Rachel Davidson
Biography
B.S. University of Alabama at Birmingham 2015
Ph.D. Texas A&M University 2020
Research Overview
My research group will seek to blend mechanistic design principles and ideas of crystal growth from nanoparticle synthesis with electrochemical additive manufacturing, thereby enabling highly precise, localized, and directed single-step growth of nanomaterials directly onto arbitrary substrates. We will additionally seek to blend informatics with process design and experimental techniques with a view towards accelerating the exploration of synthesis, processing, and manufacturing landscapes. We will further explore how local features in highly heterogeneous surfaces contribute to functional performance in electrochemical processes through spatially resolved mapping of electrochemical activity, local atomistic structure, and electronic structure.
To accomplish these goals, the group will work at the interface of electrochemistry, data-science, and fundamental materials design with applications in areas such as electrocatalysis, design of electrodes for rechargeable batteries, and passive control of fluid movement through spatially controlled wettability.
Representative Publications
#Indicates Equal Contribution
Davidson, R.; O'Loughlin, T. E.; Alivio, T. E. G.; Lim, S.; Banerjee, S. Thermodynamics of Wettability: A Physical Chemistry Laboratory Experiment. J. Chem. Educ. 2022, 99 (7), 2689–2696.
Davidson, R.; Verma, A.; Santos, D.; Hao, F.; Fincher, C. D.; Zhao, D.; Attari, V.; Schofield, P.; Van Buskirk, J.; Fraticelli-Cartagena, A.; Alivio, T. E. G.; Arroyave, R.; Xie, K.; Pharr, M.; Mukherjee, P. P.; Banerjee, S. Mapping Mechanisms and Growth Regimes of Magnesium Electrodeposition at High Current Densities. Mater. Horizons 2020, 7 (3), 843–854
Braham, E. J. #; Davidson, R. #; Al-Hashimi, M.; Arróyave, R.; Banerjee, S. Navigating the Design Space of Inorganic Materials Synthesis Using Statistical Methods and Machine Learning. Dalton Trans. 2020, 49 (33), 11480–11488.
Davidson, R. #; Cubides, Y. #; Fincher, C.; Stein, P.; McLain, C.; Xu, B.-X.; Pharr, M.; Castaneda, H.; Banerjee, S. Tortuosity but Not Percolation: Design of Exfoliated Graphite Nanocomposite Coatings for Extended Corrosion Protection of Aluminum Alloys. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2019, 2 (5), 3100–3116.
Davidson, R. ; Verma, A.; Santos, D.; Hao, F.; Fincher, C.; Xiang, S.; Van Buskirk, J.; Xie, K.; Pharr, M.; Mukherjee, P. P.; Banerjee, S. Formation of Magnesium Dendrites during Electrodeposition. ACS Energy Lett. 2019, 4 (2), 375–376.
Davidson, R. #; Cubides, Y. #; Andrews, J. L.; McLain, C. M.; Castaneda, H.; Banerjee, S. Magnesium Nanocomposite Coatings for Protection of a Lightweight Al Alloy: Modes of Corrosion Protection, Mechanisms of Failure. phys. status solidi 2019, 216 (13), 1800817.
