There are three major endeavors of any university, which include research, teaching, and service to others.  During my time at Mississippi State University, I have had the opportunity to perform work in each of these three different segments.

            My dissertation project dealt with different methods of coating metal implant materials.  Currently, we are working on applying chitosan, a biopolymer, to commercially pure titanium, grade 4, using four different treatment combinations.  We are investigating the effects of two metal surface treatments, passivation as guided by ASTM F86 and a piranha treatment to increase the Ti-OH groups present.  We are also investigating the effects of two different silane treatments.  We are using a silane commonly seen in biomedical journals, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane with a linker molecule of gluteraldehyde, and triethoxsilylbutyraldehyde, to determine the effects on the binding of chitosan to the surface.  X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy was used to document each of the steps in the reaction series, to demonstrate that the theoretical reactions were occurring.  Atomic Force Microscopy was used to determine the film thickness and film roughness.  Nanoindentation was use to determine the hardness of the film, while Scratch Testing was used to determine the resistance to shearing of the biopolymer.  In-Vitro biological testing was performed to determine the cellular interactions with the biocompatible film.

            I have had many opportunities to assist the professors in Chemical Engineering and professors in other departments and at other universities.  I have been a teaching assistant for the Unit Operations laboratory, along with teaching both Unit Operations I and Unit Operations II.  I also helped create, and then subsequently taught, the simulation laboratory that accompanied Mississippi State University's Process Design class.  As a graduate student, I was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) machine.  This operation has helped me meet many different professors around the campus, the country, and the world.  I have also assisted companies within the surrounding community.  I have worked on projects with professors from Plant and Soil Sciences, the Center of Advanced Vehicular Systems, and the University of Texas Health Science Center. 

            As an assistant professor, I plan to continue to combine teaching, service to others, and research.  I am interested in teaching several different classes, in helping others as I have at Mississippi State, and continuing my research in modifying the surface of metal implants in order to promote osseointegration and prevent biocorrosion, using my experience in the laboratory as a graduate student and my experience as an undergraduate earning a minor in microbiology.