John Goodenough, the Nobel Prize-winning chemist who co-invented the lithium-ion battery, died Tuesday at the age of 100. Goodenough’s work has had a profound impact on the world, as lithium-ion batteries are now used in everything from smartphones to electric cars.
Goodenough was born in 1922 in Evanston, Illinois. He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1952. After a stint in the U.S. Army, Goodenough joined the faculty of the University of Oxford, where he remained for most of his career.
In 1980, Goodenough co-invented the lithium-ion battery with M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino. The battery revolutionized the way we power our devices, making them smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient.
Goodenough’s work has earned him numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019. He was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society.
Goodenough’s death is a major loss for the scientific community. His work has had a profound impact on the world, and he will be remembered as one of the most important chemists of the 20th century.
