Graduate Student
Biography
I am a graduate student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, working towards my Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering. I received a Bachelor's in Physics with a minor in Mathematics from Appalachian State University. My prior research focused on optical trapping, during which I constructed a fully operational optical tweezer apparatus utilizing two distinct lasers to manipulate sub-microscopic particles. My current research examines the formation and evolution of electronic and nuclear defect states in AlN, GaN, and Ga₂O₃ thin films and devices under swift heavy ion irradiation. Defect characterization is carried out using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry in the Channeling configuration (RBS/C) to study structural defects, Ion Beam Induced Luminescence (IBIL) at cryogenic temperatures to resolve defect-related optical transitions, and Raman spectroscopy to assess irradiation-induced strain and vibrational mode perturbations.
