Vibha Kalra’s research focuses on next generation energy storage solutions with particular focus on batteries for applications ranging from portable electronics, to electric vehicles, to grid storage.
Kalra’s specific research thrusts include design and manufacturing of new battery materials; electrochemistry integrated with in-operando (real-time) and postmortem (cycled cell) characterizations to elucidate fundamental mechanisms that drive energy storage; and device-level assembly and testing.
Additionally, her group is developing recycling and regeneration strategies to create a circular battery economy for a true positive impact on our climate. Driven by real impact on technology and society, Kalra has built her research program to encompass the soups to nuts of the fundamental to applied research, creating successful partnerships and navigating the interface between academia and industry.
Her lab has been featured or quoted in 40 news stories since 2016, including NPR, NBC News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, IEEE Spectrum, and Materials Today; and a number of international media outlets in Asia, Europe and Australia attesting to the broader impact her work is creating.
Kalra is developing a new course on electrochemical engineering that will integrate lecture style teaching with paper presentations and hands-on lab experiences. This course will merge science, engineering, and real-world applications, and will help our students understand how chemical engineering fundamentals drive sustainable technologies such as batteries and fuel cells.