People

Katherine Aidala employs creative techniques with the atomic force microscope to study a wide range of nanoscale devices and materials, with applications in solar energy, data storage, and biotechnology.  Her work has been supported by grants from the NSF and she received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2010.  Beyond the standard physics curriculum, she teaches Gender in Science and Science in the Media, and regularly gives talks on the under-representation of women in science.

Maria Gomez and her student researchers use the principles of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and quantum mechanics to study how structure affects proton and oxygen vacancy conduction in fuel cell systems. Their work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the MERCURY consortium, the Dreyfus Foundation, and the Research Corporation. Gomez enjoys teaching Chemical Principles in General Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, and electives. She and her students also enjoy getting K-6 parent/child teams to tackle interesting scientific ideas through the Passport to Chemistry Adventure outreach program.

Motivated by computational challenges arising in robotics, biology and computer aided design, Audrey St. John’s research focuses on building theoretical foundations and developing efficient algorithms for geometric problems. She has received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation to support her work on autonomous multi-robot formations. St. John also works on activities to broaden participation in computer science and STEM, including creating low-risk hardware experiences through the makerspace and helping to develop MaGE, an inclusive academic peer mentorship program (funded by Google’s CS Capacity program).

Thomas L. Millette, is a geographer and geoprocessing specialist with broad research interests in the applications of remote sensing and GIS to environmental monitoring and management. Thomas has applied image processing of satellite data to a wide variety of environmental assessments. Most recently, Thomas has developed the Airborne Multispectral Imaging System (AIMS) to develop high resolution imagery (4.0 cm) to identify forest pests (Asian Longhorned Beetle and Wooly Adelgid), and to conduct thermal ungulate surveys (moose and deer) and habitat analysis . Thomas also collaborates with the Umass Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory’s airborne radar interfermometry research program.