Two UC Davis Chemistry Graduate Students Selected to Conduct Research at DOE National Labs

Two UC Davis chemistry graduate researchers have been selected to spend several months to a year conducting research at U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories.

Anna Csencsits Kundmann and Anna Wannenmacher are among the 87 awardees from 58 universities selected to participate in the Office of Science Graduate Research (SCGSR) program. According to the DOE, graduate students selected to participate in the program are working on research projects that address "critical energy, environmental and nuclear challenges at national and international scales.” The program gives graduate students the chance to learn from world-class scientists while using state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, said Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, director of the DOE Office of Science.

Kundmann, who works in Professor of Chemistry Frank Osterloh’s lab, will conduct research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.  

“This will be an extraordinary opportunity to learn what it is like to work in that environment and to make connections for the future,” Kundmann said. “I also believe science benefits from a diversity of experiences, so I look forward to expanding my circle of mentors and gaining access to unique equipment not available to me at Davis.”

Kundmann’s research focuses on semiconductor material interfaces for renewable energy applications. Currently, Kundmann is investigating materials that produce voltage or electrochemical potential when exposed to sunlight. 

“NREL has special equipment that allows for more variables to be tested that might influence these interfaces, along with invaluable expertise in measuring the characteristics that we are interested in,” Kundmann said. “We hope this information will be useful for the understanding of solar-driven water-splitting systems that use sunlight to convert water into hydrogen fuel, as well as possible future solar cell designs.”

Wannenmacher, who works in Professor Davide Donadio's lab, will conduct research using the Advanced Light Source user facility at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California. The ALS is a synchrotron, a circular particle accelerator that produces light of varying wavelengths to investigate the makeup of materials. Wannenmacher will use the instrument to investigate molecules in the interstellar medium, the space between the stars.    

“This is a region where reactions may occur and may even be a place where reactions occurred forming molecules that went on to form life, many reactions later,” said Wannenmacher. “By studying how these molecules interact with each other and affect each other, we can better understand what is happening on the icy mantles of these dust grains and make a tiny contribution to the question of how life may have come to be on Earth.”

In addition to conducting research, Wannenmacher is excited to learn about the variety of research projects ongoing at the ALS facility. 

“Some years ago, I took a tour of the ALS and was told how the light was being used to image spiders. There is such interesting and cutting-edge research to learn about,” Wannenmacher said. “Not only will I be able to learn about the research they are conducting, but I will also get to meet scientists from all over the world.”