Robinson gets Agilent award for pioneering work in advanced materials

For his contributions to advanced materials research, Richard Robinson, associate professor of materials science and engineering at Cornell, received a Solutions Innovation Research Award from Agilent Technologies that will aid his research groups’ efforts to characterize the structures of novel high-entropy nanomaterials.

Robinson specializes in colloidal nanoparticle synthesis and applies nanosynthetic design concepts to control nanomaterials’ composition, shape, size and surface to tailor their properties. As part of his award, Robinson will receive a one-year loan of an Agilent Cary 630 FTIR system.

Geoff Winkett, vice president and general manager of Agilent's Molecular Spectroscopy Division, spoke about the importance of the award in a May 17 announcement. “The research being carried out by Professor Robinson… has the potential to promote more sustainable energy storage, which will be essential for driving technological advancements and reshaping industries. Agilent proudly supports this transformative journey towards discovering advanced materials and battery technologies that will lay the foundation for a sustainable and resilient future.” 

Robinson said: “By using colloidal nanosynthetic chemistry, we’re able to tinker with the building blocks of materials at the atomic and molecular scale. High entropy materials expand our toolkit to alter nanoparticle properties beyond the conventional knobs we use. By scrambling atoms randomly, we could unlock countless unknown arrangements, leading to unknown properties. This is an exciting new frontier and opens up new possibilities for efficient fuel cells, thermoelectrics, and other energy applications. We’re really very grateful for this award from Agilent; it’s going to be a huge boost to our research.”