Specialization:
PhD - 2015
Bio:
I grew up in Simi Valley, CA, played a lot of soccer and dreamed of being a rockstar. Instead I became a scientist when my interest in chemistry was piqued during a summer internship in an organic chemistry lab at UCLA. I graduated UCLA in 2009 with a BS in biochemistry and decided to drive up the coast to UCSB to pursue a PhD in materials chemistry. I am currently advised by Guillermo Bazan.
Research:
I synthesize and investigate interesting properties of a specific class of water-soluble conjugated oligoelectrolytes which spontaneously insert into the membranes of living cells. We are currently exploring their application in biological fluorescence imaging, microbial fuel cells and microbial electrosynthesis. The later two are part of an emerging field known as bioelectronics in which bacteria are interfaced with electrical devices.