In the News

Note: Some media outlets require users to log-in. The Gordon Library offers the WPI community free access to a number of newspapers. Visit newspaper database for details.  

Joseph Sarkis

Mass Live

How will the auto industry walkout affect you? A Worcester Polytechnic Institute expert explains

“There is going to be a disruption, and the union has thought through this very carefully.” Management professor Joseph Sarkis, a supply chain expert, discusses how consumers and industries will be affected by the United Auto Workers strike. Throughout the strike, Sarkis has provided analysis regarding disruptions to manufacturing and parts distribution. He has appeared on media outlets including WCVB-TV, NECN, and Spectrum News 1.

Tech Briefs

This piece in Tech Briefs highlights the work by Yan Wang, the William Smith Foundation Dean's Professor of Mechanical Engineering, to develop a greener method of manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles.

Mass Live

Yan Wang, the William Smith Foundation Dean's Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, was interviewed by MassLive about the growth and future manufacturing trends in the electric battery industry. The article highlights the work done by Wang's lab at WPI to develop a process for lithium-ion battery recycling.

Worcester Business Journal

Worcester Business Journal named Yan Wang, William Smith Foundation Dean’s Professor of Mechanical Engineering, a “manufacturing champion” as part of its annual Manufacturing Excellence Awards.

The Hill

Yan Wang, William Smith Foundation dean’s professor of Mechanical & Materials Engineering contributed an opinion piece to The Hill “Battery recycling is key to a clean future." Wang writes increased investment in Recycling processes is paying off but emphasized the need for better public awareness about the importance of battery recycling and how it can offset the need for new mineral extraction or battery production.

Worcester Business Journal

William Smith Foundation Dean's Professor of Mechanical Engineering Yan Wang spoke with The Worcester Business Journal about his research and forward thinking on recycling lithium-ion batteries. The WBJ also spoke to Wang about the recycling process and how central Massachusetts is becoming a hub for battery research and commercialization.

Vox Media

Vox spoke with William Smith Foundation Dean's Professor of Mechanical Engineering Yan Wang about the future of recycling lithium-ion batteries, and why the recycling process needs to be taken into consideration at the beginning of a battery’s life – during the manufacturing process, rather than just at the end.

Popular Mechanics

Popular Mechanics spoke with Professor Yan Wang about his groundbreaking research to develop a method to recycle lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. Wang talked about the impetus for his research, the unique recycling process, the future of battery recycling, and how the technology is now being used commercially by Ascend Elements, the company Wang co-founded, along with his former PhD student Eric Gratz.

Boston Globe

The Boston Globe dove into the unique lithium-ion battery recycling process developed by Prof. Yan Wang. They also covered the company he founded with former PhD student Eric Gratz, Ascend Elements, and its plans for expansion.

Boston Globe

The Boston Globe reports on the how Ascend Elements, a company started at WPI, is a leader in the lithium-ion battery. While at WPI, the Ascend leadership team developed a unique process to recycle the batteries, so they can be reused without sacrificing performance.

WBUR 90.9

WBUR spoke with WPI Mechanical and Materials Engineering Professor Yan Wang about his work to recycle lithium-ion batteries, the company he co-founded, and how his research has shown that recycled batteries can often perform better than new lithium-ion batteries, by being able to be charged more times, and by lasting longer.

DesignNews

DesignNews reports on Professor Yan Wang’s research which has found that recycled cathode materials outperform those made from virgin material.

WCVB

Calling it a “breakthrough process,” WCVBTV-Boston’s “Cutting Edge” segment, featured Yan Wang, William Smith Dean’s Professor of Mechanical Engineering, who developed a groundbreaking process for recycling lithium-ion batteries.

Boston 25

Boston 25 featured a report on the university becoming an inaugural member of ReCell, the first U.S. Department of Energy center focused on lithium-ion battery recycling. Yan Wang, William Smith Dean’s Professor of Mechanical Engineering, was noted for developing the groundbreaking process for recycling lithium-ion batteries that can recover and reuse cathode materials regardless of their chemistry, will lead the project.

Worcester Business Journal

The Worcester Business Journal reported that Battery Resourcers, a lithium battery recycling company developed by Yan Wang, the William Smith Foundation Dean’s Professor, and colleagues, received a $174,000 grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. 

Charged Magazine

Charged, a publication dedicated to news in the electric vehicles industry, reported on a WPI materials engineering research team, led by mechanical engineering professor Yan Wang. The team received $1 million to extend development of a novel process to recycle spent lithium-ion batteries and produce new cathode materials.

Bioengineer.org

A WPI materials engineering research team led by Yan Wang, William Smith Foundation Dean’s Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, will extend development of its novel process to recycle spent lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries and produce new cathode materials that are increasingly being adopted by automotive battery makers to reduce cost and increase energy density.

Forbes

Yan Wang, professor of mechanical engineering, was interviewed for the Forbes article. Noted as an academic working on the problem of recycling li-ion batteries, Wang says “Battery Resourcers (a company he founded) has developed a process for recovering cathode materials like cobalt, as well as aluminum, copper, plastics, graphite, methanol and other chemicals used in the recycling process.” 

Telegram.com

The article profiles Battery Resourcers, an innovative company that began at WPI, and its approach to recycling lithium-ion batteries.