Brad earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at Texas A&M University in the research group of Dr. James Batteas.  His research there focused on the relationship between nanoscale local environmental variations and chemical, electronic, and mechanical properties of molecular species on surfaces.  He employed molecular dynamics to understand how surface geometry influences the mechanical properties of molecular surface coatings, and he employed Scanning Probe Microscopies to fabricate and investigate the effects of nanoscale confinement on the charge transport characteristics of porphyrins chemically tethered to an electrode surface.
 
With the Friend Lab, Brad is exploring the use of plasmonic nanostructures to enhance the photocatalytic capabilities of semiconductor catalysts like titania and molybdenum disulfide, seeking to understand the mechanisms of plasmonic surface reaction enhancement and the means of characterizing and amplifying these effects.  The overarching goal of this work is to achieve a better understanding of plasmonically driven surface catalysis in order to improve the efficiency of environmentally friendly photocatalytic materials in chemical synthesis and energy production.