Kettering University has received a $50,000 National Science Foundation award to advance research that could provide a new way to detect battery degradation and emerging problems before they lead to serious failures.
The NSF I-Corps award supports research led by Dr. Foroogh Rouhollahi, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, for the project, “I-Corps: Translation Potential of a Battery Monitoring and Degradation Detection Tool Using Non-Contact Methods.”
The project explores the use of laser-based non-contact measurements to monitor battery health without relying solely on conventional electrical measurements. Researchers are investigating whether changes in a battery’s physical and mechanical response, including resonance behavior and higher-frequency ultrasonic or guided-wave characteristics, can provide additional insight into its state of health, degradation, and potentially developing defects.
“The long-term goal is to identify problems earlier, before they progress into serious or catastrophic battery failures,” Dr. Rouhollahi said. “Earlier detection could improve safety and reliability while potentially saving OEMs and suppliers millions of dollars by reducing costly failures, warranty claims, recalls, downtime, and unnecessary battery replacement.”
The award builds on Kettering’s growing capabilities in advanced optical measurement and battery research.
Connecting Research With Industry Needs
A central component of the NSF I-Corps program is moving promising university technologies beyond the laboratory by helping researchers understand potential customers, industry challenges, and pathways to commercialization.
For Dr. Rouhollahi’s team, that process has already included more than 100 customer discovery interviews with professionals across the battery, automotive, energy storage, testing, and related industries.
Those conversations are helping the researchers identify challenges involving battery diagnostics, safety, manufacturing, testing, and health monitoring while determining where the technology could provide the greatest value.
“One of the most exciting parts of the I-Corps program is the direct engagement with industry,” Dr. Rouhollahi said. “These conversations have helped us better understand current challenges in battery diagnostics, safety, manufacturing, testing, and health monitoring, and they are directly influencing how we refine the technology and identify its most valuable applications.”
That industry engagement also creates opportunities to deepen Kettering’s relationships with companies working in electric vehicles, batteries, energy storage, and advanced manufacturing, opening potential pathways for future research collaborations, sponsored projects, and commercialization.
Expanding the Research Experience for Students
The project also gives Kettering students opportunities to work at the intersection of emerging technology, applied research, and industry.
Students involved in the research can gain experience with battery technology, vibration testing, laser-based measurement, and data analysis while also learning about entrepreneurship, customer discovery, and technology commercialization.
They can also engage with engineers, researchers, managers, and other industry decision-makers, providing perspective on how technical challenges are identified, evaluated, and addressed outside the laboratory.
“I am excited about the opportunity it creates to expand our battery research, strengthen our industry partnerships, and involve Kettering students in an area that is becoming increasingly important to the automotive and energy-storage industries,” Dr. Rouhollahi said.
The NSF award officially began Aug. 1, although work on the project began in late June.
For Dr. Rouhollahi, the I-Corps project represents an important step toward moving the technology closer to practical implementation while creating opportunities that could extend well beyond the current award.
“My goal is to use this opportunity not only to advance the technology, but also to create new collaborations and research opportunities that can continue well beyond the I-Corps project,” she said.
