Research Projects

Fabrication of a novel multi-layer electric vehicle half-bridge inverter module
National Renewable Energy Laboratory | Golden CO
JUN 2023 – AUG 2023

I returned to NREL in the summer of 2023 working as a SULI in the Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Machines group. I developed a comprehensive GUI application with Tkinter in Python to control and automate a custom-made hot press being used to fabricate a new kind of power inverter module for electric vehicles. I designed the program to be as intuitive and efficient as possible while also minimizing the amount of user input required. Preliminary modules produced with this updated press program demonstrated successful program operation, highlighting future areas of improvement in the fabrication process. During this time at NREL I also helped develop a general-purpose data acquisition program in Python designed to be distributed laboratory-wide, implementing a suite of programmable sensors and controllers produced by Phidget.

General Audience Abstract | Poster


Installation, calibration, and experimental verification of a layered deposition scheme
National Renewable Energy Laboratory | Golden, CO
MAY 2022 – AUG 2022

I spent the summer of 2022 working in the Materials Discovery group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as part of the DOE-sponsored Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program. My research primarily involved the attempted synthesis of a newly-reported ternary nitride crystal structure previously discovered by the PI of the research group. Much of my work focused on the growth of Zinc Titanium Nitride (ZnTiN2) and Magnesium Tungsten Nitride (MgWN2) thin films using a high-vacuum magnetron sputter deposition chamber and running subsequent characterization measurements on the films using techniques such as profilometry (to measure film thickness), X-ray fluorescence (to determine the molecular composition), and X-ray diffraction (to identify the crystal structure of the film).

General Audience Abstract | Poster


Education

Middlebury College | Physics and Computer Science
Sep 2020 – May 2024 | Middlebury, VT

DIS Stockholm | Engineering Sustainable Environments in Scandinavia
Aug 2022 – Dec 2022 | Stockholm, SWE