Mazziotti Group, University of Chicago, Sept. 2004 - present. The study of nuclear motion is important to understanding chemical bonding, reactivity, and other physical phenomena. My graduate work involves the extension of reduced-density-matrix (RDM) methods to the study of nuclear motion in molecular systems. As an alternative to traditional wave function methods, RDMs represent a novel approach which may offer new insights into the description of such motion. The potential advantages of the RDM method are that it (1) reduces the many-body calculation to a two-body calculation and (2) enables the calculation of non-equilibrium geometries and transition states which can be difficult to describe using wave function methods.

Tour Group, Rice University, 2001 - 2004. The characterization and formation of self-assembled monolayers on gold and silicon surfaces. A wide variety of molecules were synthesized and tested for use as potential sensors or molecular wires.

Research internship, PPG Industries, Inc. 2001 - 2004. Work to develop and improve industrial polymer coatings including: (1) constructing models to describe dynamics of polymer coating systems, (2) studying the rheology of complex fluids under high and low shear, (3) working to develop effective means to use nanoparticle additives in coatings technology, and (4) experimenting with physical testing of polymer coatings.