CV

A PDF version of my CV can be found here.

Education

• Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley (2024, expected)
  • Advisor: Professor Kristin Aslaug Persson
• M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley (2021)
• B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, Columbia University (2019)
  • Minor: Sustainable Engineering

Research experience

• Graduate Student Researcher, UC Berkeley/LBNL (2019 - present)
  • Advisor: Kristin Aslaug Persson
  • Construct and manage open datasets of molecular properties based on density functional theory (DFT).
  • Develop methods to explore and analyze chemical reaction networks.
  • Explain electrolyte degradation, gas evolution, and interphase formation in Li-ion and Mg-ion batteries.
• Undergraduate Student Researcher, LBNL (2018-2019)
  • Advisor: Anubhav Jain
  • Performed computational screening studies of Diels-Alder reactions for liquid-phase thermal energy storage.
  • Using DFT, identified a reaction leading to one of the highest specific heat capacities of any aqueous thermal fluid.
• Lead Undergraduate Researcher, Columbia University (2016-2019)
  • Advisor: Irving P. Herman
  • Developed a sample cell architecture to improve small angle x-ray scattering signal from liquid interfaces.
  • Revealed an unexpected transport mechanism controlling nanoparticle self-assembly kinetics.

Teaching experience

• University of California Berkeley (2022)
  • Graduate Student Instructor, “General Chemistry and Quantitative Analysis”
  • Evaluation: median 7.0/7.0; mean 6.5/7.0
• Materials Project Workshop (2020)
  • Instructor, “Pymatgen Foundations”
• Columbia University (2018)
  • Course Assistant, “Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory, and Statistical Mechanics”

Honors and Awards

• 1st Prize, Innovation Expo, Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative Energy Summit (2023)
• Battery Student Slam Winner, 241st Electrochemical Society Meeting (2022)
• Philomathia Graduate Student Fellowship, Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute (2022)
• Honorable Mention, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (2019, 2020)
• Frank McQuiston Fellowship, UC Berkeley Department of Materials Science and Engineering (2019)
• Clarendon Fund Scholarship, University of Oxford (2019, declined)
• Magna Cum Laude, Columbia University (2019)
• Tau Beta Pi, New York Alpha Chapter (2019)
• Francis B. F. Rhodes Prize, Columbia University (2019)
• King’s Crown Leadership Excellence Award for Civic Responsibility, Columbia University (2019)

Resources and Funding

• Schrodinger Inc. (2020 - 2023)
  • Award type: Partnership
  • Total award amount: In kind, valued at $3,586,000
• High-Performance Computing, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2021 - 2023)
  • Award type: High-performance computing allocation
  • Total award amount: 5,248,000 node-hours
• Energy Research Computing Allocations Process (ERCAP), National Energy Research Supercomputing Center (NERSC) (2020 - 2023)
  • Award type: High-performance computing allocation
  • Total award amount: 325,000 node-hours

Contributed Reviews

• 2023: ACS Nano, npj Computational Materials
• 2022: ACS Energy Letters, The Journal of Open Source Software

Leadership and Service

• UC Berkeley Course Materials and Services Fees Committee (2022 - Present)
  • Review policies related to fees for UC Berkeley courses
  • Advise the Chancellor regarding appropriate costs and fees
  • Current Role: Graduate Student Representative
• Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on the LGBTQ+ Communities at Cal (2022 - Present)
  • Advise UC Berkeley administration on the needs of queer and trans members of the Berkeley community
  • Review campus and UC system policies as they relate to LGBTQ+ campus members
  • Current Role: Graduate Student Representative
• UC Berkeley Graduate Assembly (2022 - Present)
  • Advocate on behalf of materials science graduate students
  • Develop policies and legislation to promote the well-being of UC Berkeley graduate students
  • Current Role: Delegate
• UC Berkeley Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Student Council (2020 - Present)
  • Advocate to department administration and faculty for issues of importance to graduate students
  • Coordinate anti-racist reading groups in collaboration with UC Berkeley College of Chemistry
  • Organize events to build community among materials science graduate students
  • Current role: Vice-President
  • Previous roles: Social Chair
• Faculty Search Committee, UC Berkeley Department of Materials Science and Engineering (2020, 2021, 2022)
  • Succeeded in hiring candidate Xiaoyu (Rayne) Zheng for the position of Assistant Professor
  • Previous roles: Member
• CalACS College Application and Professional Support (CAPS) (2020 - 2021)
  • Participate in weekly workshops with high school students to improve professional skills
  • Develop long-term mentoring relationships with students from underprivileged backgrounds
  • Previous roles: Mentor
• Interstitials Mentorship Program (2020)
  • Led peer-to-peer mentorship program for materials science community
  • Previous roles: Co-Director, Mentor
• Columbia University Engineers Without Borders (CU-EWB) (2015 - 2019)
  • Designed and implemented solar micro-grids for rural communities in the Teso Sub-Region of Uganda
  • Previous roles: Engineering Mentor, President, Program Manager, Director of Grants, Program Liaison, Director of Operations
• Columbia Educational Simulations (CESIMS) (2016 - 2018)
  • Trained 25 student delegates at The Brooklyn Latin School for local and regional debate conferences
  • Led lessons and simulations on public speaking, history, and international affairs
  • Previous roles: Academic Advisor