During my Ph.D. work, I focused primarily in solution synthesis of bulk materials, nanoparticles, thin films, and nanostructured composites. Structural and microstructural characterization was done with X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. DC and AC magnetic measurements and resistivity measurements for magnetoresistance calculations were performed with a Physical Property Measurement System (Quantum Design). Successful user proposals also allowed for research to be conducted at the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory and the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
As a postdoc at NRL, I have been working in the growth of magnetic and ferroelectric thin films by DC magnetron sputtering and pulsed laser deposition. Characterization of these materials are performed with a Lakeshore VSM, a Sawyer-Tower measurement system, and laser doppler vibrometry. I have also developed a setup to examine the effects of magnetic field, electric field, and stress on the magnetoelectric coupling.