My project at Penn State revolved around the idea of using the photothermal effect to drive high-energy transformations within various chemical and material systems, while maintaining ambient temperatures within the bulk of the system. While working with such systems, I synthesized both metallic and semiconductor nanoparticles to be subjected to photothermal conditions to gauge their efficacy and stability as photothermal heat sources. I also looked into the breadth of applicability of the photothermal agents to drive very different thermal processes, such as the polymerization and degredation of polymeric systems, and inducing crystalline phase changes in dimer particles. Carrying out this research gave me synthetic and characterization expertise regarding nanomaterials, as well as experience working with, maintaining, and repairing a simple laser set up (Quanta Ray Nd:YAG, 8 ns pulse width).