Midwest Energy News has named Elena Timofeeva and Leah Guzowski members of its inaugural 40 under 40 list.

The publication announced the 40 Under 40 award program to highlight leaders who have contributed to America’s transition to a clean energy economy.

Timofeeva is a principal chemist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. Her research focuses on functional nanomaterials and nanofluids for energy-related applications. Her current work focuses on developing nanoelectrofuel flow batteries for electric vehicles.

Timofeeva began working at Argonne in 2008, researching nanofluids for thermal management. These materials combine the properties of a liquid and a solid and allow for greater heat transfer.

She then applied this same idea to liquid batteries. Timofeeva and her team developed a rechargeable flow battery that uses nanoelectrofuel — a liquid that can be charged and discharged multiple times. The fuel can be charged at any power facility, including solar plants and wind farms.

These nanoelectrofuel-powered batteries could power homes, businesses and electric vehicles interchangeably. Drivers could simply pump charged fuel into their cars, rather than plug in the entire system.

Guzowski holds a number of leadership positions at Argonne, including director of strategy & research programs for the Global Security Systems division and leader of the interdisciplinary Systems Science Initiative. She is also a fellow of the University of Chicago’s Computation Institute.

Her interests include developing and applying new scientific tools, methods, and technologies to economic policy, climate change, and geopolitical considerations in order to improve national and global security and to transition to a clean energy economy. She also designs computational models that allow for better visualization of cities to improve energy, water, and human health systems.

Prior to her current role, Guzowski served as program lead and principal investigator on several projects, including the Chicago Loop Energy Initiative and LakeSIM, which aimed to advance our understanding of how to more effectively model, plan, and build cities.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America’s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.