• Conducting research on desalination and drip irrigation

• Fabricated antibiotic susceptibility tests via inkjet printing of silk-based inks and evaluated via bacterial testing and high-performance liquid chromatography quantification of extracted antibiotic.

• As a researcher affiliated with the Precision Diagnostics Center, fabricated hollow microneedle arrays via photolithography, two-photon lithography, and deep reactive ion etching for integration into wearable biosensors.• Provided guidance on the development of a CRISPR-based electrochemical biosensor for nucleic acid detection.

• Conducted field research in rural India to identify design priorities for improved point-of-use water quality sensors via stakeholder meetings, design workshops, and conjoint analysis interviews.• As part of development of an improved point-of-use sensor for detecting bacterial contamination in drinking water, characterized electrochemical detection of phenols via phthalocyanine-functionalized electrodes and measured in vivo enzyme kinetics for β-Galactosidase in E. coli.• Demonstrated ability of iron oxide xerogels to adsorb, store, and release aqueous arsenic for improved arsenic water quality sampling. Fabricated xerogels and characterized via SEM and nitrogen porosimetry measurements of surface area and pore size distribution. Quantified arsenic adsorption and recovery via ICP-MS and ICP-OES. Optimized arsenic extraction protocol for robust arsenic recovery from complex sample matrices.• As part of the MIT Tata Center, mentored eleven graduate students from six different research groups by providing feedback on water and soil quality management research and coordinating international fieldwork travel logistics.• Guided the development of solid-state ion-selective electrodes for point-of-use soil sensors, including fabrication of ion-selective membranes, modeling of membrane surface chemistry, and organic synthesis of a phosphate ionophore.• Investigated synthesis methods for polydiacetylene vesicle-based inks for the colorimetric detection of food pathogens.

• As a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellow, developed a method to measure the radio-frequency dielectric spectra of bulk algae cell suspensions using a transmission line sample cell connected to a vector network analyzer. Induced algal lipid accumulation via nitrogen starvation and demonstrated dielectric sensitivity to lipid accumulation via calibration with Nile red fluorometry.• Measured lipid content of intact algae cells via flow cytometry and 1H NMR for development of an NMR-traceable flow cytometry protocol for algal lipid measurement.• As recipient of the 2012 ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry Graduate Student Symposium Grant, organized and administered a symposium on Characterization of Algal Lipids at the 245th ACS National Meeting (New Orleans, Louisiana) in April 2013. • Mentored two undergraduate research assistants in algae culturing and characterization. Mentored one of these research assistants during his master’s thesis work on quantifying starch in microalgae using Safranin O staining and flow cytometry.

Held office hours, conducted exam review sessions, and graded exams for a class of 128 students enrolled in the fall semester of Introductory Fluid Mechanics (MAE 3230).

• As part of an international collaboration, used microfluidic impedance cytometry to simultaneously measure the impedance and fluorescence of individual algae cells with a range of lipid contents for development of an industrial algal lipid measurement system.• Rapidly implemented algae culture workflow in compliance with UK Health and Safety regulations.

Held office hours, conducted weekly recitation sessions, and graded assignments for a class of 24 undergraduate students enrolled in the accelerated summer session of Introductory Fluid Mechanics (MAE 3230).

• Developed a recipe to fabricate alumina aerogels via rapid supercritical extraction. Characterized effects of recipe formulation on aerogel properties via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) pore size analysis, pycnometry, bulk density measurements, and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD).• Characterized superhydrophobic silica aerogels via scanning electron microscopy in order to determine effects of recipe formulation on aerogel structural morphology.• Designed and assembled a gas-phase catalytic testing system for the characterization of aerogel-based replacements for existing automotive catalytic converters.

Assisted undergraduate students with writing assignments in science, engineering, and the humanities.

Tutored undergraduate students enrolled in introductory calculus classes.

Assisted with machining, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and shop maintenance.