#FaradayPathways Ivana Hasa

Dr Ivana Hasa’s journey to being an Associate Professor at WMG, University of Warwick, showcases her curiosity, perseverance and dedication to science. Ivana’s #FaradayPathway highlights her pioneering research into sustainable sodium-ion batteries, collaboration with world-renowned institutions and commitment to supporting the next generation of scientists. Her roles with the Faraday Institution’s Training and Diversity Panel and leading the WMG Battery School reflect her passion for fostering talent.

Early career and education

Raised in a small Italian town with no familial scientific background, a visit to Rome as a teenager determined Ivana’s career direction.

“According to my parents, I was always a curious child. I always tried to find answers, and was never satisfied by shallow understanding. I wanted to delve deeper asking more and more questions… naturally, my family loved it when I turned every simple answer into a deep dive.”

“During a high school visit to Rome, I decided I wanted to move there. Rome is a magical city, infused with history and knowledge.”

Ivana moved to Rome at 19. “I met chemistry professors who truly inspired me. Their passion for investigating the intricacies of natural phenomena made me decide that that was who I wanted to be in the future.”

She then completed bachelor’s, master’s and a PhD in chemistry at Sapienza University of Rome.

PhD and first steps into battery research

During her master’s, Professor Bruno Scrosati, a pioneer in lithium-ion battery development, and Professor Jusef Hassoun, encouraged Ivana to pursue a PhD. She chose to research sodium-ion batteries, which was uncharted territory at the time.

Ivana mentoring at the WMG-Faraday Institution Battery School.

“I was given the choice between something more well-established and the unknown. Of course, I chose the unknown.”

Taking the road less traveled, she delved into early-stage research on sodium-ion batteries. Exploring the novel field was exciting but presented some challenges.

“We didn’t have much to compare our results to, so reproducibility was hard. It taught me valuable lessons about comparing data across different research labs.”

During her PhD, Ivana gained valuable international experiences, broadening her perspective through collaboration with the MEET Battery Research Centre and the Helmholtz Institute Ulm in Germany, and MIT in the United States.

“All of this was possible through internships during my PhD. These opportunities have been invaluable in shaping my research approach as a battery scientist.”

Postdoctoral years and multidisciplinary collaboration

Following her PhD, Ivana returned to the Helmholtz Institute to accept a postdoctoral position with Professor Stefano Passerini, shortly followed by a 3-year appointment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California with Dr Robert Kostecki. At Berkeley, she focused on silicon anodes and received an award in recognition of her pioneering work. This multidisciplinary environment, including physicists, geophysicists and biologists, had a profound impact on Ivana.

“The collaborative atmosphere of these labs greatly influenced my perspective. At Berkeley, I realised I sometimes had tunnel vision. The experience helped me to really broadened my understanding and shaped my approach towards research projects.”

A new chapter with WMG, University of Warwick

Following her time at Berkeley, Ivana’s passion for sodium-ion batteries inspired her to re-join Professor Stefano Passerini’s research group at the Helmholtz Institute, where he was leading sodium-ion battery research activities.

Ivana felt that the natural next step in her career would be to find an independent academic position where she could grow her own research group, and found what she describes as “a research home” as an Assistant Professor at WMG, the University of Warwick, in the UK. As Associate Professor, she now leads the research activities on next-generation sustainable battery technologies.

Ivana in a WMG-Faraday Institution Battery School lab.

“We are exploring innovative chemistries, materials, and manufacturing processes to push beyond the limits of current state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries.”

“At WMG, we have amazing capabilities and a very interdisciplinary environment that inspires new ideas and cooperation. Working with industry also provides a different perspective on research. It’s rewarding to see our findings directly influence product decisions and developments.

“My life as a battery scientist is very exciting. As many of my research projects involve international partners, I often get to travel to different countries and visit excellent international laboratories and scientists, which helps continuously shape my research approach.”

Training the next generation

Ivana’s passion for supporting early career researchers was sparked by supervising PhD students at Helmholtz.

“Providing training, motivating, and inspiring younger researchers is one of the reasons I decided to pursue an academic career. Supervising students is the most rewarding part of my job. I was very lucky to have had great mentors in that regard, and I would like to give as much back as I can to the younger generations.”

As part of her commitment to educating early career researchers, Ivana has led the WMG-Faraday Institution Battery School since 2023. In this intensive, week-long course, participants benefit from lectures, discussions and hands-on lab sessions, delivered by WMG academics and engineers.

Ivana with a WMG-Faraday Institution Battery School cohort.

“The Battery School offers an invaluable opportunity for researchers new to the field to grasp the opportunities and challenges of battery technology. It equips scientists with the practical skills and knowledge to kick-start their career in this rapidly changing area.”

Ivana is also a member of the Faraday Institution’s Training and Diversity Panel, which brings together voices and perspectives from industry, academia, and organisations with shared values, to further the organisation’s aim to create a dynamic and diverse talent pool for the sector.

“Being part of the Training and Diversity panel has been great. I was very excited to become a member, because it has allowed me to explore the best ways to further improve an already excellent PhD training programme.

“Through this panel, we implemented feedback from PhD researchers and built mock interviews into the training programme to help them prepare to land roles post-PhD in the battery sector – whether it be in academia, policy or industry. This is one of the best initiatives we have developed since I’ve been involved. I would have loved to have had something like that during my PhD to be better prepared to navigate the intricacies of the interview process.”

Advice to early career researchers

Ivana’s advice to early career researchers underscores resilience, persistency and staying true to one’s values.

“My mother’s perseverance influenced the scientist I am today. She is not a scientist, but her attitude, ethics and values deeply shaped the scientist I became.

“Focus on personal satisfaction rather than meeting external expectations. Remain true to yourself and follow your working ethics and values. You may fail some of the adventures in your pathway, but it will pay off on the long term.”

Ivana also stresses the importance of a supportive network.

“It’s also incredibly important to have a support network outside of work: friends, partners, family that help you keep a good work-life balance. I have people around me who keep me in check: I have a tendency to want to say yes to everything, I see everything as an opportunity. But I also know, and I am getting better at it, that one of the most important things to learn is how to say no if there’s already too much on your plate.”