I am a second-year Ph.D student in the Department of Materials Science, and am working with Dr. Minkyu Kim to study and characterize materials for environmental safety. Previously, I attended the University of Wisconsin - Madison where I received my B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, and my current research focuses on novel bio-inspired materials as active and passive dust suppressant agents. These materials aim to reduce the generation of harmful particulate matter into the atmosphere, such as sand, soil, and mining byproducts, which are extremely detrimental to air pollution levels. Atmospheric particulate matter on Earth is also harmful to human and environmental health, so more efficient dust suppressing materials are needed to reduce these harmful effects. These novel dust management materials also have potential to be applied in non-terrestrial applications to manage lunar or extraterrestrial dust on future space missions.

I am looking forward to new opportunities for learning and outreach through the NASA Space Grant Fellowship, and I’m excited to find more ways to communicate about my work to the public. My own exposure to STEM through outreach as a younger student was what brought me to the field of engineering as an undergrad and graduate student, and I would like to also help show how fun STEM is to other students and young adults!