Debra R. Rolison is a physical chemist at the

Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...

, where she is a head of the Advanced Electrochemical Materials section. Rolison's research involves the design, synthesis, and characterization of multi-functional nanostructures and ultra porous materials for rate-critical applications such as

catalysis Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

and

energy storage Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an accumulator or battery. Energy comes in ...

. She is the 112th recipient of the

William H. Nichols Medal Award The William H. Nichols Medal is awarded annually for original research in chemistry. Nominees must have made a "significant and original contribution in any field of chemistry" during the five years preceding the presentation date. The medallist ...

Life and education

Rolison was born in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. She moved to

south Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

in 1968 where she attended high school. She received her B.S. from

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

in 1975, where she was a Faculty Scholar between 1972 and 1975. She received her PhD from

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

in 1980.

Research and Career

Rolison began her work at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in 1980 immediately after finishing her PhD. She started the Advanced Electrochemical Materials section at the NRL in 1999. She is the author of over 200 articles and holds 24 patents.

Zeolite modified electrodes and electrode modified zeolites

Rolison is known for her research on the modification of electrode surfaces with

Zeolite Zeolites are microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate materials commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a metal ion or H+. These pos ...

s. "Zeolite modified electrodes" are ordinary electrodes coated with a layer of zeolite/polymer composite that excludes particles based on size, shape, and charge. "Electrode-modified zeolites" are synthesized with electroactive transition metal ions or complexes trapped within the lattice "cages" of the zeolite. The "metalated" zeolite is either pressed into a zeolite/polymer composite and used as a solid electrode, or a slurry is dispersed in an electrochemical cell. The metal ions within the zeolite lattice provide redox sites for electrochemical reactions, while the zeolite lattice excludes particles based on size, shape, and charge. Sponge22

Zinc-air rechargeable battery

Rolison's latest accomplishment is the invention of a zinc-air rechargeable battery with "energy/power performance that meet or exceed state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries". According to Rolison's paper, "interparticle connectivity is lost in powder-composite electrodes leading to regions of high local current density and dendrite formation". While simple zinc-air batteries use a zinc oxide "powder-composite" anode, Rolison's battery uses a

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

"sponge" which preserves interparticle connectivity and maintains a uniform current distribution within the 3D structure of the anode, thereby preventing the regions of locals current density which promote dendrite formation.

Awards and Prizes

* 2001: Elected Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

* 2008: Elected Fellow of the Materials Research Society ''"For developing a class of multifunctional ultraporous materials to address key requirements in future battery, fuel cell, and sensing technologies; and for fundamental studies of structure–property relationships in nanostructured materials."'' * 2011:

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

Award in the Chemistry of Materials * 2011: Hillebrand Award Chemical Society of Washington * 2012: Charles N. Reilley Awardees by Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry (SEAC) * 2014: ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry Award in Electrochemistry * 2016: Dr. Dolores M. Etter Award - Group category (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)) * 2018:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolison, Debra R. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American chemists Scientists from Iowa Florida Atlantic University alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni American materials scientists