About my research
My research broadly covers materials and systems that are useful for harvesting renewable energy. I am interested in the fundamental processes that occur when a material is subjected to external stimuli - whether that be light or an applied voltage - to induce catalytic activity.
My postdoc research at Caltech is focused on charge transfer events occurring at the electrode/microbe interface, probed through advanced microscopy techniques. A better understanding of how electrons are transferred to cells will allow for enhanced bio-catalysis powered by electrochemistry.
My PhD research centered on a class of materials called metal halide perovskites, which are promising for both direct conversion of solar energy into electricity (photovoltaics) and the conversion of solar energy into chemical bonds (photocatalysis). The theme of these research projects focused on fundamental excited-state processes - i.e. of light induced electron and energy transfer in perovskite nanomaterials, with special focus on their surface chemistry (photocatalysis). Additionally, several projects explored the mechanism of light-induced phase transformations that occur within perovskite solar cells (photovoltaics).
Transient absorption spectroscopy at ND Rad Lab
Linear electron accelerator (LINAC) at ND Rad Lab used for pulse radiolysis measurements