ABOUT WHITTINGHAMBinghamton University Professor M. Stanley Whittingham is at the forefront of the movement to design the next generation of lithium-ion batteries. But that's nothing new for the man who holds 16 patents, is number 17 in the Greentech Hall of Fame and invented the technology 40 years ago.
Whittingham started his career strong, winning the Young Author Award from the Electrochemical Society in 1971 and quickly landing a job at Exxon, where he rode a wave of interest in alternative energy. It was the nation's first energy crisis. Drivers had to wait in line for hours to get gas, and industries and governments poured money into research. His team's mandate at Exxon was simply to explore energy sources other than petroleum.
He found one when he invented the lithium-ion battery. Today, it's the heart of just about every personal device — laptops, tablets, smartphones, MP3 players, etc.
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