Palladium (Pd) has been shown to be effective at catalyzing the oxidation of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. One area of research is using zeolites loaded with Pd to catalyze methane oxidation and reduce natural gas emissions. Jesse is currently aiding in the research of methane oxidation on Pd loaded SSZ-13 zeolite via computational efforts that utilize Density Functional Theory (DFT). In addition to studying the methane oxidation mechanism, its structures, and their relative energies, Jesse is writing Python scripts to increase productivity by automating common, repetitive tasks for editing files used in DFT analysis.
Jesse is currently a junior pursuing a B.S. in Chemical Engineering at UB, and he has interest in all branches of engineering. He first learned about engineering and applied science from his dad, a chemical engineer, who inspired him to study the subject. He enjoys solving problems that give him a challenge and present an opportunity to learn something new. Through these challenges, he aims to leverage the abilities of computers to aid in the problem solving process. His first exposure to computational methods came from a physical chemistry lab section, which sparked his interest in exploiting DFT to supplement experimental research. In addition to computational methods, he is especially interested in the renewable energy and aerospace industries. After graduating with a B.S. from UB, he plans on pursuing a graduate degree in another field of engineering to work towards employment in one of these fields.
Current Position: Ph.D. candidate at the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (Advisors: Dr. Mitchell Anthamatten and Dr. Shaw H. Chen)
