Grant Vermillion Email & Phone Number

Portland, Or, Us

Portland, Oregon

Stuttgart Area, Germany

Continuing my Fulbright research, I am investigating nanoconfined water in beryl. Using Density Functional Theory techniques, I have confirmed the assumption that the beryl crystal acts as a non-interacting framework for purposes of modeling. I have also determined how water molecule fill factor affects geometry of the water molecules, confirming assumptions made in previous work. Additionally, I have used this information to develop a coarse-grained water model for nanoconfined water and established proof-of-concept that the beryl crystal can be coarse-grained in favor of a rotational potential. This protocol has been generalized to apply to a large class of crystals, paving the way for more systematic computational investigations.

Stuttgart Area, Germany

I am developing a Python library called Quantum Valet (QV) to automate many of the tasks performed when attempting to build a training set for the purposes of attaining machine learning force fields. The goal is to be able to give a preliminary structure, and QV automatically performs a structural optimization and tuning of any parameters that is needed, before performing some iterative process (such as moving or replacing atoms) and calculating the necessary quantities for the features training set.

Stuttgart Area, Germany

As part of the 2017-2018 cohort of 73 fellows (selected from 341 applicants) for the prestigious Fulbright Research Fellowship, I conducted research within the Institute for Computational Physics (ICP) at Universität Stuttgart in Stuttgart, Germany. My research project was an extension of my undergraduate thesis, wherein I investigated the dynamics of single water molecules isolated within naturally occurring nanocages of the beryl crystal. I performed both all-atom molecular dynamics under coarse-grained force-field approximations and ab initio Density Functional Theory calculations to begin the process of parameterizing a force field for aforementioned isolated water molecules. I continued working on this project during my Max Planck Institute Research Fellowship for my MSc thesis.Aside from research obligations, Fulbright Fellows are tasked with being "citizen ambassadors" to our host countries. This required me to gain not only a proficiency with the German language, but also with German culture. I was able to integrate myself into German work culture, through my work at the ICP; the German educational system, through my enrollment in the International MSc in Physics; and German play culture, through friendships developed and fostered.

Mcminnville, Or

I provided tutoring, homework help, problem solving coaching, and test preparation skills to students taking physics courses through the Department of Physics at Linfield College.

As a Lab Teaching Assistant I attended weekly meetings to run-through the fupcoming lab, identify potential issues students may have with said labs, and assist students in completing their experiments so as to help them become competent in a laboratory setting. Additionally, I am responsible for grading and providing feedback on the student's laboratory notebooks.

Under the tutelage of Dr. Joelle Murray (Physics Professor at Linfield College), I developed and tested a novel computational model of fly swarms, with an aim towards identifying whether or not said systems exhibit traits of self-organized criticality. I carried out every aspect of the project---from design to analysis---within the MATLAB environment. The 2D, stochastic model simulated the on-lattice flight path of each fly within a large group of flies, with each fly moving according to certain prescribed movement rules (MR). Emphasis was placed on developing functionality that could then be used for furhter investigation in future years. For example, the model has most recently been extended to study fly swarms off-lattice in 3D with a plethor of different MR. As of 2019, this work has resulted in three student theses and multiple symposium presentations.

As part of the highly competitive National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates program, I conducted density functional theory (DFT) theory calculations of different zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures, with an eye towards functionalizing graphene as a biosensor. I investigated the structural stability, magnetic properties, and electronic properties of 0D and 1D nanowires with geometries. Additionally, while working on this project, I dramatically increased my ability to work with UNIX, Python, C programs, GitHub, and open-source software packages.

Master Of Science - Ms, Physics

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Physics And Mathematics, 3.964

During my three years at Linfield, I completed dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Physics and Mathematics. Additionally, I participated.

Associate Of Arts (A.A.), Physics, 3.88