Fiona O’Dowd

As part of the scholarship, Fiona will do research under the guidance of Prof. Carlos Martinez on a project sponsored by the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA). The FAA is interested in incorporating encapsulated phase changing materials (PCMs) in runways to mitigate snow and ice accumulation. PCMs irradiate or absorb heat due to phase transformations triggered by temperature changes and have emerged as a cost effective route to passively regulate living space temperatures during the hot summer and cool winter months providing comfort and saving energy. Fiona will focus on optimizing the encapsulation PCM chemistry to improve capsule strength and reduce synthesis costs.