NASA NSTGRO Graduate Research Fellows

Katherine Acord (2018), whose research adviser is chemical engineering and materials science professor Julie M. Schoenung, will employ a 3D printing system, conventionally used to process metals, to enhance the performance of these solid electrolytes. She plans to develop a computer simulation tool that predicts and optimizes the internal structure of these 3D-printed electrolytes to enhance their performance by increasing ionic conductivity – the movement of electrically charged atoms through the solid electrolyte. 

Matthew Foong (2024), whose research adviser is Materials Science and Engineering professor Daniel R. Mumm, will study binary refractory alloys to build a fundamental understanding of how certain complex oxides are thermally grown. He then aims to take the fundamental knowledge generated to develop a refractory alloy that develops a protective complex oxide layer, which could be used as a protective coating in high temperature oxidizing environments, such as in spacecraft propulsion systems and turbine engines.