By Ro Stastny
May 28, 2025
From left: Cheyenne Yung, Kevin Lee, Yeeshouw Wang, Sydney Rice, Michael Clay, Zach Wylie, Sangho Shin receiving their award, presented by Alaska Airlines Sustainability Engagement Director Courtney Unruh. Photo by Matt Hagan.
Team JanuTech won third place in the Foster School of Business Environmental Innovation Challenge for their quick-charging drone batteries. Led by two graduate students, this technology development project and showcase served as the senior capstone for the all-ChemE team's undergraduate members.
Chemical engineering Ph.D. students Kevin Lee and Zach Wylie, with faculty adviser and chemical engineering professor Lilo Pozzo, led the JanuTech team. Lee has a background in physics and mechanical engineering, and came to ChemE after working in the electric vehicle industry. Through this work, he developed an interest in materials design and was inspired to further his education in chemical and materials sciences.
Wylie earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry but became more interested in the depth of subject matter offered by chemical engineering courses. He is a member of the Pozzo Research Group and enjoys being a mentor to other students. Wylie is currently working toward a career in academia and teaching.
Cheyenne Yung preparing electrodes for a pouch cell. Photo provided by Kevin Lee.
Cheyenne Yung and Yeeshouw Wang test the first working pouch cell. Photo provided by Kevin Lee.
The goal of JanuTech was to develop a fast-charging battery using stibnite, or antimony sulfide, which is a naturally occurring earth mineral that has conductor capabilities. Antimony sulfide has a higher capacity than the graphite typically used in lithium ion batteries. Replacing the graphite with antimony sulfide makes for comparatively quick charging, taking five minutes for a battery to charge as opposed to 30 minutes or more for conventional lithium ion batteries. This function made JanuTech’s batteries ideal for applications like drones, which require a lot of power very quickly.
In the process, the team had to get creative with how to create antimony sulfide nanoparticles using limited funds from the UW Business School and from some small grants that Wylie and Lee acquired.
“We were able to use conventional, low-cost tools like hair straighteners and other supplies to replicate professional machines used to develop pouch cells,” said Lee, “As mentors it was really nice seeing the seniors get invested in the process and feel good about what they achieved, all while having fun along the way.”
For the undergraduate members of JanuTech, this was the first time that a senior capstone project involved collaborating with ChemE graduate students rather than industry partners. Chemical engineering professor Dave Beck oversaw the JanuTech team as part of the industry-led senior capstone projects. Their prize-winning success has opened a door of opportunity for graduate students and undergraduates to work together on innovative technology development.
Team JanuTech members present their product to the judges at the Environmental Innovation Challenge showcase. Photo by Matt Hagan.
"In addition the experience of a hands-on environment for students to holistically integrate their coursework learnings through practical entrepreneurial activities like customer discovery, ideation, and business model generation, positions our students to be at the cutting edge of industry and societal advancement,” said Beck.
Wylie and Lee have filed a provisional patent for the material and process that JanuTech developed for their batteries. They are continuing to work with CoMotion at the UW, and have applied to Seattle Climate Innovation Hub to get additional networking and business support to further develop their innovative battery technology.
Team JanuTech members: Kevin Lee, Zach Wylie, Cheyenne Yung, Yeeshouw Wang, Sydney Rice, Michael Clay, and Sangho Shin.
Team JanuTech faculty adviser: Lilo Pozzo