General News

“My group explores sustainable battery technology, especially at the material level,” said Lin Ma, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering. “This technology has been successful in cell phones and electric vehicles; the results, however, are limited.”

Anthony Bombik’s passion for batteries dates to the advent of Tesla’s electric vehicle. Today the expertise he’s developed around this passion is making EV battery packs safer and more efficient.

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Amir Ghasemi has long looked at engineering from the inside out. In the case of autonomous vehicles, however, an objective view from the outside in is equally important. His ability to look both ways is evident in the specialized expertise he brings to BATT CAVE.

Artur Wolek’s dreams have long focused on robotics and unmanned systems. Where once he tinkered with and worked on mechatronics projects — those that unite the principles of mechanics, electronics and computing — as a hobby while growing up, he now calls BATT CAVE home for his research.

Tiefu Zhao’s interest in researching electrical power began as a Ph.D. student more than a decade ago. Specifically, it was the potential of renewable energy sources to help build a more sustainable society that captured his attention.

Local legislators visited BATT CAVE this week as part of a Charlotte Regional Legislative Caucus meeting held on UNC Charlotte’s campus.  

Tiefu Zhao, associate professor in the William States Lee College of Engineering’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, was named interim director of UNC Charlotte’s Battery Complexity, Autonomous Vehicle and Electrification Research Center, or BATT CAVE, effective Sept. 1. He succeeds Jun Xu, the center’s founding executive director who departed August 2023.

The roar of engines has been joined by the hum of innovation as the UNC Charlotte’s inaugural 49ers Racing Electric Vehicle (EV) team embarks on an exhilarating journey in electric vehicle racing.

Amir Ghasemi, Assistant Professor in the William States Lee College of Engineering, earned the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award in June of this year to support his investigations in the area of human-robot interaction.

“This is another incredible success story that we have to continue to build on,” said U.S. Senator Thom Tillis as he joined several other legislators and industry partners on a tour of BATT CAVE on Monday.