In my heart of hearts, I am a synthetic inorganic chemist who specializes in structure-property relationships, a materials chemist, if you will. I am currently a Senior Research Chemist at the Heritage Research Group working on environmental reuse, recycling, and upcycling of inorganic materials. Previously, I was a Senior Development Chemist at Materion working on advanced battery materials and CVD/ALD precursors, as well as sputtering targets for PCRAM and STTRAM. My previous work dealt with multi-kg/pilot scale synthesis and high-temperature beading of high-purity, anhydrous metal (lanthanide) halides for use in scintillation detectors and metal halide lamps. My industrial chemical experience also includes the analysis and development of the ton-scale chemical production of molybdenum and boron-based smoke suppressants and flame retardants as plastics additives. I also have experience in the development of additives to improve the performance for the lead-acid battery. My fundamental expertise is the synthesis (solution and solid-state) and characterization of inorganic compounds, especially that of exotic, air-sensitive, or toxic materials. I have extensive experience in powder X-Ray diffraction and the characterization of magnetic compounds.My graduate research involved inorganic synthesis and characterization, specifically the synthesis and characterization of trinuclear lanthanide clusters supported by an interesting organic ligand, as well as other metal alkoxide clusters, including a Dy single-molecule magnet. Their structural, magnetic, and luminescent properties were determined. These trinuclear clusters were also incorporated into metal organic frameworks. Earlier work involved high temperature solid-state synthesis of reduced lanthanide cluster compounds.