Visiting Graduate Student
emilioav@mit.edu
Emilio, from Palermo, Italy, earned a B.Sc. in Engineering Physics from Politecnico di Torino in 2021, developing a strong physics foundation and an engineering problem-solving approach, and completing a thesis on SEM imaging. Later the same year, he moved to Munich for an M.Sc. in Applied and Engineering Physics at TUM, specializing in electrochemical energy technologies in the Physics of Energy Conversion and Storage group (Prof. Aliaksandr S. Bandarenka). During his Master’s, Emilio spent one year at BMW within the team behind the BMW iX5 Hydrogen program, using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) to investigate PEM fuel cell break-in. This work resulted in his thesis, “Break-in Procedure for PEM Fuel Cells: A Systematic Investigation of the Activation Mechanisms for Performance Improvement.”
In 2024, Emilio began his PhD in the TUM Chemistry Department at the Electrochemical Materials Laboratory (Prof. Jennifer Rupp), co-advised by Prof. Fikile Brushett. He works on next-generation redox flow batteries for grid storage, focusing on alternative membranes and flow-cell reproducibility, with support from the Dieter Schwarz Foundation.