I am a fourth year Ph.D. student at the NC State University College of Mechanical and Aerospace engineering. My current research is the experimental and numerical study of novel fuels in piloted gas turbine swirl combustors and their effective reactant flow behavior. I use finite volume schemed CFD reactant codes with various chemical mechanisms, IR thermography, and high speed imaging techniques to study the performance and flame dynamics of this combustor under various parameters. At Sandia, I will expand my foundation by working on improving the state of affairs for thermal characterization of as-built components through coupled pulsed laser heating and rapid surrogate modeling. Outside of research, I enjoy cooking, dancing, and training calisthenics. 

I am a fourth-year PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh where I work with Dr. Jennifer Laaser. My research is focused on the intersection between fundamental block copolymer physics and mechanochemistry to understand the underlying force distributions in mechanically-active self-assembled block copolymer networks. Outside of work, I am interested in hobbyist 3D printing which has informed my interests at Sandia. I am looking forward to my work on formulation of resins incorporated with mechanophores during the internship.

I’m a fifth-year Microbiology Ph.D. student at Indiana University Bloomington, co-mentored by Dr. Rich Hardy and Dr. Irene Newton. I investigate how Wolbachia bacteria suppress viral replication within their mosquito hosts, preventing the transmission of these viruses (such as Zika, dengue, and chikungunya) to humans. At Sandia, I’ll be testing how well generative AI can predict deleterious mutations in a bacteriophage. Outside of lab, I love hobbies that are outdoors/active (climbing, skating, camping, dancing, etc), creative (drawing, painting, piano), or mentally engaging (chess, reading, games).

I am a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Computational Science at Florida State University, where I integrate scientific machine learning techniques with wildland fire behavior modeling to advance our understanding of complex dynamical systems. My research focuses on discovering reduced-order, interpretable models of environmental phenomena using data-driven approaches such as sparse system identification. At Sandia National Laboratories, I will work with Dr. Dan Krofcheck on a project that leverages output from the WRF-SFIRE and LANDIS fire behavior models to develop neural network-based surrogate smoke transport models. This work aims to accelerate predictive smoke modeling by combining state-of-the-art process-based simulations with efficient machine-learning frameworks. Before graduate school, I earned my B.S. in Chemistry from Florida A&M University and decided to continue my education in computing and environmental science applications. In my free time, I enjoy hiking with my dog, gardening, and reading science fiction novels.

I am a 2nd year theoretical chemistry PhD student at Rutgers University – New Brunswick in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology department. My research leverages molecular dynamics simulations to understand how rotational disorder on an atomic scale impacts larger-scale properties across different systems, from ionic conduction in solid electrolytes for solid-state batteries to organic molecular crystals found on the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan. At Sandia, I will be working on simulating reduction/oxidation processes at liquid-metal interfaces using universal foundation interatomic potentials. Outside of research I enjoy walking, playing games with my friends, and spending time with my 2 cats.

I am a first-year PhD student in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alabama. I previously received my M.S. in Biosystems Engineering from the University of Kentucky and have prior experience working in environmental compliance at Sandia. My research interests focus on the microbial ecology of biological water treatment processes to better understand the functional genomics and the mobility of antimicrobial resistance genes. At Sandia, I will join the “Integrases for Eukaryotes” project, contributing to a bioinformatics pipeline to increase the site-specificity and scope of bacterial integrase enzymes for eukaryotic genome engineering. Outside of my research, I enjoy homebrewing, playing board games, and spending time outdoors camping and hiking.