Emily Foley, a senior student pursuing a degree in materials science and engineering with a minor in electrical engineering, is the first scholar in the Semiconductor Research Corporation/Intel* Senior Scholars (SISS) Program. The SISS program is aimed at supporting senior undergraduate students who are involved in interdisciplinary research in the following areas: semiconductor, electronics, and information-technology. SIS scholars will not only be learning the technology and the language of the engineering profession but also gain insight into what graduate school and/or a professional career in the field entails. In addition, Emily and her graduate student mentor, Julia Kohanek, will receive monetary awards as part of their participation in the SISS program.
Emily’s research project, Increased Electronic Conductivity of Li-Ion Battery Cathode by Creation of Cathodic Conversion Material – Metal Eutectic, focuses on developing new or improving current cathode and anode materials that can lead to increase in cell potential and capacity. Currently, Emily is an undergraduate researcher in the Braun Research Group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). In summer 2017, she was an intern for Prof. Tatsumi Ishihara (Molecular Photoconversion Devices Division) at the International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I2CNER) in Fukuoka, Japan. Emily has also interned for Dr. Ingrid Repins (Solar Relibaility Group) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Aside from participating in research, Emily has worked for the International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance and the Webster Humanitarian Association in Geneva, Switzerland during her study abroad semester. She also served as a lab assistant in the Girls Learning About Materials (GLAM) Summer Camp at UIUC.
Emily has been involved with renewable energy and energy efficiency projects and hopes to continue this work in graduate school. She “sees the SISS program as being key to [her] future goals” and is “excited about presenting [her] research and attending a conference and/or workshop outside of UIUC.”
*Semiconductor Research Corporation/Intel is the primary sponsor of the Illinois Scholars Undergraduate Research (ISUR) Program.