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Department of Physics and Astronomy Collins Research Group

People

Principle Investigator

Brian A. Collins, Associate Professor

Email: brian.collins@wsu.edu
Phone: (509) 335-4671
Office: Webster Physical Science 523

Ph.D. and M.S. in Physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.A. in Physics from Gustavus Adolphus College

 

 

Graduate Students

Devin Grabner

Email: devin.grabner@wsu.edu
Office: Webster Physical Sciences 525

B.S. in Physics & Chemistry from Walla Walla University
M.S. in Physics from Washington State University

Development of a robust in-situ/in-operando nanoprobe sensitive to molecular identity, allowing for characterization of both structure and dynamical interactions of polymeric micelles and other nanostructures in liquid environments.

Acacia Patterson

Email: acacia.patterson@wsu.edu
Office: Webster Physical Science 529

B.S. in Physics from Oregon State University

Investigating the morphological mechanism for the increased efficiency of ternary organic photovoltaics.

 

 

Harlan Heilman

Email: harlan.heilman@wsu.edu
Office: Webster Physical Science 521

B.S. in Physics from Northern Arizona University

Investigating DFT models to simulate structural, optical and electrical properties of organic molecules.

 

 

Tanner Melody

Email: tanner.melody@wsu.edu
Office: Webster Physical Science 529

B.S. Physics from San José State University

X-ray characterization of nanostructures and morphology of ternary organic photovoltaic devices.

 

 

Undergraduate Students

Elijah Allen
Chris Lum
Chandler Ketelsen

Post-Doctoral Alumni

  • Terry McAfee Ph.D.
    Post-Doc Work: Instrumentation Development for liquid in-situ/in-operando structural measurements of organic materials using Resonant Soft X-ray Scattering
    NOW: Senior Scientific Engineering Associate, APXPS and Chemical Sciences, Photon Science Operations at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
  • Prabodh Dhakal Ph.D.
    Post-Doc Work: Developing structure-property relationships in organic solar cell active layers by combining advanced resonant X-ray nanoprobes with optoelectronic characterization on the exact same devices

Graduate Alumni

  • Obaid Alqahtani Ph.D. (2023)
    Thesis: “Structure-Property Correlations in Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells Across Material Systems via Synchrotron X-ray Techniques”
    NOW: Professor of Physics at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University
  • Victor Murcia Ph.D. (2022)
    Thesis: “Development of tensor-based building block models with density functional theory calculations and clustering algorithms for a quantitative description of molecular orientation using near edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy of small molecule and polymeric thin films”
    NOW: Senior Management and Program Analyst at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Fred Woodall M.S. (2022)
    Thesis: “Characterization and Optimization of Zinc Phthylocyanine Thin Films in Organic Solar Cells”
    NOW: Process Development Engineer at Corning Inc.
  • Awwad Alotaibi Ph.D. (2022)
    Thesis: “Accurate Measurement of Charge Generation at Interfaces of Organic Solar Cell Devices Printed from Non-Halogenated Solvents”
  • Tamanna Khan Ph.D. (2022)
    Thesis: “Controlling Ion Transport Pathways in Polymer Mixed Ion/Electron Conducting Devices”
    NOW: Quality and Reliability Engineer at Intel
  • Devin Grabner M.S. (2022)
    Thesis: “Label-Free Characterization of aPS50 Nanostructure, Chemistry, and Dynamics via In-Situ Resonant Soft X-Ray Scattering (RsoXS)”
    NOW: Ph.D. Candidate at Washington State University Physics & Astronomy
  • Grant Thurman M.S. (2021)
    Thesis: “Building DFT Model for Y11.”
    NOW: Algorithm developer at Trace Soccer
  • Thomas Ferron Ph.D. (2019)
    Thesis: “Spectral model of resonant soft X-ray scattering to resolve molecule-specific organization in 3D organic nanostructures.”
    NOW: Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • David Buckley M.S. (2017)
    Thesis: “Computational Modeling to Determine Molecular Orientation at Buried Interfaces in Polymer Thin Films”
    NOW: Physics Professor – Lab Specialist at Gonzaga University
  • Michael Pope M.S. (2017)
    Thesis: “Using resonant X-ray scattering to determine how structure controls the charge generation process in PCPDTBT:PC70BM solar cells.”
    NOW: Lead Model Validation Specialist at Discover Financial Services
  • Obaid Alqahtani, M.S. (2016)
    Thesis: “Probing nanostructure of organic films and photovoltaics via synchrotron X-ray techniques.”
    NOW: Ph.D. Candidate at Washington State University Materials Science and Engineering
  • Qun Lu, M.S. (2016)
    Thesis: “Calibration and automation of AAA solar simulator and external quantum efficiency measurement of organic photovoltaic devices.”

Undergraduate Alumni

  • Emma Speight B.S. (2023)
    NOW: Applied Physics MS Program at the University of Oregon
  • Derrick Adams B.S. (2023)
    NOW: Nuclear Engineer at the Naval Nuclear Laboratory
  • Hunter Gedicke B.S. (2022)
  • Catherine Martin B.S. (2022)
    NOW: Chemical Process Engineer with British Petroleum
  • Sierra Ray B.S. (2021)
  • Cameron Bennett B.S. (2020)
  • Jacob Hastings B.S. (2020)
    NOW: Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Connecticut Physics
  • Kyle Norbert, B.S. (2020)
    NOW: Military Officer for the United States Space Force
  • Zachary Croft, B.S. (2018)
    NOW: DOE SULI Researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Michael Anderson, B.S. (2018)
    NOW: Ph.D. Candidate at University of Arizona Materials Science and Engineering
  • Keith Hillaire, B.S. (2017)
    NOW: Ph.D. Candidate at North Carolina State University Physics Department
  • Matthew Waldrip, B.S. (2017)
    NOW: Ph.D. Candidate: Wake Forest University Physics Department
  • Eric Beier, B.S. (2015)
    NOW: US Navy