Rachel Woods-Robinson
Rachel Woods-Robinson (she/her) is a CEI Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow, with a collaborative appointment at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Dr. Woods-Robinson’s research focuses on assessing environmental and human impacts of scaling solar photovoltaic (PV) materials and other emerging technologies to address the climate crisis. Her research interests span from the nanoscale, such as sustainable materials discovery of new crystals for renewable energy, to the terawatt scale, such as strategies to scale photovoltaics to 2050 net-zero goals. She is mentored by Alberta “Birdie” Carpenter at NREL, is hosted at the UW by David Ginger, and collaborates with industrial partners. Dr. Woods-Robinson received her Ph.D. in...
Rebecca Vincent
CEI Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow Rebecca Vincent is co-advised by CEI director and chemical engineering professor Dan Schwartz and chemical engineering professor Lilo Pozzo as she develops non-destructive Li-ion battery diagnostics for evaluation of the health of electric vehicles and grid storage systems. She also collaborates with CEI Affiliate Faculty Dr. Jie Xiao, the leader of the Advanced Battery Fabrication facility at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and a major contributor to the US DOE Battery500 consortium. Vincent earned her Ph.D. in Materials at the University of California-Santa Barbara as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Her work with UCSB professor Ram Seshadri as a member...
Zixiao Ma
CEI Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow Zixiao Ma works with electrical & computer engineering professor Baosen Zhang to develop machine learning-based, safety-critical controls for renewable energy-dominated microgrids. His research has been published widely in top power systems journals, such as IEEE Transactions on Power Systems and IEEE Transactions on Smart Grids, including seven first-author papers. Ma completed his Ph.D. in Electrical & Computer Engineering at Iowa State University in spring 2023. At Iowa State, Ma led several innovative studies in power system dynamics and control, including four projects funded by the Power Systems Engineering Research Center and the Department of Energy totaling more than $2 million in...
Chris Torres
CEI Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Chris Torres works with chemical engineering assistant professor Julie Rorrer to develop self-sustainable community outreach programs to advance under-represented Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous (BHI) populations, while also researching sustainable chemical catalysis. Rorrer is the founder of the ColorMePhD program, which uses art to foster engagement, participation, and belonging in science and engineering programs for underrepresented and at-risk youth. Alongside Rorrer and CEI’s Education & Workforce Engagement staff, Torres engages BHI communities by leveraging relationships with undergraduate institutions such as Northwest Indian College; and by aligning with the missions of established Seattle-area educational programs like Rainier Scholars, Daybreak Star, and...