Internships and Summer Programs
In 2023, I worked at Apple as a battery manufacturing and design engineering intern, where I was responsible for the machines that assembled the batteries in multiple Apple products. Among other projects, I focused on simulation, using ANSYS to model stress distributions in cells during multiple processes to drive down defects and increase volumetric energy density.
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For the summer of 2022, I interned at Panasonic Energy of North America, where I worked as a quality engineering intern focused on battery winding and related inspection procedures. I wrote data analysis scripts, including machine learning algorithms, to predict defects, and combined with inspection improvements, I generated an estimated savings of over $110,000 per year.
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In the summer of 2021, I interned at Argonne National Laboratories under Dr. F. Joseph Heremans. Using Python and MATLAB, I conducted thermal simulations of pulsed laser heating in diamond and silicon carbide (SiC); this process induces local annealing, which is the final step in generating color centers in diamond and SiC. Color centers are crystal defects with electronic and optical properties that can be harnessed for quantum computing.
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In 2019, I traveled to China on a CIEE program called "Building a Sustainable Megacity" in Beijing. Not only did this program cultivate in interest in Chinese culture and mark the start of learning Chinese, it also allowed me experience and observe the environmental problems facing heavily urbanized areas like Beijing, inspiring my research on better energy technologies like energy-dense Fe-ion batteries.
Research Experience
Graduate Studies
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I am currently a PhD student at Stanford University deciding on a research advisor. Updates are coming very soon!
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Undergraduate Studies
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It was an honor to work with the Braun Research Group under the supervision of Professor Paul Braun from 2021 to 2024. Our primary goal was to develop new halide solid-state electrolytes, which will replace the highly flammable liquid electrolytes used today while simultaneously delivering better performance. A combination of high ionic conductivity and chemical stability are necessary, and much effort is dedicated to understanding synthesis, crystal structure, and cycling behavior. We have successfully characterized candidate electrolytes and employed them in low-pressure cells operating at roughly 1 MPa, a substantial improvement over typical high-pressure cells in the lab.
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High School Independent Research
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My earliest project focused on extracting heptane from LDPE plastic by thermally decomposing it in the presence of metal oxide catalysts. Aluminum (III) oxide shows promise as a catalyst for this process, but energy barriers still make this recycling method difficult. My subsequent project pivoted to zinc-air batteries, which have the potential to be more energy dense than lithium-ion batteries used today. Introducing surfactants in the electrolyte somewhat improved performance, but conditions were not representative of a true Zn-air battery and more research is required.
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My final independent research project investigated iron-ion batteries for better performance than Li-ion systems while using a cost-effective, readily accessible anode. I attempted to improve cycling stability through the addition of titanium dioxide to the cathode in varying ratios, but difficulties were encountered during electrodeposition, and the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the remainder of the project. Sol-gel deposition is proposed for cathode synthesis.