Professor Maria Forsyth, FTSE FAA
Chair in Electromaterials and Corrosion Science, Deakin University (VIC)
Professor Maria Forsyth has been at the forefront of global research and collaboration in energy storage for decades. Her work on battery technology has consistently achieved breakthrough results.
Recognising Australia’s critical need to increase energy storage capacity, Maria championed the establishment of BatTRI-Hub, a centre for battery design and development. She also leads StorEnergy, a research centre uniting 11 organisations across government and industry with five Australian universities.
Her team is now researching sodium battery technology given its strong potential for inexpensive large-scale energy storage at grid level to help smooth intermittent renewable energy supplies. Sodium is a successor to lithium for safety, sustainability and ethical supply reasons.
In corrosion science, Maria focuses on mitigation, minimising environmental toxicity, and extending infrastructure lifetimes.