National Inventors Hall of Fame Profiles Inductee Esther Takeuchi

The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) recently profiled inductee Esther Takeuchi - SUNY Distinguished Professor and William and Jane Knapp Chair of Energy and the Environment at Stony Brook University - highlighting her groundbreaking battery research.

Takeuchi, who holds a joint appointment as chief scientist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) while leading its Interdisciplinary Science Department, was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2011. In June, a film crew from the NIHF was on campus to interview Takeuchi for a 15-minute mini-documentary, part of a series that highlights the stories behind some of the world's most influential inventors.

The video was created by the NIHF in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and was shot at BNL and the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC) at Stony Brook University.

One of the most prolific women inventors in the United States, Takeuchi holds more than 150 U.S. patents, and her work in electrochemistry and battery technology has powered advances in both medicine and clean energy - most notably with her invention of the lithium/silver vanadium oxide battery that made implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) possible. These life-saving devices have since become a standard treatment, helping prevent sudden cardiac death in millions of patients worldwide.

From the profile on the NIHF website: "For those with arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) can be lifesaving. This small medical device is placed under the skin to monitor the heartbeat, and if it senses a dangerous rhythm, it sends an electrical shock to the heart to get its beat back on track. National Inventors Hall of Fameinductee Esther Sans Takeuchi helped power these important devices by developing and advancing the lithium/silver vanadium oxide (Li/SVO) battery technology used to keep them running."

"I think that science can help lead us to the type of world we want to live in," Takeuchi said in the profile. "We can solve problems, we can improve medicine, medical devices, and knowing that there's the next generation of students who care about these things and are educated to take on these challenges is really a motivation."

Takeuchi is a recipient of the American Chemical Society's prominent E.V. Murphee Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, and was presented with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation - the highest national award for technological achievement - by President Barack Obama in 2009. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and won a National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences.

Read the full profile on the NIHF website.