Yvonne J. Diaz

Education

Undergraduate Institution: California State University, Northridge

Biography

Yvonne Diaz attended California State University, Northridge (CSUN) on a full academic scholarship and graduated with cum laude honors, earning a B.S. in Chemistry, in December 2014. As an undergraduate, she participated in a five year long internship at Edwards Air Force Research Laboratory. There, Yvonne worked on the synthesis and polymerization of organic and inorganic compounds that have proven useful in the development and creation of low-surface energy materials. She also worked with Professor Yann Schrodi at CSUN to develop innovative methods for the recycling of end-of-life tire rubbers. In 2015, Yvonne was awarded the UCSB Doctoral Scholars Fellowship and began her doctoral studies in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry under the direction of Professors Craig J. Hawker and Javier Read de Alaniz.

Research

Yvonne's research focuses on the development of novel avenues to produce materials tailored for either colorimetric sensing or dispersion with an emphasis on developing accessible and inexpensive methods such that they can be readily adapted to industrial processes.