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Levi Thompson Professor teaches the energy industry new tricks
Levi Thompson tinkered with just about everything as a kid in Philadelphia -- radios, his dad's drill and toy cars. He became so fascinated with his chemistry kit -- especially the burning experiments -- that his mother took it away. Engineering was in his blood. "You just gravitate to certain things," Thompson says. "That was the only thing I was really interested in." Decades later, Thompson is still just as passionate about science. He's become a highly recognized chemical engineering professor at the University of Michigan who has inspired students and pioneered cutting-edge research that could help transform the energy industry. "Every group has their own version of the rock star," says Robert Buckler, president and chief operating officer of Detroit Edison. "You can sense and feel that even among his peers he's one of the best." Founder of the Hydrogen Energy Technology Laboratory at U-M, Thompson envisions a world where consumers rely on clean, sustainable energy derived from hydrogen. His lab will be an integral part of the newly created Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute at U-M. In the near future, he'd settle for developing ways to make inexpensive fuel cells for portable devices, such as cell phones, that would hold a charge two or three times longer than typical batteries. Fuel cells for automobiles could soon follow. Thompson has become a successful entrepreneur, establishing T/J Technologies with his wife, Maria. The firm develops lithium-ion batteries and their materials. In recent months, he launched Inmatech, a U-M spin-off company that develops catalysts that are potentially cheaper, more effective and produce products with fewer negative side-effects. The materials, for example, can produce hydrogenated oils with low trans-fatty-acid content, a feat that could change the food industry, Thompson says. "We want to have economic impact," Thompson says. "Certainly the state of Michigan … is looking for universities to help with economic development, and we're trying to do our part." U-M President Mary Sue Coleman says she believes Thompson's work epitomizes the mission of the new University Research Corridor, an alliance with Michigan State University and Wayne State University aimed to more effectively usher inventions from their labs to the marketplace and attract fresh jobs to the state. Impressed by Thompson's passion and business savvy, Saemin Choi left Visteon this year to work for his former professor's new-spin off company. "What sets Levi apart is that it doesn't end with publishing papers; it gets used in the industry," says Choi, chief technology officer for Inmatech. "He gets a reward out of that." Despite the exciting commercial opportunities, Thompson's heart remains in the classroom. His concern about the recruitment and retention of minority students led to his founding of the Michigan-Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, a $5 million, National Science Foundation funded program. The goal: double the number of underrepresented minorities graduating from U-M, Wayne State, MSU and Western Michigan University with bachelor's degrees in science, technology, engineering and math areas. "I love writing papers and getting grants funded," Thompson says, "but ultimately our success as an academic institution is going to be dependent on the students we graduate." Marisa Schultz
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Maggie Allesee