Stefan Nikodemski

  • Physics and Materials Science
  • Colorado School of Mines
    Golden, CO 80401
    USA

About the Bechtel Teaching Partnership

I am partially funded through the Bechtel Foundation. I teach math and science on Tuesdays at Sherrelwood Elementary School and work in five classrooms (Kindergarten, 2nd grade, two 4th grade, and 5th grade classrooms). I also teach at Fairview Elementary on Thursdays where I work in three classes. These include, Ms. Tetreault's third grade science class, Mrs. Diaz's first and second grade science class, and Mrs. Miller's first and second grade and math class.
  • Bechtel Website

    Education

      I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the Colorado School of Mines in Engineering Physics. I am currently pursuing my Master of Science degree in Materials Science.

    Research Interests

    Nanoionic Transport in BCZY Ceramics: This is the project which I am currently involved in for my M.S degree. This project involves the synthesis and characterization of ceramics for applications involving fuel cell electrolytes, gas sensors, and nanoelectronic devices. By combining a BCZY ceramic system with various transition metal nanoparticles a space charge layer within the material is developed which modifies ionic conductivity.
    Photosensitive Smart Surfaces: This project was funded by the National Science Foundation and was the focus of my senior design project. The team successfully demonstrated the dynamic control of hydrophobicity for applications involving biosensors, intelligent membranes, and microfluidic devices. We combined silicon nanowires with a photoactive molecular layer in order to vary the surface free energy which resulted in a surface with tunable wetting properties.
    Energy Nanomaterials: This research was the basis for my internship at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, CA. I synthesized nanoporous metal-organic framework (MOF) materials and characterized them via photoluminescence and Single Crystal/Powder XRD. The goals of this project were to determine MOFs uses as a semiconducting material and to combine organic fluorescent molecules with MOFs to create new types of scintillation devices. Research Publication

    Lesson Plans

  • Liquid Nitrogen
  • Disappearing Glass
  • Oobleck
  • Conservation of Angular Momentum
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