Job Seeker Abstract - Devon Higgins

DEVON HIGGINS, University of Delaware

     Abstract Number: 595
     Working Group: Meet the Job Seekers

Abstract
My name is Devon Higgins, and I am a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Delaware in Analytical Chemistry with a projected graduation date of spring 2023. My Ph.D. work is with Dr. Murray Johnston on several projects and collaborations investigating aerosol particle growth rates and their associated morphology and composition. I attended Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY for my Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry where I worked with Dr. Anna O’Brien (Le Moyne College) and Dr. Karin Ruhlandt (Syracuse University) on a project that utilized air-sensitive techniques to synthesize Alkali and Alkaline-Earth organometallic complexes. Because of this strong foundation in air-sensitive synthesis and graduate work in analytical chemistry, I am an extremely detail-oriented chemist with a creative approach to problem solving. My graduate and undergraduate coursework, which also included minors in Mathematics and Environmental Science, was dedicated to learning as many new techniques and research methods as possible, including a field campaign to Costa Rica as part of a tropical ecology research project. While most of my current work uses a flow tube reactor, particle growth modeling, and aerosol measurement instrumentation (mobility analyzers, particle samplers, etc.), I also have experience using and a strong theoretical understanding of gas chromatography and both commercial and custom-built mass spectrometry. Additionally, I also work on projects that make use of Transmission Electron Microscopy and Raman Microscopy. I am looking for a career in the Northeastern or Mid-Atlantic region of the US that will allow me to approach problems hands-on and hone my skills as a scientist. A technical career working with scientific instrumentation would allow me to pursue my passion of science while also giving me the space to work creatively to tackle research questions.