Experience

Algenesis Materials

• United States
• Biotechnology Research
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Research Scientist

  • Apr 2017 - Present

  - Principal investigator of NSF’s SBIR Phase I and II grant worth over $1 million. Developed PU flip flops from algae oil which resulted in a development and manufacturing contract with REEF. Responsibilities included formulation and processing of polyurethanes, writing progress reports, and coordinating with the CFO and DO. - Project manager for a DOE SBIR grant researching the biodegradability of soft polyurethane foams. Coordinated between multiple teams to generate, degrade, and analyze foam breakdown, and identified the primary breakdown products of foams as the analytical lead. - Managed the analytical lab, including performing analytical testing, routine/non-routine instrument maintenance. Handled Environmental Health and Safety responsibilities such as coordinating hazardous waste disposal, handling CS chemicals, and ensuring lab safety training was up to date for all lab members. - Trained, mentored, and coordinated multiple undergraduate employees and volunteers. - Coordinated appearance at multiple outreach events promoting and educating the public about sustainable plastics.



Food & Fuel for the 21st Century

• Graduate Researcher

  • Jun 2015 - Apr 2017

  - Led a small research team of undergraduates and volunteers in developing algae-based polyols and incorporating them into a commercial polyurethane foam to create the first sustainable surfboards with comparable performance characteristics. - Collaborated with Arctic Foam, a local surfboard manufacturer, in scaling up the formula from laboratory to factory scale. These boards won 1st Place in Sustainable Surfing Innovation at the 2015 Boardroom International Surfboard Show, and have received attention from multiple news sources.



UC San Diego

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Graduate Teaching Assistant

  • Jan 2015 - Apr 2017

  - Designed and taught lesson plans involving method development and analysis of samples on the HPLC, GCMS, HSGC, cation and anion IC, Karl Fisher titrator, autotitrator, and FTIR spectrometer. - Performed scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on the instruments. - Supervised 20-30 students in a laboratory setting. - Designed and taught lesson plans involving method development and analysis of samples on the HPLC, GCMS, HSGC, cation and anion IC, Karl Fisher titrator, autotitrator, and FTIR spectrometer. - Performed scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on the instruments. - Supervised 20-30 students in a laboratory setting.



California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS)

• Cluster Teaching Assistant

  • Jun 2014 - Aug 2016

  - Served as a Cluster Teaching Assistant for 1.5 months during three consecutive summers, as COSMOS is a summer program for gifted high school students. - Prepared educational activities, led demonstrations, gave planned and unplanned lectures on relevant topics, and supervised high school students during lectures and activities, enabling the to explore college level science and challenging them to think critically. - Mentored groups of 3-4 students throughout their month-long experiments and presentations. Students explored the effects of pollution on algal blooms by monitoring dissolved oxygen content, calculated the global warming potential of greenhouse gases by measuring their IR absorption, and synthesized and utilized polyols made from algae and jatropha oils in soft foam.