Professor Colm O’Dwyer is Professor in Chemical Energy at University College Cork. He leads a research group at UCC exploring and developing lithium-ion, sodium-ion and 3D printed fully recyclable rechargeable batteries, and energy storage materials and technologies. The concept started in 2017, and in the same year he was one of the recipients of the 2017 Bell Labs Prize, which recognizes innovators with game-changing ideas with the potential to disrupt or profoundly change the state of human existence by a factor of 10, according to Nokia Bell Labs.

His research group has considerable expertise in developing sustainable materials and semiconductors for energy storage, electronics and photonics, in electrochemistry for energy and the environment, and advanced materials for a range of emerging technologies in batteries, additive manufacturing, semiconductor devices and critical raw material remediation.

He received his B.Sc. degree in applied physics and Ph.D. degree in physics from the University of Limerick in 1999 and 2003, respectively. Following postdoctoral research in nanotechnology and nanolithography using magneto-optically trapped, ultracold Cs atoms beams at the University of Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France where he helped to develop the Atom Pencil and innovative forms of atomic nanolithography, he developed inorganic nanostructures for nanoelectronics and nanophotonics at Tyndall National Institute in Cork from 2005-2008. From 2008 to 2012, Professor O'Dwyer was awarded the Science Foundation Ireland Stokes Lectureship on nanomaterials, which he held at the University of Limerick. He moved to UCC as Lecturer in 2012, and assuming his current role in 2018.

Professor O’Dwyer is actively involved in The Electrochemical Society (www.electrochem.org), and served on every standing committee of the Society. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of ECS since 2017, serving as Chair of the Electronic and Photonics Division, and re-elected to the Board in 2021 where he serves in his capacity as Past-President.

Professor O’Dwyer served as the Vice-President from 2021-2024 leading the oversight of Biannual Meetings and Symposium Planning, Publications, Technical Affairs, and the Executive. 

He was elected 122nd President of ECS from 2024-2025.

He has organized over 40 international symposia and international conferences since 2007. He was elected a Fellow of ECS and Fellow of the Institute of Physics.

Our research tackles basic understanding and application-oriented studies of sustainable materials for energy storage, including batteries and supercapacitors. We also have long-standing strengths in materials science for optical, electronic and related devices including investigations of the functional properties of material structures and their arrangements.

A lot of the work involves the intriguing characteristics of porous materials chemistry and physics and how fundamental properties can add function. We study fundamental optical, electrical, structural, electrochemical, and chemical properties of a wide range of semiconducting, inorganic and organic materials and structures to find and understand new knowledge and determine their potential for application ranging from electronics and photonics, to energy storage and conversion.

Our research includes advances in the growth and device-inspired investigations of metal oxides and semiconductors for electronics and photonics, including transparent conducting materials, thin film transistors, and light-matter interactions including plasmonic coupling effects in photo/electrocatalysts, antireflection, enhanced transmission etc. from a range of nanoscale materials on optoelectronic devices. We have also extensive experience in charge storage research including Li-ion, Na-ion, Li-S and Li-O2 batteries and processes that affect their operation and stability, and research that includes semiconductor (photo)electrochemistry, and  ordered macroporous photonic crystals and their assembly for energy storage.

Our group also investigates 3D printed batteries with aqueous and non-aqueous chemistries, using sustainable materials that can be easily recycled and recovered to alleviate the bottleneck of waste small battery cell accummulation.

On the 'dry' side, our research interests extend to charge transport phenomena in semiconducting, oxide and related materials, porous III-N and III-V semiconductors, electro-optic thin films and devices,  and nanoscale silicon, with a strong background in electron microscopy and spectroscopy to probe materials and properties.

Our research in the last few years has been focused on sustainability – completely recyclable materials for energy storage and conversion, electrochemical systems and plastic upcycling without any critical raw materials. Our approaches allows earth-abundant materials for single step recyclable rechargeable Li-ion batteries, to recyclable green hydrogen generation electrolyzers, to water-soluble green solvent and polymers for battery and related technologies.

Professor O'Dwyer’s teaching in physical chemistry is built on a strong foundation in applied physics, materials science and physical chemistry/chemical physics. Prof. O’Dwyer was recently awarded a Diploma and Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education based on integrative learning and research-led teaching.

• Chemistry for Engineers (CM1001)
• Fundamentals of Modern Chemistry (CM1201)
• States of Matter (CM2004)
• Spectroscopy (CM2007)
• Structure, Bonding and Quantum Mechanics (CM2008)
• Advanced Nanomaterials (CM4025)
• Chemistry Research Projects (CM4206)
• Scientific Communication and Literacy Skills (CM3028)
• Sustainable Materials and the Environment (CM6033)
• Chemical Physics Research Projects (CY4002)

Previous:

• Condensed Matter Physics (PH4607)
• Solid State Physics (PH4608)
• Nanotechnology 1 (Introduction to Nanotechnology)