Introduction to the special collection in memoriam of Susan A. Odom (16 November 1980–18 April 2021)

Veronica Augustyn; Kelsey B. Hatzell; Malika Jeffries-EL; Jodie L. Lutkenhaus; Natalie Stingelin

doi:10.1039/D2MA90085H

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DOI: 10.1039/D2MA90085H (Editorial) Mater. Adv., 2022, 3, 7383-7383

Introduction to the special collection in memoriam of Susan A. Odom (16 November 1980–18 April 2021)

Veronica Augustyn ^a, Kelsey B. Hatzell ^b, Malika Jeffries-EL ^c, Jodie L. Lutkenhaus ^d and Natalie Stingelin ^e
^aDepartment of Materials Science & Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
^bDepartment of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
^cDepartment of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
^dDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
^eSchool of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30318, USA

Received 13th August 2022 , Accepted 13th August 2022

The untimely passing of Prof. Susan Odom on April 18, 2021 deeply affected the materials chemistry and electrochemistry communities. We lost a scientific powerhouse, supportive mentor and teacher, champion of diversity in science, and collaborative and inspirational colleague. Susan was passionate about materials chemistry and its use for advanced energy technologies, especially energy storage. She was born in Paducah, KY, and obtained her BS in Chemistry at the University of Kentucky in 2003, where she would later return as a faculty member. In 2008, she received her PhD working with Prof. Seth Marder at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Afterwards, she was a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Jeffrey S. Moore at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign until 2011, when she began her faculty appointment in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky.

Susan's research group was positioned at the intersection of organic molecule chemistry and energy storage. Susan had the unique talent to utilize her deep knowledge of organic redox molecules to implement practical solutions for electrochemical energy storage. She helped further the electrochemistry of organic molecules,¹ developed new redox flow batteries,² implemented redox-active organic molecules in lithium-ion batteries for better safety,³ and advanced screening methods for new materials.⁴ This themed collection covers topics at the core of Susan's scientific activity, including organic radical polymer batteries, organic redoxmers, and redox flow batteries, and includes contributions from Susan's longtime collaborators and mentors.

We sincerely thank all the Authors for their contributions to this themed collection; we think Susan would have been thrilled to see your advancements. As we mourn the shortness of Susan's life and the research she would have loved to complete, we also celebrate her scientific impact and collaborative spirit with this special issue.

References

C. F. Elliott, K. E. Fraser, S. A. Odom and C. Risko, J. Phys. Chem. A, 2021, 125, 272–278 CrossRef CAS PubMed.
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