(7fc) Surface Interactions of High Performance Materials for Energy Efficient  Technologies

Increasing energy demand is pervasive in our society. Expanding populations and economic growth rapidly escalate energy consumption. To keep abreast of demand, our society needs to intelligently and efficiently use the limited resources that remain, utilize renewable resources, and tap into previously untouched resources.

Research Interests: High Performance Materials, Catalysis, Energy, Surface Science, Interfacial Reactions

My research interests involve using high performance materials for use in energy efficient technologies. I intend to contribute to the development of these technologies by undertaking projects that are focused on the design, synthesis and characterization of advanced heterogeneous materials. My laboratory will investigate high performance materials to understand the fundamental relationships between atomic structure and characteristic properties/function for use in electrochemical, solar, and biomass derived syngas applications.

My graduate career was spent pursuing the advancement of clean fuels for energy utilization through an improved understanding of heterogeneous reactive systems for fuel reforming, with a particular focus on the molecular level surface characterization of sorbents/catalysts. Specifically, I have been involved in the systematic preparation and characterization of silver-titania adsorbents for the desulfurization of liquid phase logistic fuels. The ultimate goals of this project were to improve energy efficiency, to reduce exhaust pollutants thus improving the air quality and subsequently public health, and to promote environmental sustainability.

I have designed and modified surface analysis experiments in order to garner an improved fundamental understanding of ``real world" adsorbents/catalysts. Through this work, I have developed several experimental protocols using an atomic/molecular level approach in order to correlate structure with function in these real systems. My master’s thesis presented a stepwise characterization of the Ag/TiO₂ adsorbent system using a multi-technique comparative approach. My Ph.D. thesis was focused on using oxygen chemisorption and XPS to find a robust means of particle size determination. These projects involved using fundamental studies from multiple techniques to unify molecular level descriptions at the surface of Ag/TiO₂ adsorbents.

Teaching Interests: Material/Energy Balances, Thermodynamics, Reaction Engineering.

My life has been tremendously impacted by dynamic teachers who possessed the ability to recognize and encourage talent development by motivating, instituting challenges, setting goals, and providing constructive feedback. I wish to create a similar impact through my own teaching. As an instructor, it is important to passionately impart knowledge to support reception and retention. While teaching methods vary depending on the course, common teaching goals remain the same. These are---equip students with the necessary skills and inspire the confidence that through continued effort they will be able to understand even the most challenging topics. During my graduate career I have taught or tutored a number of different courses. I have become adept in small group instruction. In teaching larger groups, student engagement is key; incorporating response system technologies, such as Turning Point, facilitate immediate engagement. I was the recipient of the McLeod Outstanding Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Teaching Award for my efforts as teaching assistant in Unit Operations Lab. I have mentored undergraduate research assistants and helped international students to improve their technical writing skills. My students and peers describe me as hardworking, organized, approachable, resourceful and passionate to make a difference. My personal philosophy is to do everything ``with intent'' of a deliberate and successful outcome. These are the traits with which I intend to pursue my teaching career. In addition to teaching the traditional undergraduate courses I would like to develop a special graduate course on ‘Surface Analysis for Real World Systems’.