Ashlea Patterson

Background

I grew up in southern California and southern Utah, mostly, so I'm a big fan of deserts (and desserts, but that's another discussion). I love spending time with my gigantic family, reading books of all kinds, and playing around outside: hiking, running, biking, rock-climbing — if it's outside, I'm probably into it. I'm an environmental sustainability-oriented person, and I hope to contribute to mitigating the advancement and effects of climate change through my career.

Current Research

Reliance on renewable energy sources is key to a sustainable future, and energy storage is one of the primary bottlenecks to renewable energy reliance. I am researching energy storage materials with the goal of eventually contributing to vehicle and grid electrification. I use a combination of electrochemical, diffraction, X-ray spectroscopy, solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and magnetism to understand the impact of dopant species on the properties of LiNiO₂ as battery cathode.

Education

• 2020-2026 – Ph.D. in Materials, UC Santa Barbara.
• 2015-2019 – B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah.
• 2011-2014 – A.A. in English Literature, Southern Utah University.