What is the best part about teaching in this graduate program?
The classes are small in number of students, which allows for more interactive and individualized modes of instruction.
What is the one thing you hope students take away from your course(s)?
In our seminar writing course, my hope is that students will improve their professional writing skills and become more independent in their approach to searching literature and processing information to synthesize in their own words the meaning and importance of their research endeavors.
What are the real-world applications of the work you do at the University?
My research aims to replace toxic solvents with a benign one, which is polyethylene glycol. Therefore, my research falls under the umbrella of green chemistry.
What kinds of coursework and capstone projects should students expect?
Students will complete a draft of at least the introduction of their master’s thesis.
What advice would you give to a student who wants to be successful?
We can teach many things, but we really cannot teach being curious and having a positive attitude towards lifelong learning.
What is the focus of your scholarly pursuits?
My research seeks to better understand how polyethylene glycol (PEG) acts as a solvent. This includes conditions where PEG is confined in porous material via the solvent, as these are used in heterogeneous catalysis.
What is the most interesting thing, to you, about the research area you’re pursuing?
I find it fascinating that confinement may alter the melting point and other physical properties of a servant traumatically, for example the melting point of a confined liquid compared to may be lower by 50°C by itself in bulk.