The Center for Sustainable Energy (ND Energy) at the University of Notre Dame has selected twelve outstanding undergraduate students to conduct full-time research this summer as part of the Vincent P. Slatt Fellowship for Undergraduate Research in Energy Systems and Processes program. These students represent a vibrant community of young scholars whose research interests encompass a broad range of sustainable energy topics. Students will be on campus to conduct their research projects in collaboration with ND Energy faculty affiliates over a ten-week period starting in late May through the month of July.
The fellowship recipients include eight students at Notre Dame, three students from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, and one student from New Mexico State University. Their research projects are highlighted below and detailed descriptions can be found on the Slatt Fellowship page of ND Energy's website.
Angel Anchondo
Angel Anchondo, civil engineering and geomatics double major from New Mexico State University, will conduct his research project titled “Lapped Connections for Accelerated Modularized Construction of Safety-related, Non-containment Reinforced Concrete Nuclear Buildings” in the laboratory of Prof. Yahya C. Kurama, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences. His research will focus on material testing using a dilatometer in the McGinn laboratory located in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering to investigate thermal expansion of grout and concrete materials subjected to temperatures of up to 600 degrees Celsius.
Amanda Arrufat Román
Amanda Arrufat Román, mechanical engineering major from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, will conduct her research project titled “Electrostrictive Properties of Ionic Liquids” in the laboratory of Prof. Yamil J. Colón, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Her research will focus on new advancements in chemical separation processes to sustainably meet the increasing demand for electronics.
Levi Cherek
Levi Cherek, biochemistry major at Notre Dame, will conduct his research project titled "Replacing Ruthenium with Iron for Sustainable Olefin Metathesis" in the laboratory of Prof. Vlad Iluc, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. His research will focus on demonstrating similar carbon-carbon bond formation reactions using Earth-abundant metals, such as nickel and iron, in the synthesis of industrial materials, rather than using the scarce and biologically toxic ruthenium-based complexes that are highly energy-intensive to mine. This work will significantly reduce the energy consumption and expenses associated with using noble metals and contribute to a cleaner energy future.
Emmanuel Correia Villamizar
Emmanuel Correia Villamizar, mechanical engineering major from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, will conduct his research project titled "Molecular Dynamics Simulations" in the laboratory of Prof. Yamil J. Colón, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. His research will delve into the complex world of molecular dynamics simulations with a particular focus on how salts behave when dissolved in various solvents. He will also decode the subtle complexities of these systems by meticulously building their free energy landscapes and understanding the mechanisms behind their dissociation processes.
Gabriel Cruz-Ruiz
Gabriel Cruz-Ruiz, chemistry major from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, will conduct his research project titled "Phytoremediation of Soil Contaminated with Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)" in the laboratory of Prof. Kyle Doudrick, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences. His research will focus on studying wastes that are contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS or PFASs), using analytical methods to track their fate in thermal treatment systems and using catalysts to destroy them at temperatures below 500 C.
Batradz Djikkaity
Batradz Djikkaity, chemical engineering major at Notre Dame, will conduct his research project titled “Composite Nanofibers as Effective Adsorbents for Li+ Extraction” in the laboratory of Prof. Nosang Myung, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The high demand of lithium for energy storage, such as batteries, leads to the need for lithium extraction from different resources. Besides ores, seawater and salt lakes are great sources of lithium. In this research, he will nanoengineer embedded active materials for lithium adsorption in polymer fiber material to facilitate lithium extraction. Consequently, lithium-based energy storage will become more affordable and more feasible for creating a sustainable future.
Giorgi (Gio) Kharchilava
Gio Kharchilava, physics major at Notre Dame, will conduct his research project titled “Low-energy Electron Attachment to Ethylene Carbonate” in the laboratory of Prof. Sylwia Ptasinska, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Radiation Laboratory. His research will focus on low energy electron collision with ethylene carbonate, aiming to illuminate the decay process of this important industrial molecule. The degradation of this molecule and DEC, a molecule he is already working with, has important implications for energy efficiency from Lithium Ion Batteries to safer biofuels.
John Moore
John Moore, chemical engineering major at Notre Dame, will conduct his research project titled “Modeling and Experimentally Verifying a Multistep Nonhomeogenous Diafiltration Cascade for Application in Lithium Ion Battery Recycling” in the laboratory of Prof. William Phillip, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. His research will focus on developing and modeling a four-stage membrane-based solute separation system that utilizes a unique "diafiltration" approach for the purpose of removing an energy-inefficient and toxic-solvent-heavy step in the Lithium Ion Battery recycling process.
Aidan Murray
Aidan Murray, aerospace engineering and music double major at Notre Dame, will conduct his research project titled "Monte Carlo Methods for Neutron Transport" in the laboratory of Prof. Ryan McClarren, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. His research will focus on using and optimizing simulations to investigate safety and performance of new reactor designs, especially small modular reactors (SMRs) and "microreactors", suitable for emerging economies that do not have the infrastructure to adopt large, conventional nuclear plants, but still have an interest in carbon-free power.
Sara Murray
Sara Murray, chemistry computing major at Notre Dame, will conduct her research project titled "Energy Transfer in Manganese doped CsPbCl3 Quantum Dots" in the laboratory of Prof. Prashant V. Kamat, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Radiation Laboratory. The purpose of her research will be to improve upon current semiconductor materials used in solar energy harvesting technology to increase their efficiency and stability.
Sarah Oliva
Sarah Oliva, environmental engineering major at Notre Dame, will conduct her research project titled "Advancing towards a Sustainable Future for Nuclear Energy” in the laboratory of Prof. Peter C. Burns, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences. Her research will entail using plasma electrolysis to explore the formation of uranyl peroxide clusters in an environment with slow additions of hydrogen peroxide. This has the potential to increase the efficiency of uranium recovery in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing allowing for more fuel to be recycled.
Victor Williams
Victor Williams, physics and music double major at Notre Dame, will conduct his research project titled "Ink-Jet Printing of CeO2 and Eu2O3 Thin Films for Nuclear Energy Applications and Nuclear Physics Measurements" in the laboratory of Prof. Khachatur Manukyan, Department of Physics and Astronomy. His research will focus on developing the capabilities of microdispensing ink jet printing to create uniform thin films of Eu2O3 and CeO2 for nuclear energy applications and nuclear physics measurements.
About the Slatt Fellowship Program
The Vincent P. Slatt Fellowship program is made possible through the generosity of Christopher ’80 and Jeanine Slatt in honor of Vincent P. Slatt, Notre Dame Class of 1943. Over 260 undergraduate students at Notre Dame and from minority-serving institutions have benefited from the fellowship program and have contributed significantly to the future of sustainable energy. Many of the Slatt scholars have presented their research projects at national conferences and have either authored or co-authored journal articles, published in the top, peer-reviewed journals in the country. Funding for Slatt fellowships has exceeded $1.1 million since the program began in 2006.
Contact
For more information, please contact Barbara Villarosa, Business and Communications Program Director for ND Energy, at villarosa.2@nd.edu.