Elizabeth Garcia Ponte

Background

Though born in Uruguay, South America, Elizabeth was raised in Greenville, South Carolina, where she also completed her undergraduate degree. Deciding that she could not bear with the northern cold or southern humidity, she came out west to UCSB to pursue her graduate studies.  In addition to being immersed in scientific research, Elizabeth plays the violin, and has participated in various musical ensembles for over ten years. Her favorite orchestral pieces that she's played so far have been Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker suite, Beethoven's 5th Symphony, and Stravinsky's Firebird and she has high hopes of one day performing Beethoven's 9th Symphony. While not as fanatic as the rest of her family, Elizabeth is an avid Uruguay soccer fan. Whenever she has free time, she likes reading fiction, singing (in English and Spanish), and of course, sleeping.

Current Research

Elizabeth's current project (co-supervised by Prof. Anton Van der Ven) involves using DFT to investigate shear phases as potential anode materials for Na-ion batteries. Based on the results of these calculations, she will undertake the synthesis of these materials and characterize them for their electrochemical properties.

Education

• 2019-Present – Ph.D in Materials, UC Santa Barbara.
• 2015-2019 – B.S. in Chemistry and Physics, Furman University.