Where are you from?
I grew up primarily in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I stayed there for my undergraduate studies in chemical engineering at Louisiana State University (LSU). In fact, my high school was also located on the LSU campus! Hence, I did not venture too far from home until starting my Ph.D. here at Georgia Tech.
What led you to study Chemical Engineering?
As a high school student, I was very interested in chemistry and math. During my senior year of high school, I got the opportunity to intern at Albemarle Corporation, a specialty chemical company in Louisiana, which introduced me to the world of engineering. Starting my undergrad career, I originally thought I wanted to end up in an industrial role. However, I quickly fell in love with undergraduate research on campus at LSU, leading me to eventually pursue the Ph.D.
How did you choose Georgia Tech for your PhD studies?
I was originally drawn to Georgia Tech for its size and the breadth of research in ChBE. During my visit weekend, I met with several faculty with whom I could easily see myself working for the next few years. Prof. Natalie Stingelin (who would eventually become my advisor) was particularly eager for me to join her group, which helped to seal the deal for me.
What will you be doing after graduation?
After graduation, I will start a postdoc in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Caltech with Prof. Scott Cushing. I’ll be pivoting research topics in this new role, focusing on technique development of benchtop transient soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet spectroscopy. Ultimately, I hope to continue in academia and become a professor of chemical engineering, materials science, and/or chemistry.
Did your education, internships, and other experiences help prepare you for this role?
Without a doubt, these next steps in my career would not be possible without the opportunities afforded to me during my PhD at Georgia Tech. One of the most valuable aspects of my education here has been the exposure to highly collaborative, multidisciplinary science. Between the various manuscripts of my Ph.D., I have been lucky to work with nearly 60 different co-authors! Many of these collaborations were enabled by research exchanges, such as a summer in Lille, France in 2024 or in Montréal, Canada in 2023. I think that this broad exposure to many different fields has expanded the impact of my research and given me a wide toolkit of characterization techniques to leverage later in my career.
Who was your advisor and what was that relationship like?
I was co-advised in my Ph.D. by Profs. Natalie Stingelin and Carlos Silva-Acuña. I was fortunate that both afforded me a lot of freedom to pursue the science that interested me and ultimately become an independent researcher.
What was the focus of your doctoral dissertation?
My dissertation broadly sought to unravel the photophysics of modern conducting polymers. These materials are exciting platforms for a variety of energy conversion technologies and optoelectronic devices, from solar cells to bioelectronic sensors. My work established design rules for how the structure of these polymers controls their photophysical properties.
What kinds of leadership roles and other activities did you participate in while at Tech?
During my first year at Georgia Tech, I was heavily involved in the Association of Chemical Engineering Graduate Students (AChEGS), where I served as secretary and later as a mentor for incoming graduate students. I also enjoyed serving as a mentor in the Pride Peers program through the Center for Inclusion and Belonging at GT for several years.
In the later stages of my Ph.D. studies, I was also active in the GT student SPIE chapter as secretary. Similarly, I represented the research center I worked in throughout my Ph.D.—the Center for Soft PhotoElectrochemical Systems—in the Department of Energy Early Career Network, where I helped to organize events such as a grant writing webinar last year with over 1000 attendees.
How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
As mentioned previously, the collaborative research environment at Georgia Tech helped me to gain expertise in a wide variety of fields. In addition to my technical training as a Chemical Engineer, the experience as a co-advised student has allowed me to also become a materials scientist, a physical chemist, and a polymer physicist. As I move into my new role as a postdoc, diving deeper into the world of ultrafast spectroscopy, this multi-disciplinary perspective will be invaluable for my development as an independent scientist.
What advice would you give to new students pursuing graduate studies in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech?
My advice to new students in ChBE at GT would be to embrace the discomfort of adapting to a new field during your Ph.D. While it can be intimidating to start out in a space where you know very little, your unique skillset can give you a powerful perspective. It is eventually extremely gratifying to look back at how far you have come over the course of your graduate studies.
Is there anything else you’d like to add about your experiences related to your education?
I would simply like to thank my family, friends, and colleagues who supported me over the last five years here at Tech. As with most things in life, my journey through the Ph.D. certainly had its ups and downs. I am deeply grateful to the people whose love and support kept me grounded throughout this process.