Sarah Driscoll, a VINSE Associate Tech Crew聽member and junior in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, is the second聽place national winner in the聽聽sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists ()聽and hosted by the聽Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education ().
The annual Ignite Off! competition showcases the talents of interns participating in the Summer 2023聽Community College Internships (),聽Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships ()听补苍诲听聽programs from participating laboratories as they share their research through Ignite Talks.
Driscoll was a SULI summer intern at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center working in the National Accelerator Laboratory at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource facility. Synchrotrons shoot X-rays at samples to understand their composition. One of the ways they do this is by capturing fluoresced聽photons from the sample. Setting up the detector to detect these photons at specific energies is a time-consuming process that聽is聽typically done with bulk materials that fluoresce too much or user samples where expected fluorescence is unknown.
Driscoll鈥檚 project鈥斺�淴-ray Absorption Spectroscopy: Fluorescence Detectors鈥濃�攊nvolved improving fluorescent detector setup times by making standards with known absorption characteristics to calibrate the detector before use. Driscoll won the local semi-final round at her host laboratory and advanced to the national finals. She won gift cards at each round.
鈥淭o explain your research project required lots of time to perfect the presentation,鈥� Driscoll said. Competitors had five minutes to present their project, using 20 picture-centric slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds. The also had access to an ORISE professional development course that teaches the process for developing an Ignite talk.
On campus, Driscoll works in the 91吃瓜网 Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering鈥檚 (VINSE) cleanroom as an associate tech crew member where she helps grow graphene and assists with tasks critical for cleanroom operation. 鈥淚 also am an undergraduate researcher the聽聽in the Department of Chemical Engineering where I鈥檓 working to聽find a scalable fabrication method of 2D materials for applications in energy and the environment field,鈥� she said. 鈥淎ll my research endeavors as an undergraduate have led to the decision to pursue graduate school.鈥�