Developed materials for hypersonic applications. Designed and developed a fixture to be used within a Spark Plasma Sintering machine. Commissioned a tube furnace for ultra high temperature testing of materials.

Developed a hydrogel spacer delivery device to help protect the rectum from unwanted radiation during prostate cancer treatment. Designed, CAD modeled, 3D Printed, and tested the new delivery system as well as performed chemical and mechanical tests of the hydrogel plugs made to ensure that the hydrogel delivered using the new device satisfied standards. Patent application is in progress.

Worked on developing RF cathodes for spacecraft propulsion, specifically a type of cathode called a “nonambipolar electron source". Improved our understanding of material behavior in a plasma to help down-select an optimal material for high-performance and long lifetime cathode operation.Additionally, I Independently designed, developed, built, and implemented a “Rail & Cart” system thatwould allow experimental equipment to be easily slid in and out of a vacuum chamber.

Conducted experiments to explore the fate of silver nanoparticles in addition to microplastics/nanoplastics in daphnia in natural systems. Completed method development for working with microplastics and have conducted experiments to analyze the rates of uptake and efflux of silver nanoparticles and polystyrene microplastics in daphnids. Used ICP-MS to quantify nanoparticle concentrations.

I am focused on developing new approaches to incorporate hydrogels as water-absorbing materials into the microstructure and/or architecture of cement-based materials. Casting, 3D-printing, and design of materials formulations and/or architectures will be used to investigate the material's water uptake over time along with deformations (shrinkage or expansion) and mechanical properties, given the potential damage that could be induced from hydrogel expansion in cementitious systems. The study focuses on experimental approaches to evaluate performance of these hydrogel-cementitious composites with future applications in peak rainfall mitigation as pervious concrete.