I teach an undergraduate/graduate class, "Materials and the Environment" in the Dept. of Metallurgy at the University of Utah. I also lead a DoE funded research program for developing a new technique for forming titanium components through Hydrogen Sintering and Phase Transformations. This project aims to significantly reduce the amount of energy involved in producing titanium parts, and therefore the cost. When these parts are substituted for steel parts in automobiles, it will reduce the weight and save on fuel costs over the lifetime of the vehicles.

Working on photocatalysis in the nano-scale titania-silica system; hollow glass microspheres and xerogels.

Interdisciplinary effort between environmental science and materials engineering to develop an innovative materials system, nano-scale titanium dioxide coatings on hollow glass microspheres, for the photocatalytic degradation of organic water pollutants.This project is a direct result of my dissertation studies, and although the position has officially ended, I am continuing on a volunteer basis. I am currently seeking a new position, but also working on a journal article of our results, thus far, as well as seeking funding to possibly continue the project.

Performed research activities on nano-structured diamond film coatings on metal alloy substrates as candidate materials for biomedical artificial joints, as well as work on electrospun nanofiberous polymer-ceramic composites as scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration.

• Research Engineer: Proposal writing, performed research in composites, prepared and presented research findings, Co – Principal Investigator on a U.S. Dept. of Energy grant investigating structure/property relationships in carbon microballoons and syntactic foams.• Lab Manager for Composites Group: Administered the mechanical testing facility including scheduling of multiple instruments, interfacing with faculty and staff from multiple departments; taught laboratory sessions on mechanical testing and electron microscopy; trained and assisted students with composites research activities.