Kieran Orr

Kieran is a Stanford Energy Fellow whose research focuses on understanding the elementary processes taking place in batteries and solar cells. Specifically, by using ultra-fast spectroscopic and diffraction measurements, Kieran is uncovering the mechanisms by which ions migrate through solid electrolytes in solid-state batteries. Such batteries will offer faster charging, higher energy densities, and reduced flammability when compared to their traditional liquid-electrolyte counterparts. Much of Kieran’s research to date also concerns how strain and disorder in halide perovskite semiconductors affects their performance in next-generation solar panels.

Kieran joined Stanford in 2024 after completing his PhD in the Physics Department at the University of Cambridge. While there, he also worked for three months in the Climate Change Committee (the UK’s statutory climate change advisory body) investigating the payback times of retrofitting measures for the UK’s building stock. Prior to his time in Cambridge, he completed his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at the University of Oxford.

Having worked on batteries, solar cells, and electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen production, improving renewable energy technology is the common thread to Kieran’s research, applying his physical science skills to one of the most pressing global challenges, that of climate change.