The McDowell Laboratory


Education

  • Ph.D., Stanford University, 2013
  • M.S., Stanford University, 2011
  • B.S., Georgia Tech, 2008

Teaching Interests

Professor McDowell's teaching interests include structure-property relationships in materials, electrochemistry and energy storage, phase transformations, and mechanics of materials.

Research Interests

Professor McDowell’s research group (https://mtmcdowell.gatech.edu/) focuses on understanding how materials for energy storage change and transform during operation, and they use this knowledge to engineer batteries and other energy storage devices for improved performance. These technological advances impact society by enabling batteries with lower cost, higher energy density, and enhanced sustainability, opening the door to widespread vehicle electrification and electric grid enhancement. Current projects in the group are focused on solid-state batteries, lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, batteries for extreme environments, new energy storage materials with enhanced sustainability, and grid storage technologies. Professor McDowell is the co-director of the Georgia Tech Advanced Battery Center (https://batteries.research.gatech.edu/).

Recent Publications

  • S. G. Yoon, B. S. Vishnugopi, D. L. Nelson, A. X. B. Yong, Y. Wang, S. E. Sandoval, T. A. Thomas, K. A. Cavallaro, P. Shevchenko, E. P. Alsac, C. Wang, A. Singla, J. R. Greer, E. Ertekin, P. P. Mukherjee, M. T. McDowell "Interface Morphogenesis with a Deformable Secondary Phase in Solid-State Lithium Batteries," Science, 2025, 388, 6751, 1062-1068.
  • C. Wang, Y. Liu, W. J. Jeong, T. Chen, M. Lu, S. Das, D. Majumdar, R. Gopalaswamy, S. Xia, M. T. McDowell "The influence of pressure on lithium dealloying in solid-state and liquid electrolyte batteries," Nature Materials, 2025, 24, 907-916.
  • S. E. Sandoval, C. E. Haslam, B. S. Vishnugopi, D. W. Liao, J. S. Yoon, S. H. Park, Y. Wang, D. Mitlin, K. B. Hatzell, D. J. Siegel, P. P. Mukherjee, N. P. Dasgupta, J. Sakamoto, M. T. McDowell "Electro-Chemo-Mechanics of Anode-Free Solid-State Batteries," Nature Materials, 2025, 24, 673-681.
  • J. Shin, M. Morrell, E. Barbosa, A. Menon#, M. T. McDowell# “Investigating structural and morphological transformations of strontium chloride for thermochemical energy storage.” Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2025, DOI: 10.1039/D5TA02326B.
  • S. E. Sandoval, D. L. Nelson, H. Sridhara, T. A. Thomas, J. A. Lewis, K. A. Cavallaro, P. Shevchenko, N. P. Dasgupta, F. L. E. Usseglio-Viretta, D. P. Finegan, M. T. McDowell# “Visualizing Diverse Lithium Growth and Stripping Behaviors in Anode-Free Solid-State Batteries with Operando X-ray Tomography.” EES Batteries, 2025, DOI: 10.1039/D5EB00111K.