Prof. Maria Forsyth

Professor Maria Forsyth (FAA FTSE) is the Director of ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Future Energy Storage Technologies, storEnergy, former  ARC Laureate fellow and currently an Alfred Deakin Professorial Fellow at Deakin University where she leads the effort in battery research.   She has worked at the forefront of energy materials research since her Fulbright Research Fellowship in 1990 and has consistently made breakthrough discoveries in next generation lithium and sodium battery technologies.   Recognising a critical need for facilities to test new energy materials, Forsyth led the establishment of Deakin University’s Battery Research and Innovation Hub, a pre-commercial battery prototyping facility which supports over $20M R&D across a range of local and international industries. She has supervised over 100 PhD students, is a co-author of over 750 journal and conference publications attracted more than 38000 citations. She was one of the team that delivered the ACOLA report “The Role of Energy Storage in Australia’s Future Energy Supply Mix” to the Chief Scientist in 2017. Professor Forsyth is the inaugural chair of the Future Battery Industry CRC Scientific Advisory Committee. She is the recipient of several awards for her contributions to the electrochemistry and energy storage fields including The Victorian Prize for Science and Innovation (VESKI) in 2017.