Scientific Projects
Below are brief summaries of my major research projects. A complete list of all publications can be found via the links above. Please CONTACT ME for additional information or to discuss collaborations!
Epistemic Metacognition
post-doc research
advisor: Milo Koretsky
We investigate the reactions of 267 students across 6 diverse institutions to a conceptual statics question. Across institutions, there is no difference in student correctness, but a significant difference in whether students feel that the question made them think deeply about course material. We conclude that even when instructors prepare their students equally well to answer questions correctly, they may yet instill very different ideas about what learning means, thus affecting their students' epistemic metacognition.
Publications:
I had to be able to think deeper about the meaning behind the concepts rather than just using numbers to calculate a value
there is no math involved so it's not really asking vital material
Annealing and Conductivity
Ph.D. research
advisor: Nitash Balsara
There are conflicting reports in the literature as to the effect of annealing on ionic conductivity in block copolymer electrolytes. By monitoring grain size and ionic conductivity in a series of block copolymer electrolytes, we find that the relationship between ionic conductivity and grain size depends on salt concentration, initial grain size, and the nature of the defects between grains.
Publications:
Solubility Limit(s) of LiTFSI in PEO
Ph.D. research
advisor: Nitash Balsara
The limiting current can be reached when the salt concentration in a cell reaches its solubility limit, and therefore cannot increase further. We find the solubility limit in PEO / LiTFSI electrolytes to be r = 0.50. However, we also find two-phase coexistence between r = 0.28 and r = 0.50. Concentrated solution theory was developed to characterize single-phase electrolytes, and therefore cannot be applied to PEO / LiTFSI electrolytes when the salt concentration at any position in the cell exceeds r = 0.28.
Publications:
in situ X-ray Scattering
Ph.D. research
advisor: Nitash Balsara
Using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) during in situ cycling of an electrochemical cell, we observed orientation-dependent grain swelling and contraction, which may impact the steepest-accessible concentration gradients and therefore the highest-accessible current density in the cell, or the limiting current. In a different study, we observe that equilibrium morphological transitions are not always accessible during polarization, which provides a new mechanism for the limiting current.
Selected Presentations:
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ACS Spring 2022
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ACS POLY Excellence in Graduate Research Symposium
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APS March Meeting, 2022
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Presented in Dillon Medal Symposium
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APS March Meeting, 2022, invited
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ALS User Meeting 2021, invited
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SLAC User Meeting 2021
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Winner of Joe Wong Outstanding Poster Award
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Implications of
Frictional Interactions
Ph.D. research
advisor: Nitash Balsara
Combining pulsed-field gradient (PFG) NMR, electrochemical and viscometry measurements, and theory, I determined that in some systems, cation-anion interactions determine conductivity even in the dilute limit, challenging prominent assumptions in the field.
Selected Presentations:
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APS March Meeting 2021
Magnetic Field Alignment
Ph.D. research
advisor: Nitash Balsara
I discovered that ordered block copolymer electrolytes can be oriented through exposure to strong magnetic fields, and that the NMR signature of this alignment can be used to detect order-to-disorder transitions.
Publications:
Selected Presentations:
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APS March Meeting 2019
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ACS Fall Meeting 2020, invited
Polymer Nanoparticle Morphologies
undergraduate research
advisor: Prof. Rodney Priestley
I independently tuned molecular weight and composition of block copolymer and block copolymer / homopolymer blend nanoparticles, using OsO4 staining and electron microscopy to observe never-before-reported morphologies
Publications:
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highlighted in Science 2018
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