Principal Investigator
Dr. Dev Chidambaram
Ormat Technologies Scholar of Materials and Interfaces
Director, MER Lab
Director, Nevada Institute for Sustainability
2017 - Professor, Chemical and Materials Engineering at UNR
2013 - Associate Professor (Tenured), Chemical and Materials Engineering at UNR
2009 - Assistant Professor, Chemical and Materials Engineering at UNR
2004-2009 - Goldhaber Distinguished Fellow and Staff Scientist, Brookhaven National Laboratory, NY
Ph.D - Materials Science and Engineering, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY, 2003
M.S. - Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY, 2001
M.S. - Materials Science and Engineering, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY, 2000
B.Tech - Chemical and Electrochemical Engineering, Central Electrochemical Research Institute, India, 1998
Dr. Dev focuses his research on utilizing electrochemistry and spectroscopy to solve problems in materials, biological, and environmental sciences.
Research Scientists
Dr. Thorunn Snorradottir
Joined October 2013
2007-2012 - Assistant Laboratory Manager, ChemTreat/PowerChem, Reno, NV
2000-2006 - Research Assistant, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV
Ph.D - Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 2005
M.S. - Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 2000
B.S. - Chemical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 1996
Dr. Snorradottir's research focuses on the prevention of corrosion and scaling in geothermal wells.
Zachary Karmiol
M.S. - Materials Science and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 2014
B.S. - Materials Science and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 2012
Zachary Karmiol graduated from University of Nevada, Reno with a B.S. and an M.S. in Material Science & Engineering. His work has included catalyst synthesis for biofuel conversion, the refining of rare earth metals, and high temperature exposure and mechanical testing of structural steels for use in supercritical water environments. He has also been a finalist in multiple DOE sponsored FLoW Competitions, and has given a TEDx talk on nuclear energy.
Zach's current research is focused on stress corrosion cracking of materials utilized in nuclear reactor environments.
William Phillips
Doctoral Student - Joined July 2014
M.S. - Materials Science and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 2015
B.S. - Materials Science and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 2014
Bill Phillips is a PhD student and U.S. NRC research assistant in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. He has a background in semiconductor fabrication, photonic device prototyping, and electronics manufacturing. His current work is focused on electrochemistry and corrosion in high temperature molten salt environments applicable to the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel.
Kodi Summers
Doctoral Student - Joined June 2013 as an undergraduate
M.S. - Materials Science and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 2016
B.S. - Materials Science and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 2015
Kodi Summers is a Nuclear Regulatory Commission Graduate Fellow pursuing a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering. He received his Bachelor and Master’s degrees from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2015 and 2016, respectively. His past research work has been in quantum dot sensitized solar cells, hydrogen evolution reaction catalysts, and corrosion of structural materials for use in molten nitrate salt solar thermal power plants. His current research focuses on developing a high spatial resolution electrochemical method for studying localized corrosion of high-temperature alloys used in nuclear power applications.
Jeremy Moon
Doctoral Student - Joined June 2017
2003 - 2006 - Mechanical Operator/Engineering Laboratory Technician, US Navy
B.S. - Materials Science and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, 2017
Jeremy currently has two active research projects: investigation of alternative anode materials for the electrochemical reduction of oxide nuclear fuels for pyrochemical reprocessing, and designing equipment for the study of mass transport and corrosion in container materials for molten salt reactor designs using traditional, electrochemical, and spectroscopic methods.
Jared Olson
Masters Student - Joined June 2017
2012-Present - Metallurgist/Project Manager, McClelland Laboratories, Inc.
B.S. - Chemical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, 2012
Gabriel Martins
Masters Student - Joined August 2017
B.S. - Chemical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, 2017
Vickram Singh
Doctoral Student - Joined August 2015
B.S. - Chemical Engineering, University of Tennessee - Knoxville, 2015
Vick's work focuses on using in-situ Raman spectroscopy for pyroprocessing of used nuclear fuel.