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 Dr.
Mark W. Verbrugge
Director, Materials and Processes Laboratory
GM Research and Development
Center
Talk Title: Nanotechnology and High-Efficiency Automobiles
Abstract
We overview a variety of nanotechnologies and associated opportunities
relevant to automotive applications. A significant challenge
for the automotive industry is to produce vehicles of higher energy
efficiency while continuing to improve vehicle functionality. One
can divide the vehicle system into body and powertrain subsystems. This
talk overviews recent developments and open questions associated
with (1) structural materials for body subsystems and (2) electronic
materials for energy storage and transfer. Emphasis is given
to nanocomposites and surface analysis methods within the context
of structural subsystems. Batteries, thermoelectric devices,
and hydrogen storage media are addressed in relation to advanced
propulsion subsystems.
Biographical Sketch
Mark Verbrugge started his GM career in 1986 with the GM Research
Labs after receiving his doctorate in Chemical Engineering from
the College of Chemistry at the University of California (Berkeley).
Mark has published and patented in topic areas associated with
electroanalytical methods, polymer electrolytes, advanced batteries
and supercapacitors, fuel cells, high-temperature air-to-fuel-ratio
sensors, surface coatings, compound semiconductors, and various
manufacturing processes related to automotive applications of structural
materials.
Mark’s research efforts resulted in his receiving the Norman
Hackerman Young Author Award (1990) and the Energy Technology Award
(1993) from the Electrochemical Society as well as GM internal
awards including the John M. Campbell Award (1992) and the Charles
L. McCuen Award (2003). In 2006, Mark received the Lifetime
Achievement Award from the United States Council for Automotive
Research.
In 1996, Mark was awarded a Sloan Fellowship to the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, where he received an MBA. Mark returned
from MIT in 1997 to join GM’s Advanced Technology Vehicles
(ATV) as Chief Engineer for Energy Management Systems. In 2002,
Mark rejoined the GM Research Labs as Director of the Materials and
Processes Lab, which maintains research programs involving metallurgy,
physical chemistry, physics, and polymer science. Mark is a
Board Member of the United States Automotive Materials Partnership
and the United States Advanced Battery Consortium, and he serves
as the GM Technical Director for HRL Laboratories, LLC, owned by
GM, Boeing, and Raytheon.
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