Ph.D. Research Assistant - Materials Chemistry / August, 2020 — August, 2025

Led development and qualification of advanced semiconductor and thin-film material systems with a focus on surface chemistry materials degradation and durability under thermal chemical and environmental stressors. Designed, executed, and refined end-to-end material process flows including fabrication thermal processing and surface treatments using ionic liquids to control surface chemistry mitigate degradation and improve long-term material stability. Performed root-cause investigations of material degradation and failure through mechanical testing thermal cycling and microscopy translating first-principles analysis into practical mitigation strategies and process improvements. Executed comprehensive materials characterization campaigns (SEM TEM XRD DSC TGA UV-Vis PL metallography) to evaluate surface condition phase stability and process impacts supporting data-driven qualification decisions. Applied DOE statistical process control and automated data collection to reduce variability accelerate iteration cycles and deliver reproducible decision-ready datasets across multiple parallel research efforts.

Research Fellow - Materials Development / June, 2019 — March, 2020

Synthesized and characterized thin-film and semiconductor materials assessing structure-property relationships and material stability through thermal structural and environmental exposure testing. Worked closely with interdisciplinary researchers to troubleshoot processing challenges improve repeatability and establish standardized fabrication testing and documentation practices.