Héctor D. Abruña has spent his life chasing the quiet chemistry that can change the world. He works on fuel cells and next generation batteries, but the heart of his science sits in something more elemental. He studies how electrons move across interfaces, how molecules behave when coaxed into new configurations, how small shifts in structure can open the door to cleaner energy. His research has helped define the field of electrochemistry and pushed forward the technologies that might one day power cars, cities, and everything in between.
Inside his sprawling electrochemistry laboratories at Cornell, the workbench is a living map of his curiosity. Glassware catching the light. Arrays of test cells. A tangle of wires and sensors. Students flowing in and out with quiet urgency. Abruña moves through it all with the calm rhythm of someone who has spent decades listening to what the chemistry is trying to say. He is warm, quick to laugh, and completely engaged. When he talks about fuel cells, the room lifts. His enthusiasm is contagious. He makes complex ideas feel immediate and alive.
Born in Puerto Rico and trained across several institutions before landing at Cornell, Abruña built one of the world’s leading research groups in electrochemistry. His work spans fundamental science and applied innovation. He probes electron transfer with the precision of a watchmaker, yet he never loses sight of the larger goal. He wants energy systems that are cleaner, safer, and more durable. That goal threads through everything he does, from mentoring students to forging collaborations that stretch across disciplines and continents.
What makes Abruña remarkable is not just his technical reach. It is the way he carries his passion. He approaches problems with a mix of patience and excitement, like someone who still feels lucky to spend his days surrounded by molecules and metals. His lab feels like a small ecosystem built around curiosity. People there talk freely, argue gently, and seem to understand that they are part of something bigger than a single experiment.In person, he radiates a kind of grounded optimism. Lit by the glow of a lifetime spent trying to build a cleaner, more elegant energy world. He knows the scale of the energy challenges ahead, but he looks at them with clear eyes and a steady confidence that solutions are within reach. Fuel cells are not just devices to him. They are devices of a better future, shaped by careful chemistry and human ingenuity
