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CHARGED UP AND READY TO SPARK: MEET THE SUMMER 2024 INTERNS WHO ARE AMPING UP THE GRAPHITE GAME

American Energy Technologies Co. (AETC) is proud to introduce (and reintroduce) the enthusiastic summer 2024 cohort including both new and returning interns. Coming from diverse backgrounds and working on a vast array of projects here at AETC, they are celebrated for their hard work, dedication, and passion. Meet our interns and hear what they have learned and accomplished this summer!

From left to right, Zoe Umlauf (Chemical Engineering Intern), Martha Kubakh (Chemistry Inten), Mark Wang (Chemical Engineering Intern), and Vlada Balinsky (Chemistry Intern).

Meet Zoe Umlauf, a rising senior at the University of Chicago studying molecular engineering. She plans to pursue a joint master’s degree in computer science alongside her bachelor’s degree in the coming year.

Zoe says that “AETC’s role within the graphite and battery industry drew me to this internship because I wanted to do work that would have a direct and lasting impact on customers and the world. AETC allowed me to work on interesting, real-world projects that expanded my view of the battery industry from academic to industrial.” Throughout the summer, Zoe worked on various projects involving fine-tuning settings on a production-scale hammer milling system and testing particle sizes using a laser diffraction light scattering analyzer, collecting data to evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of AETC’s Direct Recycling technology as part of the European Commission’s STREAMS initiative, writing presentations and a customer report, coding a GUI to generate plots of battery cycling data, and performing characterization work on graphite materials including tap density, Scott volume, particle size, and surface area tests. In addition, Zoe says she “had a lot of fun imaging materials using the scanning electron microscope (SEM).” She “had a very engaging experience at AETC this past summer” and is “excited about the future of the graphite and battery industry.”


Meet (for her second summer) Martha Kubakh, a rising senior at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, majoring in chemistry and minoring in sustainability, energy, and environment. She plans to attend a PhD program in electrochemistry following her graduation in 2025. 

Martha is a returning summer 2023 intern and a valued member of the AETC team. Martha says that she was again “enticed by AETC’s internship program because they allow undergraduates the opportunity to work on electrochemistry, specifically lithium-ion batteries, hands-on. Many companies and industries are very wary in doing so, but as the battery field continues to grow with renewable energy and electric vehicles, it is crucial to allow students to gather valuable hands-on experience in this field.” This past summer, Martha continued to work on multiple projects including CR2016, CR2032 and 2 Ah pouch cell lithium-ion cell technologies, lead-acid batteries, and transitioning to water-based CMC/SBR binder in the lithium-ion battery electrodes. For coin cells, this entailed preparing the graphite slurry, curing and punching out electrodes, and welding them into the batteries before assembling half-cells in the glovebox and cycling them on potentiostats. Likewise, she aided in the assembly of the 15 Ah lead acid batteries, which included weighing the grids, loading the cathodes and anode grids into the boxes, preparing the correct specific gravity sulfuric acid, adding the acid into the boxes, cycling the batteries on the potentiostats, and monitoring the batteries for any inconsistencies. Martha says she is “very excited to have had the opportunity to work with different types of battery chemistries,” as she wants “to continue researching batteries in the future, especially how they will transform the renewable energy storage capabilities.”


Meet Mark Wang, a rising junior at Northwestern University majoring in chemical engineering and creative writing.

Mark says that “the concept of a production line feels a thousand times more real when your office is a thirty second walk from any given piece of it. I came into this internship hoping to gain a big picture understanding of the graphite and battery industry. AETC interacts with every step of the process – from the raw material coming straight from the mines or refineries to the fully assembled batteries to be shipped out to top EV companies – and I gained exposure to all of it. Just being able to walk around and ask what each of my coworkers were working on was a valuable learning experience”. Throughout the summer, Mark worked on various projects involving deriving SOPs on as well as operating a production-scale air milling system, quantifying the hydrophobicity and icephobicity of different coatings, organizing preventative maintenance information for AETC’s production plant, writing technical reports, and presenting project updates to clientele. In addition, Mark was involved in characterizing raw graphite material from industrial partners by screen analysis, optical microscopy, tap and bulk density, particle size, surface area tests as part of AETC’s regular services. Mark reflects on “how far my vision has expanded beyond the classroom thanks to my time at AETC”.  He says that “I finally understand what industry looks like in practice”. 


Meet Vlada Balinsky, a master’s student at Harvard University studying data science. Vlada has become a full-time employee after her internship, continuing her projects and furthering her experience. 

Vlada says that “after studying medical lab science for my bachelor’s degree, I decided that I wanted to apply my skills in a different type of lab where I could merge my past and current studies. I was encouraged by a friend to apply for work at a variety of places and, after doing extensive research on AETC, was very intrigued by the field, which seems to be in great demand by customers around the world, including our own federal government.” Vlada worked on a project of developing different formulations of an ice-phobic coating for modern aerial platforms, learned how to create specialty materials for clients, and took on physiochemical testing of lithium-ion battery anode active materials. Vlada states that she enjoyed the flexible nature of the work and “didn’t only sit in the office or perform one test repeatedly but rather had the chance to work independently, in a group, attend meetings, and participate in an environment where my thoughts were considered.” Vlada has recently transitioned to a full-time employment position at AETC as well as continues her education remotely.


Our interns have made great contributions to AETC’s success in the industries we serve this summer. We’re thankful for their hard work and dedication, and we hope their experiences working on sustainable technologies in the graphite and carbon industry will serve them well in their future endeavors. We look forward to new internship opportunities opening up for talented and enthusiastic individuals pursuing STEM disciplines joining us at our new Wheeling, IL plant in the near future!

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