Mike Ulsh leads projects focusing on the development of diagnostic systems for in-line quality control, the study of the performance and durability effects of manufacturing defects, and the exploration of material-process-performance relationships in clean energy material fabrication. He is the NREL lead for a multilaboratory consortium on solution processing and roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing, and is involved in several fuel cell supply chain development and cost modeling projects. His previous experience includes 11 years at 3M Company where he developed processes and products based on multilayer polymer film constructions and transferred these technologies to a continuous manufacturing environment.

Research Interests

Development of real-time in-line imaging tools for R2R processing

Ink, fabrication, and R2R process R&D for electrochemical materials

Using unique in situ tools to understand the impacts of as-manufactured defects in electrochemical materials

Education

M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1996

B.S. Aerospace Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1992

Featured Work

Impacts of electrode coating irregularities on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell lifetime using quasi in-situ infrared thermography and accelerated stress testing, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (2018)

In-life monitoring of Li-ion battery electrode porosity and areal loading using active thermal scanning — modeling and initial experiment, Journal of Power Sources (2018)

Utilizing a Segmented Fuel Cell to Study the Effects of Electrode Coating Irregularities on PEM Fuel Cell Initial Performance, Fuel Cells: From Fundamentals to Systems (2017)

Defect Detection in Fuel Cell Gas Diffusion Electrodes Using Infrared Thermography, Fuel Cells: From Fundamentals to Systems (2016)

Reactive impinging-flow technique for polymer-electrolyte-fuel-cell electrode-defect detection, Journal of Power Sources (2016)

Awards and Honors

U.S. Department of Energy Merit Award (2016)