Materials Science
During my undergraduate education at Western Washington University, I completed a minor in materials science. My degree in plastics and composites engineering was fundamentally based on materials science as well. I have gained experience with various analytical methods for materials characterization, such as SEM, XRD, EDS, NMR, and thermal analysis including DSC, DMA, TGA, and rheology.
Additional Experiences
Light Adsorption & Emission Analysis
Jun 2022
Bellingham, WA
Western Washington University
Characterized CdSe quantum dot nanocrystals by spectrophotometry and fluorimetry, determining peak emission and absorbance wavelengths, to evaluate the quality of the CdSe nanocrystal supply after extended storage
Evaluated novel silk microspheres for drug delivery applications by soaking in charged fluorescent dyes, and characterizing them using a spectrophotometer, fluorimeter, microplate reader, and a confocal fluorescence microscope, to determine the drug loading efficiency of the neutral and negatively charged microspheres
Surface Modification and Characterization
May 2022
Bellingham, WA
Western Washington University
Characterized surface topology of PDMS polymer using atomic force microscopy and the surface tension using water contact angle measurements, revealing the accuracy of patterning and effect of microstructure on interface properties
Polymer Structure Determination
April 2022
Bellingham, WA
Western Washington University
Prepared polymer samples by dissolving in THF for size exclusion chromatography, in deuterated chloroform for nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and in THF with matrix ionization additives for MALDI-TOF
Determined the chemical structure of the unknown polymer through analysis and comparison of FTIR, NMR, and MALDI-TOF data, while also revealing repeat unit molecular weight and polydispersity index
Elemental Analysis of Crystalline Materials
April 2022
Bellingham, WA
Western Washington University
Characterized elemental changes in metal samples and their coatings by X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and optical microscopy with cross-polarized light