I grew up in Branford, Connecticut and studied Chemistry at Carleton College (a small Liberal Arts school in Northfield, Minnesota). After undergrad and before joining PSE, I worked for a few years in computational chemistry research at Northeastern University.

While my early training might have ‘dubbed’ me a chemist, I’ve always felt more comfortable (and inspired) when working across traditional disciplines; fortunately, I think this perspective is also one of the aspects that makes PSE such a wonderful place to do research. I chose to come to PSE for graduate school because the program seemed willing (in fact, passionately so!) to train a diverse community of researchers in soft matter science. For me, this meant that I could be taken seriously as an engineer or physicist, despite my undergrad degree. Since joining PSE, I like to think that I’ve done just that – my current research, in collaboration with my advisor, Greg Grason, focuses on the role of geometry in the mechanics and thermodynamics of soft matter assemblies. However, while much of my work is quite different than the things I did before PSE, I’m continuously thankful for my ‘untraditional’ background (both from PSE coursework and prior to joining the program), as I think it helps me to be a better interdisciplinary collaborator and communicator.

My work now is supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, which means I have even more autonomy over the direction that my research takes. The proposed scope of my fellowship is to investigate the relationship between packing geometry, elasticity, and mechanical properties of filament (or fiber) bundles, which to me lies at the intersection of soft matter theory and engineering. While there is no shortage of exciting directions this project may take during my PhD (like, for example, informing the design of ‘smart’ self-weaving materials), I remain open minded and curious about other exciting projects too. PSE is a fantastic position to have such freedom; there is truly no shortage of brilliant, creative, and passionate people to dream up the next soft matter collaboration with!

Since joining PSE, I have also had the opportunity to teach and mentor (high school and undergrad) students about research, which has helped me realize my passion for teaching and collaboration. While I’m still unsure about how exactly these interests will shape into a post-PhD career, I have no doubt that the technical, professional, and interpersonal skills I’ve developed here will be put to good use.