Alden O'Rafferty

Background

I grew up in the SF Bay Area and am happiest when singing around a campfire, cooking elaborate dinners, going on long hikes, planning silly events, and doing crafts with friends. In undergrad, I spent 2 summers running UC Berkeley's Girls in Engineering summer camp for middle schoolers from underrepresented backgrounds in STEM and was President of Stanford Undergraduate Materials Society, where I threw oodles of social and professional events (most famously, many many crafternoons). I also spent a summer as a counselor at a sleepaway camp for adults with developmental disabilities and special needs. My scientific background includes internships at Swift Solar (perovskite solar startup), NREL, the International Iberian Nanotechnology Lab in Portugal, the Jaramillo Lab in Stanford ChemE, and Tesla. I am giddy to continue doing awesome science with awesome people here at UCSB!

Current Research

I am using NMR to investigate manganese oxide structures. My research will elucidate redox processes in these materials during battery cycling.

Education

• 2025-Present – Graduate Student, Materials Department, UC Santa Barbara.
• 2019-2024 – B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University.

Awards and Honors

• 2025: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.