientists and government officials from around the world, to discuss effective ways to reduce the use of crude oil in transportation.

Fuel Choices Initiative Director, Eyal Rosner: “Israel is expanding its efforts to dramatically decrease the world’s dependence on oil in transportation. For the third year, the Fuel Choices Summit will bring together policy makers, business leaders, financiers, researchers and entrepreneurs in the fields of alternative fuels and smart transportation, for a dialogue about the world’s most forward-thinking approaches to transportation technologies and future business models, and to promote Israel’s ambitious goal of reducing 60% of the country’s oil consumption by 2025".

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