January inventor spotlight: Matilde DArpino, PhD

Name: Matilde D’Arpino
College: Engineering
Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research areas of focus: Energy Storage and Power Conversion

Matilde D’Arpino is currently working with Ohio State’s Technology Commercialization Office to commercialize her battery design tool technology.

D’Arpino’s invention is a software tool for the design and optimization of battery packs for electrified vehicles (including ground and air transportation). The tool provides designers with fundamental information about the chemistry and the size of the battery pack by considering the mission requirements over the vehicle lifetime; electrical, thermal, and degradation effects; and vehicle constraints such as weight and volume.

D'Arpino is excited about bringing her discoveries into the marketplace where she can see it have an impact. “We are living and shaping the mobility transformation. This is the most exciting time for a researcher: having the chance of seeing our research applied in the real world with an impressive fast pacing,” she said. “I look forward to other industry and federal agencies to use my technology to support the design of electrified aircraft.”

The TCO team is working with an industrial partner to define what happens next with the technology. “Dr. D’Arpino’s work in this field over the last several years led to a company reaching out to contract her to develop something specifically for their needs. They are excited to use her new technology to advance their commercial activities, so we are in the final stages of putting a license agreement in place,” says Ryan Zinn, senior licensing officer, who is supporting D’Arpino’s commercialization needs.

“I love solving problems, applying my knowledge to support the needs of the industry and developing new fundamental knowledge,” D’Arpino adds. “Being a professor and a researcher at Ohio State allows me to work with amazing colleagues and students, being involved and leading high-end research, building the workforce for the future.”

D’Arpino received her master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Cassino. During 2014–2015, she was a research fellow with the Laboratory of Automation, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Cassino, working on power electronics for industrial and power systems. She came to Ohio State in 2016, where she is now research assistant professor in the departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering.  She is leading and co-leading several research projects funded by the US Department of Energy, NASA, and major US automotive companies. She is the author of more than 50 contributions to international journals and conferences.