Maura Appleberry

As a child growing up in Kentucky, it was impossible for me to ignore the socioeconomic and environmental effect that coal mining had on the people and landscape. I became fascinated by our parasitic relationship with electrical energy, and I still believe that renewable energy is key to equity around the world.

I completed my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Boston University in 2019. During undergrad, I worked on a variety of renewable energy technology sectors ranging from organic solar energy chemistry research to machine learning for post-manufacturing battery performance.  After graduation, I continued working toward a clean energy future. First, I spent a year trying to solve energy storage problems in island communities through a mobile energy storage system. I then worked toward battery sensing technologies to enable extending battery life. I learned about the issues surrounding lithium-ion waste practices and the constraints for battery reuse and battery recycling first-hand.

Now during my PhD program at UCSD, I will work to scale battery recycling methods to limit the amount of additional mining and energy needed to build new batteries. Beyond my own academic goals, I hope to demystify renewable energy technology and get other students excited about renewable energy.