Resume

• 2011

  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

  Chemistry

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  4.00/4.00

  Emergency Medical Technician - Basic

  New York State Department of Health

  Emergency Care Program Instructor

  National Safety Council

  Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer

  National Instruments

  100-314-6784

  edX Honor Code Certificate for Introduction to Linux

  edX

• 2009

  Middletown

  NY

  Seasonal employment in 2007

  and 2011. Provided medical care and support for over 90 campers

  24 hours every day. Communicated with parents

  administrative staff

  and pharmacists about campers' medical needs and medications. Maintained a log of all visits to the infirmary and overhauled organization of medical records of campers and staff. Trained Medical Director for 2008 and 2011 seasons on protocols and responsibilities and assumed role of Medical Director in his absence. Trained staff in CPR and First Aid and presented safety measures to be followed at camp. Created a guideline and procedure manual for future Medical Directors.

  Medical Director

  Braeside Camp

  Urbana

  IL

  Prepared and organized syllabus

  lectures

  quizzes

  and assignments for students. Diagnosed issues with the mass spectrometer

  fluorometer

  UV-visible spectrometer

  HPLC

  IR spectrometer

  and potentiostat. Designed a new HPLC experiment. Taught students during weekly laboratory sections and lectures. Coordinated meetings and assignments with all other teaching assistants.

  Head Teaching Assistant

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  Chair (2015)

  Public Relations (2014)

  Department of Chemistry Graduate Student Advisory Committee

  President (2010-11)

  Vice President (2009-10)

  Undergraduate Chemical Society

  Student Representative

  Department of Chemistry Undergraduate Program Committee

  Treasurer (2010-11)

  Vice President (2009-10)

  Irish Student Union

  French

  English

  Undergraduate Senior Chemistry ACS Award

  American Chemical Society Binghamton Local Section

  National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship

  National Science Foundation

  G.L. Clark Fellowship

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  Department of Chemistry

  Dow Travel Award

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  Department of Chemistry

  Algernon Gorman Award

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  Analytical Chemistry

• 2007

  Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

  Dean's List Fall 2007 - Spring 2011. Joined the Dimitrov Research Group in January 2009. President of the Undergraduate Chemical Society and treasurer of the Irish Student Union.

  Chemistry

  Phi Beta Kappa

  Binghamton Scholar

  Harpur's Ferry Student Volunteer Ambulance Service

  State University of New York at Binghamton

  Major: 3.99/4.00

  Cumulative: 3.95/4.00

• Provided pre-hospital care to students at the State University of New York at Binghamton. Duties similar to position at Woodbury Community Ambulance Corps.

  Harpur's Ferry Student Volunteer Ambulance Service

  Emergency Medical Technician-Basic

  Provided pre-hospital care to citizens of the Town of Woodbury. Ensured no danger was present upon arriving at scene; delegated responsibilities to police

  firefighters

  and other emergency medical personnel; monitored patient status; provided proper patient care; and drove ambulance to hospital as needed on over 100 calls. Ensured ambulances and building were well maintained and contained all necessary equipment. Mastered all protocols and equipment and trained new members on proper CPR and First Aid techniques.

  Woodbury Community Ambulance Corps

  Teaching

  Science

  NMR

  Electrochemistry

  Nanotechnology

  Chemistry

  Data Analysis

  LabVIEW

  Spectroscopy

  LaTeX

  UV/Vis Spectroscopy

  UV/Vis

  First Aid

  Research

  Community Outreach

  Nanomaterials

  Administration

  Scanning Electron Microscopy

  Fluorescence Spectroscopy

  HPLC

  Nanoporous Gold Membranes as Robust Constructs for Selectively Tunable Chemical Transport

  Nanopores are promising structures for small volume separations

  but often require complex top-down fabrication and are not easily (re)configurable to allow for dynamically tuned separations. Herein we report the first use of nanoporous gold (NPG) membranes as tunable

  charge-based separation elements. NPG is fabricated into a robust network of interconnecting pores via simple solution de-alloying. We demonstrate that control over the selective permeation of small molecule analytes can be controlled via three different methods: 1) anion adsorption at the Au surface; 2) pH-tuning of self-assembled monolayer (SAM) charge; and 3) electrochemical oxidation of a redox-active SAM. This simple and versatile membrane system is promising as a dynamically-tunable element for small volume separations.

  Nanoporous Gold Membranes as Robust Constructs for Selectively Tunable Chemical Transport

  Meifeng Lin

  Nanoporous gold (NPG) is an attractive material for such applications as catalysis and immunoassays due to its ease of fabrication and large surface area density. The nano-scaled features and bicontinuous geometry

  however

  suggest that NPG might also find practical use as a membrane towards (bio)molecular separations. The small constrictions not only demonstrate size-selective behavior

  but also promote electroosmotic flow (EOF) effects through the pores. Furthermore

  the amenability of Au surfaces towards self-assembled monolayer (SAM) formation allow for precise control over of the surface charge of the NPG. In effect

  dynamically tuning the strength and direction of EOF is possible through modulation of this surface charge.\n\nHerein

  NPG was prepared through free-corrosion de-alloying of an Au-containing alloy with a concentrated nitric acid bath. Average pore sizes of 50 nm were obtained for the as-prepared NPG

  as determined using scanning electron microscopy. The pore sizes were tuned to a desired average diameter by electrodepositing Au monolayers following a surface limited redox replacement approach. Further modifications to the surface charge of NPG were made using standard SAM techniques by immersing the NPG in various omega-functionalized alkanethiol solutions. A custom reservoir assembly coupled to a UV-visible absorption spectrometer was used to monitor the translocation of tracer molecules

  such as sodium benzenesulfonate and methyl viologen in the presence of an electric field. The surface charge and pore size was found to have a direct effect on the rate at which these analytes transited the NPG membrane.\n\nSupport for this work was provided through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF DGE-1144245).

  Tailored Electroosmotic Flow Through Nanoporous Gold Membranes for Dynamic Selective Separations

  Tunable Transport through Nanoporous Gold Membranes for Selective Separations

  Transport through Nanoporous Gold Membranes

  Towards Dynamically-Tunable Nanoporous Membranes for Size- and Charge-Selective Separations

  Wujian Miao

  Determination of the 2-(Dibutylamino)ethanol Free Radical Potential in Acetonitrile/Benzene Solutions Using Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence

  Biomolecular Separations through Tunable Nanoporous Gold Membranes

  Nikolay Dimitrov

  Fred Wafula

  Matthew Fayette

  Martha Kamundi

  Structural Effects of De-alloying the Less Noble Metal from Silver-Gold Thin Films

  Nikolay Dimitrov

  Fred Wafula

  In an effort to decrease the high cost associated with the design

  testing

  and production of electrocatalysts

  a completely electrochemical scheme has been developed to deposit and platinize a nanoporous Au (NPG) based catalyst for formic acid oxidation. The proposed route enables synthesis of an alternative to the most established

  nanoparticles based catalysts and addresses issues of the latter associated with either contamination inherent from the synthetic route or poor adhesion to the supporting electrode. The synthetic protocol includes as a first step

  electrochemical codeposition of a Au(1–x)Agx alloy in a thiosulfate based electrolyte followed by selective electrochemical dissolution (dealloying) of Ag as the less noble metal

  that generates an ultrathin and preferably continuous porous structure featuring thickness of less than 20 nm. NPG is then functionalized with Pt (no thicker than 1 nm) by surface limited redox replacement (SLRR) of underpotentially deposited Pb layer to form Pt-NPG. SLRR ensures complete coverage of the surface with Pt

  believed to spread evenly over the NPG matrix. Testing of the catalyst at a proof-of-concept level demonstrates its high catalytic activity toward formic acid oxidation. Current densities of 40–50 mA cm–2 and mass activities of 1–3 A.mg–1 (of combined Pt–Au catalyst) have been observed and the Pt-NPG thin films have lasted over 2600 cycles in standard formic acid oxidation testing.

  All Electrochemical Fabrication of a Platinized Nanoporous Au Thin Film Catalyst

  Dynamically-Tunable Nanoporous Gold Membranes for Size- and Charge-Selective Separations

  Daniel

  Braeside Camp

  University of Michigan

  Camp Rez

  The University of Southern Mississippi

  Schoolcraft College

  Henry Ford College

  Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

  Binghamton University

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  Hattiesburg

  Mississippi Area

  Investigated electrogenerated chemiluminescence from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using a dibutylaminoethanol coreactant. Developed guidelines and procedures for using a charge-coupled device to measure wavelength of electrogenerated chemiluminescence. Set up computers to monitor dark room experiments remotely

  Undergraduate Researcher

  The University of Southern Mississippi

  Ann Arbor

  MI

  Prepared perovskite solar cells under ambient conditions. Optimized testing geometries for high-throughput screening of different cells. Mentored 2 undergraduate students in principles

  design

  and characterization of perovskite solar cells.\n\nMaintained a tungsten filament scanning electron microscope (Zeiss LEO 1455 VP).

  Postdoctoral Fellow

  University of Michigan

  Urbana

  IL

  Pioneered new research direction towards using nanoporous gold for molecular and biomolecular separations applications. Designed new laboratory devices and custom glassware in AutoCAD for directly coupling UV-visible spectroscopy analysis to flow cells. Maintained laboratory equipment and wrote new software using LabVIEW for interfacing with potentiostat and microfluidic devices. Mentored 4 undergraduate students on proper laboratory techniques and protocols.\n\nAs group safety officer (2012-2015): Revamped safety inspection procedures and provided safety training for over 20 lab members. Maintained up-to-date information about current group procedures

  training certifications

  and chemical inventory.

  Ph.D. Candidate

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  Central Valley

  NY

  Ensured teenagers at camp were safe

  well hydrated

  and had fun during activities. Communicated with parents. Assumed the role of Medical Director when Medical Director was unavailable.

  Teen Head Counselor

  Camp Rez

  Livonia

  MI

  Adjunct Faculty

  Schoolcraft College

  Dearborn

  MI

  Adjunct Faculty

  Henry Ford College

  Binghamton

  NY

  Proctored and graded exams and quizzes every week. Taught laboratory sections on concepts discussed in class and proper laboratory techniques. Evaluated student performance and provided feedback so students could improve. Ensured a safe lab environment for all students.

  Teaching Assistant

  Binghamton University

  Bloomsburg

  PA

  Assistant Professor

  Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

  Optimized the electrodeposition of nickel and gold on copper to improve solder joint strength in electronics. Examined tin whisker formation using varying plating baths and plating conditions. Electrochemically etched tungsten tips for use in an STM. Investigated methods of electrochemically depositing gold and silver metal alloys.

  Binghamton University

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  Urbana

  IL

  Prepared and organized syllabus

  lectures

  quizzes

  and assignments for students. Designed and optimized nanoparticle synthesis experiment. Taught students during weekly laboratory sections and lectures. Guided students through group activities. Solidifed students’ understanding of the course material through extensive review of core material concepts.

  Teaching Assistant