About Me:

I am currently a rising senior at WPI studying Chemistry BS/MS and pursuing my Initial License in Chemistry (8-12). Throughout my time at WPI some of my academic interests have included surface science as well as organic synthesis. I have been an undergraduate TA for the first-year chemistry labs as well as a tour guide for the past two years. Outside of my academics I am involved in music on campus as  I play clarinet in the Concert Band. I also enjoy spending a lot of time with my family and being outside, usually camping and hiking. Some of my favorite hobbies include reading and cooking!

 

About the Lab:

The Grimmgroup is a physical chemistry lab with a focus on surface science. There are a variety of projects in the lab but they all relate to understanding surface characteristics and/or being able modify chemical surfaces and quantify those functionalizations. Some of the projects in the lab include work with Civil Engineering on understanding concrete strength and work with the Physics Department towards understanding various nanomaterials and their properties.

Project Title: Investigating Early Strength in Silane-Functionalized Concrete through Surface
Science: An Exploration of Calcium Silicate Hydrate Spectroscopy

Weekly Updates:

• Week 1:

This week was focused on defining a schedule and goals for the summer, as well as becoming aclimated to the equipment and research questions. We ran a trial run of procedures that we would need later in the summer. These included being able to piranha etch a glass surface, and functionalize that surface through silanization. We also focused on becoming comfortable with air-sensitive reactions and using the nitrogen-environment flush and glove boxes.

• Week 2:

We made the first attempts at being able to “grow” a calcium-silicate hydrate film on GPTMS functionalized slides and started to characterize that growth though XRD analysis. Additionally we continued work on the further derivitization of zinc(cyclen).

• Week 3:

The first half of this week I was at the 2024 Noyce Summit with educators from across the country. In the later half of the week I did some processing of the functionalization reaction as well as ran some functionalized sand samples in the XPS.

• Week 4:

 

• Week 5:

 

Our Final Poster: