Born and raised in Freehold, NJ, I was first introduced into engineering as part of Rutgers University's "The Engineering Experience for Minorities" (TEEM) during the summer after my junior year of high school. After high school, I attended Rutgers University to pursue my bachelors in Ceramic Engineering as well as completing a bachelors in physics. Along with the education, the Ceramic Engineering department (now called the Material Science and Engineering department) at Rutgers has a wonderful tradition of employing their undergraduate students to work in the research laboratories. For four years I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Dr. George Sigel and some brilliant students in the field of fiber optics. When the choice for what to do after my undergraduate came, graduate school was the obvious answer. With four years of lab experience in one field though, I decided that switching focus might be beneficial. This is what brought me to Northwestern University.

Northwestern's Material Science and Engineering department is one of the best in the world and it enabled me to choose a graduate school without choosing a project right away. It was here that I was introduced into surface science and catalysis by Prof. Peter Stair (Chemistry) and Prof. Laurence Marks (MSE). The subject matter was intriguing and now I am currently pursuing my PhD from the Material Science & Engineering department here at Northwestern.

• UHV Surface Science: Spectroscopies, e.g., Auger Electron Spectroscopy, Angle Resolved Xray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Low Energy Electron Diffraction

• Material Chemistry: preparation and characterization of well-ordered single crystal surfaces for model studies of catalytic behavior and applications to conventional catalysis and photocatalysis

• Temperature Programmed Desorption: provides ability for direct correlation of molecular/electronic structures with catalytic performance (activity & selectivity) for a surface structure-reactivity relationship and therefore possible rational design of novel catalytic materials