Studying how perovskite materials perform when subject to harsh external conditions to engineer stable and robust solar devices.
To the left, is a perovskite module that I made and tested in the Hillhouse Group at the university of Washington.
The series of three black and white images are Dark Field images of the device before, during, and after an experiment.In our experiments, we subject these devices to high temperatures, humid atmospheres, and intense light, and track how their performance and physical/chemical structure changes. The bright spots indicate a conversion from the perovskite to other materials. We simultaneously measure the optoelectronic performance of the device (how well it utilizes light). By changing the environmental conditions of each experiment and tweaking the chemistry of the materials and the devices we test, the lab is capable of generating massive amounts of data. |
I have enjoyed every minute I've spent working in this group. Fabricating and testing new age solar devices in the laboratory has allowed me to develop fundamental research skills, intrigue, and truly has helped me better understand how to frame, develop, and test hypotheses. Fortunately, some of the work I have contributed to a project resulted in a publication on which I was a co-author, the first time my name was on a publication (check it out @ doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.0c00164)! The paper describes an effort using machine learning techniques to predict how long a perovskite device will last in different environmental conditions, utilizing the data I helped to generate in the experiments mentioned above. Although I am still learning and discovering the power and importance of statistical learning and prediction tools like machine learning, their accuracy and usefulness here have very much intrigued me. In the future, I'd like to pursue Data Science to learn more how it can help in complex scientific efforts.
In the Hillhouse Group, I have decided that I would like to return to school for a PhD in photovoltaics technology. While participating in research, I realized that not only was I fascinated by my work, I was proud of every experiment, graph, and presentation I completed. This realization, coupled with an ever increasing fascination in the potential of photovoltaic technologies has led to my conviction to return to research.
In the Hillhouse Group, I have decided that I would like to return to school for a PhD in photovoltaics technology. While participating in research, I realized that not only was I fascinated by my work, I was proud of every experiment, graph, and presentation I completed. This realization, coupled with an ever increasing fascination in the potential of photovoltaic technologies has led to my conviction to return to research.