Esther Takeuchi
Inventor of the silver vanadium oxide battery for implantable defibrillators.
Esther Sans Takeuchi is a materials scientist and chemical engineer who develops energy storage systems and power sources for biomedical devices. She holds a distinguished professorship at Stony Brook University and serves as chief scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, with over 150 U.S. patents to her name. Her most recognized achievement is the silver vanadium oxide battery, a technology she advanced while working at Greatbatch Inc. (now Integer Corp.) under funding from Wilson Greatbatch. This battery, which uses a new cathode material, a highly conductive electrolyte, and a novel cell design, delivers high power in a miniature, long-lasting package. It became the dominant power source for implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) after its market launch in the late 1980s and early 1990s, lasting about five years—more than five times longer than earlier alternatives—sparing patients from frequent replacement surgeries. More than 300,000 ICDs are implanted each year, and the SVO battery remains widely used.
Takeuchi’s parents, Mary and Rudolf Sans, were Latvian refugees who fled the Soviet occupation in 1945, lived in a German refugee camp, and later immigrated to the United States. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975, followed by a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Ohio State University in 1981 under Dr. Harold Shechter, studying reactions of alkoxides with (chloromethyl)trisubstituted silanes. During her Ph.D., she met Kenneth J. Takeuchi, marrying him in 1982. After postdoctoral work in electrochemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University at Buffalo, she spent 22 years at Greatbatch in Clarence, New York, working on batteries for pacemakers, neurostimulators, drug delivery systems, and industrial applications requiring high temperature, vibration resistance, and reliability. In 2007, she joined academia as the Greatbatch Professor of Advanced Power Sources at the University at Buffalo, later moving to Stony Brook University as a distinguished professor in chemistry and materials science and engineering. She served as president of The Electrochemical Society from 2011 to 2012 and is a Fellow of that organization. In 2013, she received the E.V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry from the American Chemical Society.
In July 2018, her
- born
- Esther Sans, daughter of Mary and Rudolf Sans, Second World War refugees from Latvia
- field
- Materials science, chemical engineering
- nationality
- American (Latvian descent)
- known_for
- Inventing the silver vanadium oxide battery for implantable cardiac defibrillators
- patents
- More than 150 U.S. patents
- awards
- National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2008), National Inventors Hall of Fame (2011), European Inventor Award (2018)
Quick Facts
- Native Name
- Estere Sāns
- Birth Date
- 1953-09-08
- Birth Place
- Kansas City, Missouri, United States
- Fields
- Materials Science
- Workplaces
- Stony Brook University / University at Buffalo
- Education
- University of Pennsylvania / Ohio State University
- Awards
- E. V. Murphree Award (2013) / National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Spouse
- Kenneth J. Takeuchi
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Esther Sans Takeuchi was born to Mary and Rudolf Sans, Second World War refugees from Latvia who fled Soviet-occupied Latvia for Germany in 1945, lived in a refugee camp, and later immigrated to the United States. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975 with majors in chemistry and history, then earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Ohio State University in 1981 under Dr. Harold Shechter, studying reactions of alkoxides with (chloromethyl)trisubstituted silanes. While working on her Ph.D., she met Kenneth J. Takeuchi, marrying him on May 15, 1982.
After post-doctoral training in electrochemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Buffalo, Takeuchi worked at Greatbatch Inc. in Clarence, New York for 22 years. There, under funding from Wilson Greatbatch, she continued development of the Li/SVO battery. She also worked on batteries for neurostimulators, drug delivery systems, pacemakers, and industrial batteries for high temperatures, vibrations, and reliability. In 2007, she joined academia at the University of Buffalo as the Greatbatch Professor of Advanced Power Sources, and later became a distinguished professor at Stony Brook University in chemistry and materials science and engineering.
Reader's Guide
Esther Takeuchi's significance lies in her invention of the silver vanadium oxide battery, which revolutionized implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs). Before her innovation, batteries for these devices lasted about a year, requiring frequent surgical replacements. Her SVO battery lasts around five years, greatly reducing patient surgeries. Since its launch in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it has remained the dominant battery used in ICDs, with over 300,000 implants annually. Her work exemplifies how materials science can directly improve medical outcomes. Beyond biomedical devices, Takeuchi has contributed to energy storage for electric vehicles and renewable energy systems, with a 2018 Department of Energy grant for high-energy, high-power batteries. She holds more than 150 U.S. patents and has received numerous honors, including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation and election to the National Academy of Engineering. Her vision includes creating an institute at Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Lab focused on energy and the environment.
Did You Know?
- Takeuchi holds more than 150 U.S. patents, but notes that the company (Greatbatch, now Integer Corp.) owns the patents, not her.
- Her silver vanadium oxide battery lasts about five years, compared to about one year for other batteries used in implantable cardiac defibrillators.
- She was the president of The Electrochemical Society from 2011 to 2012.
- Takeuchi's parents were Second World War refugees from Latvia who fled to Germany in 1945 and later immigrated to the United States.
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