Preparing for graduation can be tricky, especially during a nation-wide crisis. And defending your thesis as a Ph.D. student remotely through Zoom, added another layer of concern. However, Allison Domhoff was well-prepared and successfully presented her dissertation titled “Tuning Transport in Ionomer Nanocomposites via Nanoparticle Surface Functionalization” on April 1st.
Domhoff’s research during her studies here at Clemson investigated the effect of different surface chemistries on silica nanoparticles and incorporated the functionalized nanoparticles into ionomer membranes for vanadium redox flow batteries to correlate nanoparticle dispersion, nanocomposite morphology, and bulk ion transport through these nanocomposite membranes.
Upon graduation, Allison Domhoff will continue her career in Pittsburgh, PA as a Research Chemist for PPG Industries. PPG Industries is a global supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials and a Fortune 500 company.
As Allison reflected on her journey to receiving her Ph.D., she had this to say; “I am so fortunate to have been a part of the Davis Research Group at Clemson for my PhD studies, through which I have bolstered my technical and writing skills with awesome experiences and feel ready to tackle any scientific problem that presents itself. I look forward to using my expertise on new and different projects as a Research Chemist at PPG.”
As a parting gift, Allison had a wonderful piece of advice for Ph.D. students in the Clemson Chemical Engineering program, “I recommend to all current and future students to try all new opportunities and apply to anything extra that you can, whether that be for fellowships you don’t think you have a chance in being awarded or for experiments at external facilities, you never know what will happen!”