Lab Members
Research-related interests aside, the primary vision of Dr. Moreno's lab to educate and train its members in the practice of conducting effective research. Therefore, a strong emphasis is placed on the training and mentorship of all students who work in Dr. Moreno's lab, from their background upon joining, their desired learning outcomes on a particular knowledge base or skill set of interest, and future goals upon graduating from Missouri State. That said, the lab nonetheless strives to produce meaningful research outcomes that can be presented and/or published externally, as such success demonstrates effective cooperation within the group.
As electrochemical work is very interdisciplinary in nature, and the lab encompasses both experimental and computational studies, there exist great opportunities for students to be exposed to new opportunities that will enrich their professional profiles and enable them to put to use their skills going forward. Here you can see the diverse range of interests and skills from the current lab members, as of Fall 2024:
Graduate Students:
Olumide Akinduro
I’m a graduate student in the Physics and Material Science department. I have a bachelor's in Material Science and Engineering. I’m currently working on a Nickel-Zinc battery and will use chitosan gel polymer as an electrolyte. In my free time, I love to play football and the guitar.
Undergraduate Students:
Mick Drecker
I'm Mick Drecker, a sophomore double-majoring in mechanical engineering and astrophysics. I am researching the effects of various temperatures on lithium-ion batteries through battery cycling experiments.
Caleb Osbourn
Emily Rapp
Emily Rapp is a junior majoring in Astrophysics, Materials Science and Applied Mathematics. This semester she will be building an equivalent circuit model for lithium-ion batteries that incorporates their response to suboptimal temperature conditions. Currently, Emily plans to pursue an advanced degree in aerospace engineering. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, paddle boarding, reading, and spending quality time with friends.
Stone Simpson
Stone is a senior in the MSU/S&T co-op engineering program. He is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and is currently working to enhance the model of laminar pipe flow for applications in heat transfer.
Former Students:
Niklas Landgraf: Niklas graduated with a Master's degree in Materials Science in Spring 2024. He worked on characterizing and quantifying the gasses evolved from a NiZn cell in real time while cycling, co-advised with Dr. David Cornelison. His thesis, titled, "Gas Evolution of a Nickel-Zinc Cell", can be found here.
Oluwaseun (David) Iyodo: David graduated with a non-thesis in Materials Science in Spring 2024. He had worked on experimental cycling and aging of lithium-ion batteries.
Hunter Nelson: Hunter graduated from the Physics program at MSU in Spring 2024. Hunter worked in Dr. Moreno's lab during Summer 2023 and continued through Spring 2024 for the senior (PHY 486) project. Hunter worked on the CDI project, examining different compositions of porous electrodes being charged at different voltages over an extended period of time.
Joe Cota: Joe is in his 5th year at MSU/MS&T Engineering Co-op in the Fall of 2024. He is currently a double major student pursuing a bachelor's in both Mechanical Engineering and Physics. He researched CO2 reduction alongside Dr. Moreno, where we take CO2 and recycle it into a formic acid product to help mitigate greenhouse gases. Some of his hobbies include playing collegiate ultimate frisbee and yoyoing.
Ryan Ellis: Ryan is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering through the MSU/MS&T Engineering Co-op. Ryan studied the effects of cycling currents on lithium-ion coin cell batteries, as well as the effects of temperature on the performance of said batteries. Future goals include internship/employment at a company focused on scientific progress (i.e. clean energy, space exploration, etc.), and possibly a master’s degree in a related field of engineering or physics. In my free time, I enjoy reading, playing piano, and exercising.
Gavin Reese: Gavin is currently a Senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Physics. The project that Gavin worked on during Summer 2023 - Spring 2024 is electrochemical reduction of CO2 into formic acid, which can be used for fuel cells and more.
Pablo Skaggs: Pablo graduated in Spring 2024 from the MSU/MS&T Cooperative Engineering program in Mechanical Engineering. During his time in Dr. Moreno's lab, Pablo contributed to various projects, including the nickel-zinc battery project, evaluating the gassing of a lead-acid battery, and design and testing of a thermal flow cell for capacitive deionization (CDI).
Grant Cary: Grant graduated with MS&T's degree in Mechanical Engineering in Spring 2024. During Summer 2023 he worked on the computational analysis of Capacitive Deionization (CDI) systems with the objective of identifying optimal operational parameters for laboratory testing.
Joshua Cox: Joshua graduated in Spring 2023 from the Co-op Engineering Program between MSU and MS&T, in Mechanical Engineering. Joshua worked in Dr. Moreno's lab from Spring 2022 - Spring 2023. He contributed to various projects on CDI, lithium-ion batteries, and the inital development and testing of electrochemical CO2 conversion using the H-cell.
Devon Parker: Devon graduated with MS&T's degree in Mechanical Engineering in Spring 2024. During Summer 2022 - Spring 2023 he worked on capactive deionization experiments to determine adsorption limits at room temperature, and helped to construct and desidn a new thermal CDI cell to evaluate adsorption limits at higher temperatures.
Ana Torres: Ana graduated in Spring 2023 from the Co-op Engineering Program between MSU and MS&T, in Mechanical Engineering. Joshua worked in Dr. Moreno's lab from Spring 2022 - Spring 2023. She worked on the construction and testing of lithium-ion batteries in coin cells to determine the effect of preparation techniques and cycling conditions on their longer-term aging performance.