In August 2021, I completed my chemical engineering Ph.D. in Professor Peter Crozier’s research group at Arizona State University. Now, I am searching for an exciting and challenging position that will form the basis of my engineering career.
My Ph.D. research focused on elucidating atomic-level structure-reactivity relationships for complex catalysts consisting of small 1 – 2 nanometer Pt nanoparticles supported on cerium oxide (ceria, CeO2) nanoparticles. (To illustrate, I have included a series of atomic-resolution images that I took during my research at the bottom of this page). These catalysts are often at the heart of many important clean and renewable energy applications and thus exhibit substantial interest. Throughout my thesis, I developed atomic-resolution environmental TEM tools to directly visualize, record, and quantify the atomic-level behavior occurring on local Pt/Ceria catalyst nanoparticles while they performed catalytic reactions. The results of my work have discovered dynamic changes in atomic-scale catalyst structure that can inform us about the fundamental steps of important catalytic reaction mechanisms.
In tandem to my experimental TEM research, I also pursued cutting-edge computational approaches for image simulation, processing, and analysis. In one project, I parallelized our quantum mechanical image calculations on high-performance supercomputers. The large volume of image simulations available was essential for developing deep convolutional neural networks for denoising ultra-low signal TEM images. In other projects and in my own data analysis, I have utilized a variety of scripting languages and packages with applications in computer vision, data science, and fitting/optimization, among others. A complete list of my publications and research output can be found on my Google Scholar page.
The significance of my thesis research has been recognized by awards from the Microscopy Society of America (MSA), the Microanalysis Society, the North American Catalysis Society, and the International Federation of Societies for Microscopy, who distinguished me as an up-and-coming Young Scientist. I was an active student leader, and I served twice as a symposium organizer for the MSA Congress on Electron Microscopy in Liquids and Gases. At ASU, I also served as the Vice President and then as the President of the Chem. Eng. Graduate Student Association. Outside of my work, I enjoy hiking, cooking, and spending time in the forest.
I’m looking for a position in a dynamic and collaborative environment. I am able to start immediately upon relocation. Please reach out to me (Joshua.Vincent@asu.edu) if you would like to start a conversation!
