John B. Goodenough, a professor who played a pivotal role in developing the lithium-ion batteries that are now ubiquitous in the devices we rely on every day, passed away on Sunday. This has been announced by the University of Texas at Austin. He was 100 years old.

Goodenough’s most significant battery breakthrough happened more than 40 years ago. “He and his research team found that by using lithium cobalt oxide as the cathode of a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, it would be possible to achieve a high density of stored energy with an anode other than metallic lithium,” the blog reads. from the university. after.

But while lithium-ion batteries are everywhere — you can find them in things like smartphones, tablets, laptops, video game consoles and even electric vehicles — Goodenough says he paid no royalties for the work he did on the battery. The New York Times. “He cared little for money and signed off most of his rights,” wrote the publication in its obituary.

In 2019, Goodenough became the oldest person ever received a Nobel Prizeand he was awarded jointly the honor with Stanley Whittingham of the State University of New York at Binghamton and Akira Yoshino of Meijo University.

If you want to learn more about Goodenough’s life, I highly recommend reading The New York Times’ obituary in fullwith a 2017 interview from Goodenough.