Shakul Pathak

Shakul Pathak, Martin Z. Bazant

Porous electrode theory (PET) provides essential insights into electrochemical states, but its computational complexity hinders real-time control and obscures scaling relations. To bridge the gap between high-fidelity simulations and reduced-order models, we present a framework of scaling analysis and analytical approximations. By assuming high-performance electrodes minimize transport limitations and overpotentials, we derive a simplified "lean model" governed by four dimensionless numbers: (i) a traditional Damk"ohler number, Da, scaling the characteristic reaction rate to the diffusion rate in the electrolyte-filled pores; (ii) the "process Damk"ohler number," Da_p, scaling the reaction rate to the applied capacity utilization rate (C-rate); (iii) the "wiring Damk"ohler number," Da_w, scaling the reaction rate to an effective electromigration rate for ions in the pores in series with electrons in the conducting matrix; and (iv) the "capacitive Damk"ohler number," Da_c, comparing the rates of Faradaic reactions and double-layer charging. For batteries, we derive analytical solutions for standard protocols, including galvanostatic discharge, chronoamperometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Validated against numerical simulations of a practical NMC half-cell, our formulae show excellent agreement at negligible computational cost. This interpretable, physics-based framework accelerates battery design and state estimation while unifying the modeling of batteries, supercapacitors, fuel cells, and other porous electrode systems.

Aritra Roy, Kevin Shen, Andrew MacBride et al.

Large language models (LLMs) are rapidly changing how researchers in materials science and chemistry discover, organize, and act on scientific knowledge. This paper analyzes a broad set of community-developed LLM applications in an effort to identify emerging patterns in how these systems can be used across the scientific research lifecycle. We organize the projects into two complementary categories: Knowledge Infrastructure, systems that structure, retrieve, synthesize, and validate scientific information; and Action Systems, systems that execute, coordinate, or automate scientific work across computational and experimental environments. The submissions reveal a shift from single-purpose LLM tools toward integrated, multi-agent workflows that combine retrieval, reasoning, tool use, and domain-specific validation. Prominent themes include retrieval-augmented generation as grounding infrastructure, persistent structured knowledge representations, multimodal and multilingual scientific inputs, and early progress toward laboratory-integrated closed-loop systems. Together, these results suggest that LLMs are evolving from general-purpose assistants into composable infrastructure for scientific reasoning and action. This work provides a community snapshot of that transition and a practical taxonomy for understanding emerging LLM-enabled workflows in materials science and chemistry.