Collaborators: Renewable energy storage with Bichlien Nguyen and David Kwabi

Transforming research ideas into meaningful impact is no small feat. It often requires the knowledge and experience of individuals from across disciplines and institutions. Collaborators, a new Microsoft Research Podcast series, explores the relationships—both expected and unexpected—behind the projects, products, and services being pursued and delivered by researchers at Microsoft and the diverse range of people they’re teaming up with.In this episode, Microsoft Principal Researcher Dr. Bichlien Nguyen (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/people/bnguy/) and Dr. David Kwabi, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan (https://me.engin.umich.edu/people/faculty/david-kwabi/), join host Dr. Gretchen Huizinga to talk about how their respective research interests—and those of their larger teams—are converging to develop renewable energy storage systems. They specifically explore their work in flow batteries and how machine learning can help more effectively search the vast organic chemistry space to identify compounds with properties just right for storing waterpower and other renewables for a not rainy day. The bonus? These new compounds may just help advance carbon capture, too.Learn more* Microsoft Climate Research Initiative (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/collaboration/microsoft-climate-research-initiative/)* Project Zerix (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/project-zerix/)* Project Carbonix (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/project-carbonix/)* Kwabi Lab, University of Michigan (https://sites.google.com/umich.edu/kwabilab/home)* Understanding capacity fade in organic redox-flow batteries by combining spectroscopy with statistical inference techniques (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39257-z)