I was born in Redwood City, California, USA and spent most of my childhood near Vancouver, BC, Canada. I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), earning a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering in 2020. During my studies at UBC, I undertook a one-year internship at Ballard Power Systems, a major manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell products and systems, where I worked in the Stack Test Engineering team. This experience exposed me to the commercialization of clean/renewable energy technologies and grew my interest in working in this sector. In my senior year, I contributed to a capstone project designing a dual-axis solar tracking system and completed a small research project about microneedle injections. After graduating from UBC, I decided to pursue a Master’s degree at the University of Waterloo, where I can continue working towards a career in fuel cell technology and/or renewable energy systems.
As a graduate student in the Fuel Cell and Green Energy Lab, I am working on a project that aims to develop high-performing, durable, and low-cost catalysts for fuel cell transportation systems. Currently, I am investigating a method for synthesizing a non-spherical platinum nanoparticle catalyst on different chemically modified carbon supports, as well as scaling up the synthesis method to determine the catalyst’s performance in practical PEM fuel cells. My progress so far includes catalyst synthesis, physical characterization, and electrochemical characterization. As part of the project, I have worked with students both within our group and in Dr. Samaneh Shahgaldi’s group (at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières). In the future, I will evaluate my catalyst samples in scaled-up PEM fuel cell tests, opening possible connections to other ongoing projects on catalyst layers, fuel cell component designs, etc. in our lab.