Joely Watson, a junior majoring in Chemistry with a concentration in Neuroscience, worked with Dr. Steven Hughes to complete their summer research project. Their project was tilted “CuInS2/CuInZnS2 film leaching of ions and nanocrystals into the environment”.
“I worked on quantifying the leaching of ions and nanocrystals into solution from CuInZnS2 nanocrystal films. This helped to simulate how industrial solar panels and other nanocrystal-based items are able to affect the surrounding environment- mainly based on differing water environments.”
Joely’s favorite part of doing research was working with her advisor and her lab partners.
To anyone thinking about doing research, Joely says:
“This is a great opportunity to further your major and gain “real-world” experience in the research field. It also doubles as an opportunity to have a steady full-time job over the summer”.
Skyler Paderick, ’19, is also a chemistry major who worked with Dr. Hughes over the summer. His project is tilted “AgGaS2 Semi-Conductor Nanoparticles: An Exploration of Defects and Doping”. Skyler and Dr. Hughes worked on the synthesis of Silver Gallium Sulfide nanocrystals. They focused on tuning and optimizing fluorescence in the blue-green wavelength range of the visible spectrum using a zinc shell heterostructure by altering various parameters.
“I love the moments where the answer hits me. I get an idea I want to try. Those moments are the greatest. Things just starting coming together”.
Skyler says there’s no better opportunity on campus than research.