Pip Knight

Pip Knight is a PhD candidate in materials science and engineering who seeks a deeper understanding of nanoscale kinetics to further the design of nanomaterials. Specifically, she is studying the growth and epitaxy of 3D metals and semiconductors on 2D materials. As a MathWorks Fellow, Pip will investigate titanium silicides and titanium oxides, which can catalyze the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen using energy from the sun, a clean way to produce hydrogen without fossil fuels. The addition of 2D materials enhances efficiency due to their light absorption properties and their ability to slow electron-hole recombination in the device. Pip is recording in situ videos of how titanium reacts with a silicon-containing gas (disilane) to form titanium silicides; how titanium reacts with oxygen; and how titanium influences the reactions of gold with silicon to grow silicon nanostructures with novel shapes for plasmonic optoelectronic devices. Pip’s research, which relies significantly on MATLAB, has yielded valuable insights into nanoscale kinetics and has the potential to advance nanomaterial design through in situ microscopy for a variety of applications, including clean energy.