Experience

  • Assistant Professor
    Centenary College of Louisiana
    Department of Physics
    August 2007 to present

    I am an assistant professor of physics at a liberal arts college in Shreveport, LA. The college maintains a high level of research goals involving undergraduates in addition to traditional liberal arts education, with a student to teacher ratio of twelve across the college. Our department develops the latest pedagogical techniques, e.g., inquiry and experienced based learning. In addition, Centenary College also has one of the first biophysics degree programs introduced at a liberal arts institution.


  • NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Post-Doctoral Fellow
    Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
    Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
    August 2003 to present

    I have been using time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) for biophysical kinetics experiments. I employ a femto- and picosecond mode Ti-Al2O3 laser for high temporal resolution of protein dynamics in solution. In bulk solutions, measurements are made for analyzing time-dependent fluorescence, rotational anisotropy, and Stokes shift. These measurements can provide detail about protein motions due to solvation, ligand-binding, and protein folding and fluctuations. These experiments provide a foundation for studying single molecules with confocal laser microscopy. I have been primarily interested in the chemosensory protein galactose/glucose binding protein for ligand-binding studies and ß-lactoglobulin (an amyloid-forming protein). Using unique fluorescent labeling schemes, the conformational, structural, and functional kinetics can be studied. In addition, the use of micro- and nanofluidics helps confine molecules to the microscope confocal volume without hindering natural behavior. I am implementing for the first time hidden Markov models (HMM) to analyze photon streams, which make maximum use of the information provided by these experiments.


  • Post-Doctoral Research Associate
    Princeton University
    Department of Physics
    February 2003 to September 2003

    I developed electronic sensing techniques for biological discrimination without the need for chemical or physical sample alteration. My primary research focus was in dielectric spectroscopy, where we employed microfluidic tectonics to create novel parallel-plate devices to study biological materials (e.g., DNA, proteins, and E. coli cells) over the range 0.05-40 GHz. Other research was aimed at multi-analyte detection for sizing of molecular and cellular biological materials using the Coulter resistive pulse technique.


  • Graduate Research Assistant
    The University of Texas at Austin
    Department of Physics
    January 1997 to January 2003

    Yttrium and lanthanum were discovered in 1996 to transition from a metallic mirror to a transparent insulator upon hydrogenation to the trihydride phase (YH3 and LaH3). I have looked into steric effects upon this transition by substituting scandium for yttrium. Scandium maximally forms dihydride (ScH2), and therefore, does not exhibit this transition. My experience includes ultra-high vacuum, electron beam evaporation film deposition, optical spectroscopy, SQUID magnetometry, electrical transport measurements, NMR (both conventional and force microscopy), x-ray diffraction, iodometric titration for oxygen stoichiometry, solid-state reaction, and thermal gravimetric analysis.


  • Engineering Intern
    International Sematech/International 300mm Initiative
    Austin, Texas
    May 1997 to April 2002

    From June 1997 to May 2002 I conducted research as an intern for the International 300mm Initiative (I300I) and International Sematech (ISMT) in parallel with my dissertation studies. These companies are consortia from the semiconductor industry set forth to eliminate cost-bearing and technological obstacles within the industry. My research included analysis of production capability of 300 mm silicon wafers and metrology tools as compared to state-of-the-art 200 mm technology, developing mathematical models for the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) Starting Materials division, as well as thermal stability and wet etch capability of potential high-k dielectric materials alternatives ZrO2 and HfO2 to replace SiOx. The wet etch studies enabled ISMT to file for a patent on the film removal process that we developed.


  • Contract Engineer
    Xidex Corporation
    Austin, Texas
    July 2000 to December 2000

    As part of a collaboration with my graduate research advisor, I was contracted to design, construct, and use a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system for growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The CNTs were grown using a precursor catalyst method, and analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The growth conditions were tailored for growing a single, straight CNT on an ultrasenstive crystal silicon cantilever for scanning force microscopy. The nanometer diameter of the CNT provides higher resolution force microscopy than standard commercial cantilevers.

  • Teaching Assistant
    University of Texas at Austin
    January 1997 to May 2002

    I have taught and graded seven semesters of physics courses for science, engineering, and non-science students. The courses were Conceptual Physics, Pseudoscience, and Mechanics and Electricity – Magnetism.