• Prepared strategy and business case documents assessing market opportunity and technology fit; communicated findings to executive team in project portfolio reviews; prepared technical documents and SOPs for industry partners and CMOs• Managed a team of three associates and guided efforts on multiple R&D efforts for high performance polymer formulations targeting applications in electronics; leveraged understanding of structure-property relationships to create novel bio-based/inspired polymeric materials that meet partner/customer specifications for polymer optical display films.• Provided SME on the thermomechanical properties of Zymergen's commercial film products; led investigations into the thermal and optical properties of production film and communicated findings to engineering & quality teams; coordinated with application development engineers in commercialization efforts by designing material investigations to address customer questions.

• Developed technical project work plans guiding the R&D of novel bio-based/bio-inspired polymer formulations; leveraged understanding of structure-property relationships to meet partner specifications for polymer optical display films• Managed and supervised projects with $200k budget at contract research organization; set milestones and identified promising polymer candidates for internal discovery work • Coordinated sampling efforts and provided subject-matter expertise with industry partners in Japan and Taiwan

• Quickly familiarized myself with new polymer chemistry >>> within months developed and sampled formulations to industry partners on the kilogram scale• Led the build-out & installation of laboratory facilities; coordinated efforts between vendors, technicians, the Zymergen finance, EH&S and facilities teams; provided technical guidance for new purchases; established SOPs/documentation/training• Hiring manager for three junior team members

Led the development and characterization of a variety of novel polymeric materials (e.g. foams, nanofibers, microparticles) for defense and military health applications. Experienced in material characterization with expertise in mechanical testing and dynamic mechanical analysis, thermoanalytical techniques, spectroscopy techniques and microscopy (optical & electron).Projects include: • Design, synthesis and characterized highly absorbent and hemostatic (blood-clotting) foams for application as wound-dressing materials for traumatic limb injury (i.e. IED injury); developed expertise in emulsion formulation, polyurethane foam synthesis, SEM characterization, mechanical testing, cytocompatibility, drug release & blood clotting assays; received publication award and provisional patent pending.• Discovered and refined novel mechanism for chemical warfare agent decomposition using polymer foams & inorganic oxide/polymer composites; developed expertise in mass spectrometry methods (GC-MS, LC-MS), thermal analysis (TGA, DSC), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), & ring-open metathesis polymerization; patent disclosure filed with US Navy.• Fabricated nanofiber mats (synthetic and biopolymer) for wound-dressing and bioelectronic applications; devised nanofiber formulations capable of delivering bacteriophage as an alternative therapy for multidrug-resistant infections; experience in electrospinning, fluorescent microscopy, & chemical modification of biopolymers.• Additional projects: microparticle fabrication for controlled drug delivery; modeling and fabrication 3D prints (SLA, FDM) for custom lab equipment; consulted in analysis of polyurethane coating degradation; experience in proposal writing for military science agencies (e.g. DARPA, Office of Naval Research, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Strategic Environmental Research & Development Program)

Assisted in the development of quality control procedures for the StemBeads product line; made recommendations for improvement in manufacture and provided general guidance as a knowledge expert in polymeric materials for biomedical applications.

Led the development and characterization of biosynthetic protein polymer hydrogels that mimic cell-matrix interaction for application as regenerative material guides for damaged soft tissues (e.g. vocal fold, cardiovascular tissue). Experienced in genetic engineering, cell-material interaction, tailoring polymer material properties for biological applications, chemical modification of biomolecules, mechanical characterization of soft materials and mammalian stem cell culture (hMSC).Projects included:• Successfully engineering recombinant protein polymers for production/biosynthesis via E. coli hosts; experience in standard molecular biology techniques (e.g. cloning, site-directed mutagenesis); heterologous protein expression, purification and characterization; practiced bench and small scale expression (20L) of proteins; developed purification protocols for affinity, ion exchange and size exclusion chromatography. • Improved material performance of hybrid hydrogels through introduction of cytocompatible cross-linking chemistries; characterized mechanical properties and enzymatic degradation via rheology, tensile testing and compression testing; expertise in TA instruments mechanical analyzers. • Introduced novel thiol-ene photoreactive chemistries to recombinant protein hydrogels; improved cell survival; expertise in bioconjugation, chemical functionalization of synthetic/biopolymers, cell viability assays, confocal microscopy and mammalian cell culture. Collaborated with researchers at Nemours Children’s Hospital (Wilmington, DE) to develop therapeutic biomaterials for application in pediatric vascular bypass surgery: • Designed, synthesized and characterized multi-component, polymer-peptide hydrogels; expertise in peptide design, solid-phase synthesis, chemical modification, HPLC purification and characterization; collaborated closely with a team of scientists with different backgrounds to deliver an optimal material.

Worked as an undergraduate research assistant in Mather Research Group at Syracuse University. Performed synthesis & characterization of shape-memory polyurethanes comprised of polyhedraloligosilsesquioxane thermoplastic polyurethanes and polylactide/caprolactone segements.

Served as a math tutor for engineering students in the LC Smith College of Engineering.

Worked with the power generation engineering team on various tools including heat-exchanger design.

Worked as an intern with GE Gasification division. Developed and standardized engineering tools for process and instrumentation design; tools were presented to and subsequently used by the engineering team in the design of gasification process plants.

Served as a math tutor for engineering students in the LC Smith College of Engineering.