2024 KNI SURF-the-WAVE Fellows
The KNI has welcomed its sixth cohort of undergraduate research fellows to Caltech this summer. KNI SURF-the-WAVE (STW) prize fellows participate in a 10-week immersive research experience to pursue a nanoscience-based project. The STW program enables undergrads to investigate a research topic, guided by graduate student, postdoctoral scholar, and/or faculty mentors. This year's SURF-the-WAVE fellows will delve into nanoscience and nanoengineering projects on topics such as: architected metamaterials, atomic layer etching, biomedical electronic devices, shape memory polymers, and lattice-matching crystal films.
In partnership with the office of Student-Faculty Programs at Caltech and its WAVE summer research program, KNI SURF-the-WAVE prize fellowships are awarded to competitive undergraduate students who have an interest in a nanoscience-related field of study. The STW program provides its fellows with bonus opportunities to network and learn more about STEM careers, graduate school and professional development. Learn more about the KNI SURF-the-WAVE program here.
Elena Williams
Hometown: San Jose, CA
Home academic institution: Rising senior in Physics/Computer Science at Harvey Mudd College
Favorite hobbies and interests: In my free time I enjoy hobby electronics, fashion YouTube, and mystery books and TV shows.
Summer research project: "Identifying Lattice-Matching Crystals for Heteroepitaxy: A Computational and Experimental Exploration". Novel crystal films must be grown on substrates whose lattices are periodic with one another to reduce strain. Using computational and experimental crystal structure data, I will investigate computational techniques for finding candidate materials which "lattice-match" with commonly-used and inexpensive substrates. To validate my results, I will attempt to grow some of these crystals in the lab.
Co-Mentor: Reiley Dorrian (Falson Lab)
Post-college plans/goals: I hope to pursue a PhD combining my interests in applied physics and computing.
Kamakshi Subramanian
Hometown: Newton, Massachusetts
Home academic institution: Rising junior in Physics at Wellesley College
Favorite hobbies and interests: I enjoy playing large keyboard instruments (piano, organ, and especially carillon) as well as hiking, swimming, and reading.
Summer research project: "Modeling shape memory polymers using computational techniques and constitutive equations". This summer, I will be using a two-phase constitutive model, which splits the thermomechanical response into phases of rubber-like and glass-like behavior, to simulate the deformation of smart materials known as shape memory polymers. I will be combining rheological models for the two phases with additional elements such as shape memory strain and temperature dependence to use experimental data to identify optimal parameters that yield accurate stress-strain curves.
Co-mentor: Gunho Kim (Daraio Lab)
Post-college plans/goals: After completing my undergraduate degree, I plan to attend graduate school in applied physics and pursue a career conducting research in soft materials and the applications of soft matter physics either in academia or in industry.
Mya Verrett
Hometown: San Bernardino, California
Home academic institution: Rising Junior in Bioengineering/Biosystems at the University of California, San Diego.
Favorite hobbies and interests: Just recently, I've started climbing and swimming with friends as it helps alleviate stress while still offering a fun challenge. I also play the guitar and enjoy playing anything from R&B to indie pop.
Summer research project: Electrical nerve stimulation targeting the vagus nerve is an emerging method to treat inflammation without the adverse side effects of some prescriptions and steroids. This summer, I'll be optimizing and fabricating soft bioelectronic closed loop devices to provide stimulation to the vagus nerve, treating inflammation specifically resulting from menopause. I will focus on fabricating the stimulation electrodes, developing chemical sensors for inflammation nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide, and optimizing current blood pressure sensing mechanisms.
Co-mentor: Dickson (Richard) Yao (Gao Lab)
Post-College plans/goals: After college, I plan to pursue a PhD in Electrical Engineering and continue researching bioelectronics. I then hope to enter industry and develop nano-devices to bring out more knowledge on biological processes, helping to eliminate health disparities.
Sela Murphy
Hometown: Monrovia, CA
Home academic institution: 3rd year student in Materials Science and Engineering at Pasadena City College (transferring to UC Berkeley this Fall)
Favorite hobbies and interests: I enjoy practicing martial arts, playing the violin, and listening to music.
Summer research project: "Isotropic plasma-thermal atomic layer etching of superconducting NbN films". Superconducting quantum devices are plagued by loss and defects stemming from nanofabrication techniques, and there is a need for novel processing technology to address the current limitations. This summer, I'll be working in the area of nanofabrication of superconducting devices. The goal of my project will be to develop an atomic layer etching (ALE) recipe for NbN that will alleviate fabrication defects.
Co-mentor: Azmain Hossain (Minnich Lab)
Post-College plans/goals: After transferring to a four-year institution and obtaining my bachelor's degree, I plan to pursue a graduate program in materials science.
Orlan Oconer
Hometown: Pearland, Texas
Home academic institution: Junior in Aerospace Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin
Favorite hobbies and interests: I enjoy creative writing in his free time, collecting guitars, and playing original Pilipino music.
Summer research project: "Mechanical Characterization of Instabilities in Architected Metamaterials". I aim to characterize anomalies in the deformation of architected metamaterials using machine learning to simulate the material accurately. More specifically, it will take account of viscoelastic properties and time-dependent effects to record key data metrics that feed into the algorithm.
Co-mentor: Kevin Nakahara (Greer Lab)
Post-college plans/goals: I plan to research abroad for a year and then commit to graduate school, focusing on simulating and building nanomaterials for my long-term goal of advancing space materials.