Grant Cates awarded 2016 SSAI Underrepresented Student Scholarship

About the Recipient

Zone and Chapter: Linfield College

My name is Grant Cates, and I am currently a senior at Linfield College in rural Oregon where I am earning dual Bachelors of Science in Physics and Mathematics. During the summer of 2016 I completed an REU program at Howard University focusing on Density Functional Theory and Raman Spectroscopy under the advisement of Drs. Pratibha Dev and Prabhakar Misra with an eye towards 2D sensor applications in collaboration with the Goddard Space Flight Center. The main focus of my research was to computationally design nanostructures with which to dope graphene as a way of determining the nanostructures that produce the desired effects. Upon graduation, after marrying the man of my dreams, I hope to secure a Fulbright Fellowship to continue this research in Germany, where I intend to earn a Masters in Mathematical Physics before returning to the States to earn my Ph. D. in the same field.