This book would not be possible without a lifetime support from many people and organizations. I would like to first acknowledge all funding agencies that have supported my research: University of Houston (UH), U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense (DoD), Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH (TcSUH), Subsea Systems Institute (SSI), and Texas Space Grant Consortium (TSGC).

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the students who have diligently worked in my lab at the University of Houston, and who have contributed to advancing science and engineering, specifically, in the area of energy storage. In particular, I would like to mention my PhD students, Qin Li, Mejdi Kammoun, Mengying Yuan, Taylor Kelly, William Walker, Sean Berg, Bahar Moradi, Anh Vu, Sarah Aderyani, and Qiang Fu. A special acknowledgement is extended to Dr. Mejdi Kammoun for his dedication to research in my lab.

I would like to offer my special thanks to all my colleagues and friends at the University of Houston, and other universities, national labs, and industry, who have collaborated and interacted in research and educational activities. I am humbled to be a part of this distinguished scientific community.

The support and dedication of the administrators and the staff of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Cullen College of Engineering, and the University of Houston, are also greatly appreciated.

Finally, I would like to thank my family for their love, patience and support, especially, my mother, Parichehr, my son, Arvin, and my husband, Pradeep. I dedicate this book to the loving memory of my father, Bijan Ardebili (1944–2015) who was the most inspiring and positive supporter in my life.