(7gq) Harvesting, Coversion, and Direct Utilization of Solar Energy

The emergence and success of photovoltaics for the conversion of solar to electrical energy has inspired increasing interest in the harvesting, conversion, and direct utilization of solar energy. Research in these areas typically requires using/developing materials that can effectively collect the energy of sunlight, studying and understanding the various pathways through which the collected energy can be dissipated, and exploiting or engineering a highly selective energy dissipation pathway through which some useful function can be performed. Tackling such projects requires a multi-faceted approach combining materials science, solid state physics, chemistry, and engineering. I am primarily interested in the conversion of solar/light energy into chemical energy (i.e. solar fuels) and the direct use of solar/light energy to drive chemical transformations (photocatalysis).

My doctoral research is focused on a specific class of light-harvesting materials known as plasmonic metal nanoparticles (nanoparticles of mainly Cu, Ag, and Au). I am studying the ability of these materials to collect the energy of visible light and channel that energy into the vibrational modes of molecules or into other metals for photocatalysis. Using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, we showed that positioning strongly-interacting molecules near the surface of plasmonic metals unlocks a highly selective channel through which light energy collected by the plasmonic metal can be funneled into the vibrations of the molecule [1]. The new physical insights into energy harvesting and dissipation gained from this work inspired us to conceptualize the design of multimetallic plasmonic nanostructures in which light energy could be collected by the plasmonic metal and selectively transferred to catalytic sites on another metal to perform light-driven chemical reactions on a non-plasmonic metal surface [2]. Through working on these projects and others, I have become very well equipped with materials development and characterization skills, chemical analysis and characterization skills, and have developed a solid foundation of knowledge in catalysis and light-matter interactions.

[1] C. Boerigter, U. Aslam, S. Linic, ACS Nano, 10, 2016.

[2] U. Aslam, S. Chavez, S. Linic, Nature Nanotechnology, Accepted June 2017.

Teaching Interests:

My educational background is in chemical engineering and I am most-suited for and interested in teaching classes in reactions engineering, heterogeneous catalysis, separations, unit operations lab, thermodynamics, and mass and heat transfer. My teaching experience includes acting as a teaching assistant for a Calculus II class with recitation lectures taught by me twice a week, as a teaching assistant for a unit operations course in chemical engineering, as a teaching assistant for a fuel cells and fuel processes course, and as an informal teaching assistant for a fundamentals in heterogenous catalysis class. In addition, I have mentored 2 graduate students and 8 undergraduate students during my time as a doctoral student.

I personally find teaching to be interesting in it of itself. It is challenging to construct easy-to-follow lectures that seamlessly flow from class-to-class. I believe students learn best when they are truly engaged during class (paying attention, thinking as they go, asking questions) and the best teachers make it as easy as possible for the students to do these things. The teacher must be energetic, reading the faces of the students, pausing to allow students to think and ask questions, openly asking questions to get the students to think, and finding ways to make the material as tangible and relatable as possible.