Zahra Hussaini is an undergraduate student pursuing concurrent degrees in Physics and Mathematics and a minor in Materials Science & Engineering. She is also a student at Barrett, The Honors College. She began working with the Crozier group in 2012. She worked with Ben Miller on his masters project. For his masters thesis Ben designed and built an addition to the ETEM at ASU which allows the sample to be illuminated with UV and visible light while it is being imaged at the atomic scale, allowing detailed studies of photocatalysts under conditions they might experience in real-world use. Zahra assisted with characterizing the light intensity distribution and the mechanical response of the system that Ben built.
Currently, Zahra is working on an undergraduate honors thesis that aims to develop a fundamental understanding of materials for sustainable energy applications. She is using the FEFF software package to simulate electron energy loss spectra from model materials (such as TiO2 and CeO2) in order to understand how chemical bonding influences the properties that make these materials useful for sustainable energy technologies.
Zahra is currently funded by a NASA Space Grant intership.
Projects:
EELS Simulation