Batteries are complex things to design and make, with materials scientists and chemists facing unlimited numbers of options for materials choices, formulations and proportions, and manufacturing techniques that will make hoped-for performance attainable on a commercial level. Yi Cui and a distinguished array of undergraduate and graduate students at Stanford University have written 320 academic research papers since 2000, with the rate of publication seeming to increase every year. To put icing on that multi-layered cake, Dr. Cui has helped found his own battery company, Amprius, using his depth of knowledge to take batteries in directions interesting enough to draw the attention of well-known investors – including Stanford. The only recent information on the web site today shows the firm is looking for a battery scientist and a battery engineer. His academic and research work continue, though, with his latest efforts producing a turn away from his work with silicon – ,making a novel lithium/carbon electrode with extremely high volumetric …