Sossina M. Haile (Ge'ez: ሶስና ሃይሌ, born July 28, 1966) is an Ethiopian-American chemist, known for developing the first solid acid fuel cells.
Her family fled Ethiopia during the coup in the mid-'70s, after soldiers arrested and nearly killed her historian father Getatchew Haile who at the time was a member of the transitional Ethiopian parliament.
Around age 10,[7] the family settled in rural Minnesota where Haile attended Saint John's Preparatory School (Collegeville, MN), graduating in 1983.
Advised by Bernhardt J. Wuensch, her PhD thesis is entitled "Synthesis, crystal structure and ionic conductivity of some alkali rare earth silicates.
The group showed for example, that a broad range of proton containing solids undergo a monoclinic to cubic transition that is accompanied by an increase in conductivity of several orders of magnitude.
Haile's work in solid state ionics is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Army Research Office, and the Department of Energy.
Similarly, microactuators and micropumps based on ferroelectric thin films hold promise for advancing Microelectromechanical systems technology and development efforts are sponsored by an ARO MURI program.