In June, we celebrate National Immigrant Heritage Month to honor the diverse communities that have contributed to the history of America.
As the 2021 Technologist of the Year, Mei Cai joins a list of outstanding women of color in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
GM nominated Mei to receive an award because of the cutting-edge innovations she has led in research and development. Mei and her team have secured more than 49 patents in this technology area.
The 2021 conference edition of Women of Color magazine featured Mei, who earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at Tsinghua University in Beijing and later worked as a product engineer.
Despite the challenges of moving continents, Mei's grandfather provided crucial support.
"I came to this country close to 30 years ago as a spouse," she said. "I had to learn English here and prepare for graduate school testing."
Mei recalls having several culture shocks but is now fully integrated into the American way of life.
"We had a currency shock," Mei said. "We came in the 1991 timeframe." There was a considerable currency difference between the U.S. (dollar) and the Chinese (renminbi)."
In addition, the couple was living on a $900 scholarship awarded to Mei's husband. That income had to cover their rent, groceries, and everything else.
"There was a special-order book by a professor (my husband's) that cost $100, and we didn't have the extra money to buy that book."
On top of that, no one offered us any credit cards," Mei said. "He was forced to copy the book from classmates because he was the only one who couldn't get the book."
After her husband transferred to the University of Michigan, Mei started taking courses for a master's in bioengineering at Wayne State University.
However, she still struggled with speaking English. Thankfully, the language of mathematics is universal.
Mei is among the few scientists contributing to advancing battery materials discovery and accelerating battery cell manufacturing.
Her contributions to advanced energy storage materials include lithium-ion and advanced battery chemistries, proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, hydrogen, compressed natural gas storage, and battery charging and hydrogen production technologies.
Mei has played a pivotal role in developing GM's upcoming Ultium battery chemistry, which will power vehicles like the GMC Hummer EV and the Cadillac Lyriq. GM's Ultium batteries are unique because the pouch-style cells can be stacked vertically or horizontally inside the battery pack.
This allows engineers to optimize battery energy storage and layout for each vehicle design. Mei and her team also drove vital technologies to enable lithium-metal batteries that could be part of the basis for next-generation Ultium cells.
The rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) for the Chevrolet Bolt EV is a battery pack developed by GM.
"For the past 25 years, I have worked with people in cross-functional teams, and respect for others and other cultures is important. In GM, I see a lot of women scientists and engineers. However, many women might not know about all the opportunities in the automotive industry. If GM had not returned to me after my second internship, I would not have known about all the job opportunities. We need to do more to educate and inform women about jobs in the auto industry."