ULRI’s Judy Jeevarajan Awarded 2024 Medal for Leadership in the Advancement of Ceramic Technology

EVANSTON, Ill. (Oct. 7, 2024) – UL Research Institutes (ULRI) today announced that Judy Jeevarajan, Ph.D., vice president and executive director of the Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI) at ULRI, was awarded the 2024 Medal for Leadership in the Advancement of Ceramic Technology by the American Ceramic Society at the ACerS Honors and Awards Banquet in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

This award recognizes executives who have made substantial contributions to the success of their organization through their leadership and vision, and who have in turn significantly expanded the frontiers of the ceramics industry. 

“This is a wonderful recognition of Judy's many contributions to battery safety,” says Chris Cramer, Ph.D., interim president and chief research officer. “Her achievements reflect tremendous credit upon her, her co-workers, and ULRI. We are fortunate to have such a talented professional on our team, as her work has been instrumental in driving impactful research to achieve our mission.”  

The ACerS began including sessions and topics on energy storage at their conferences in recent years. Ceramic materials, including solid-state electrolytes (sulfides, oxides), electrodes (oxides, phosphates), and composites (polymer-ceramic electrolytes, and catholytes), for lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and fluoride battery technologies can be used in energy storage solutions, including rechargeable batteries. Ceramic materials and designs can also be used to mitigate thermal runaway propagation in lithium-ion cell and battery shipments. 

“I am deeply honored to receive the 2024 Medal for Leadership in the Advancement of Ceramic Technology,” says Jeevarajan. “This work is crucial in improving the performance as well as safety of energy storage technologies, many of which are part of our everyday lives. I am proud to be making strides toward safer energy solutions that will play a pivotal role in creating a more resilient and sustainable future.” 

Jeevarajan remains active within the industry while delivering on ULRI’s mission to build a safer world. In addition to her role at ULRI, she was appointed Chair of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) subcommittee 21A Secondary cells and batteries containing alkaline or other no-acid electrolytes in April 2023. With more than 28 years of experience in the field of batteries and a primary focus on the lithium-ion chemistry, Jeevarajan has been an active advocate of battery safety at meetings and conferences with more than 175 presentations on battery safety. She has also authored or co-authored several book chapters, including the “Battery Safety” chapter in Elsevier’s publication titled “Safety Design for Space Systems” in 2009 (first edition) and 2023 (second edition), and the “Managing of Risk by Manufacturers of Consumer Equipment” chapter in Elsevier’s “Electrochemical Power Sources: Fundamentals, Systems, and Applications” in 2018. 

About UL Research Institutes 

UL Research Institutes is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to advancing public safety through scientific discovery. Since 1894, our research has advanced our mission toward a safer, more secure, and sustainable future. Focused on global risks from fire mitigation and air quality to safe energy storage and digital privacy, we conduct rigorous independent research, analyze safety data and partner with experts to uncover and act on existing and emerging risks to human safety.  

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