Grace Pakeltis
PhD expected 2021
Materials Science and Engineering
University of Tennessee
Throughout Grace’s collegiate career, the Society of Women Engineers has provided the resources and support needed to become a well-rounded and successful engineer. During her undergraduate program at the University of Illinois, Grace was involved with SWE Illinois holding positions as the Outreach Director, External Vice President, and President. In those positions, she planned and executed several outreach events for over 1000 girls in STEM, funded the section through strengthening industry relationships and sponsorship, and organized and led an executive and officer board for the SWE Illinois section. While at Illinois, one of Grace’s favorite events was the Engineering Round Robin, where middle school girls were exposed to a wide variety of engineering disciplines through mini design challenges. As a PhD student, she worked with University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) SWE to create a GradSWE group on campus. Grace believes that the work that SWE does is truly inspiring and vital for the advancement of women in engineering, so she is very excited to serve as the FY21 Graduate Member Coordinator for the GradSWE Leadership Team. She plans to use her passion for SWE and previous experiences to bring about greater support for and community among graduate students across the society.
In addition to her experience working with and leading teams at the University of Illinois, Grace has also gotten involved with the Graduate Student Senate at the University of Tennessee. This has also provided experience working with and for a variety of graduate students from across the campus. Grace also finds opportunities to continue participating in outreach at Tennessee by being a graduate student mentor for Materials Camp and helping with demos for various engineering outreach events on campus.
Grace’s efforts as a scholar and leader have been recognized in academia and SWE. She was recently awarded a Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Teaching for her work teaching MSE 210, Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory and the Tennessee Fellowship for Graduate Excellence, which recognizes top graduate students from across the world based on academic record, research experience, and diversity. In 2013, she was recognized as a Region H Collegiate Emerging Leader and as a participant in the SWE Collegiate Poster Competition at WE16 she was awarded 3rd Place!
Grace’s thesis topic is 2d and 3d nanofabrication and characterization of plasmonic materials.
The synthesis and subsequent characterization of 2d and 3d plasmonic nanostructure and nanostructure arrays have the potential to significantly advance applications and enable new classes of materials. By exploiting the shape, size, and material of complex nanostructures new fundamental phenomena can be explored. Plasmonic nanostructures have the ability to couple light into intense optical near-fields leading to a variety of applications across many fields. With this work, advancements in sensing, imaging, photovoltaics, and photocatalysis are possible.
Grace originally entered graduate school to help achieve her goal of working in research and development in the electronics industry. As she began to TA classes, she discovered a deeper passion for education and sharing engineering with the next generation of engineers. Whether her career takes her to academia or industry, Grace hopes to be able to make advances in science and technology while sharing her love for engineering with those around her either in the classroom or through outreach programs!
Beyond the lab, Grace (used to) enjoy exploring local coffee shops and breweries in Knoxville with friends, and taking advantage of the Great Smoky Mountains that are in her backyard. She also loves to watch professional baseball and football, where she roots for the Chicago Cubs and Bears, respectively!
PhD expected 2021
Materials Science and Engineering
University of Tennessee
Throughout Grace’s collegiate career, the Society of Women Engineers has provided the resources and support needed to become a well-rounded and successful engineer. During her undergraduate program at the University of Illinois, Grace was involved with SWE Illinois holding positions as the Outreach Director, External Vice President, and President. In those positions, she planned and executed several outreach events for over 1000 girls in STEM, funded the section through strengthening industry relationships and sponsorship, and organized and led an executive and officer board for the SWE Illinois section. While at Illinois, one of Grace’s favorite events was the Engineering Round Robin, where middle school girls were exposed to a wide variety of engineering disciplines through mini design challenges. As a PhD student, she worked with University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) SWE to create a GradSWE group on campus. Grace believes that the work that SWE does is truly inspiring and vital for the advancement of women in engineering, so she is very excited to serve as the FY21 Graduate Member Coordinator for the GradSWE Leadership Team. She plans to use her passion for SWE and previous experiences to bring about greater support for and community among graduate students across the society.
In addition to her experience working with and leading teams at the University of Illinois, Grace has also gotten involved with the Graduate Student Senate at the University of Tennessee. This has also provided experience working with and for a variety of graduate students from across the campus. Grace also finds opportunities to continue participating in outreach at Tennessee by being a graduate student mentor for Materials Camp and helping with demos for various engineering outreach events on campus.
Grace’s efforts as a scholar and leader have been recognized in academia and SWE. She was recently awarded a Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Teaching for her work teaching MSE 210, Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory and the Tennessee Fellowship for Graduate Excellence, which recognizes top graduate students from across the world based on academic record, research experience, and diversity. In 2013, she was recognized as a Region H Collegiate Emerging Leader and as a participant in the SWE Collegiate Poster Competition at WE16 she was awarded 3rd Place!
Grace’s thesis topic is 2d and 3d nanofabrication and characterization of plasmonic materials.
The synthesis and subsequent characterization of 2d and 3d plasmonic nanostructure and nanostructure arrays have the potential to significantly advance applications and enable new classes of materials. By exploiting the shape, size, and material of complex nanostructures new fundamental phenomena can be explored. Plasmonic nanostructures have the ability to couple light into intense optical near-fields leading to a variety of applications across many fields. With this work, advancements in sensing, imaging, photovoltaics, and photocatalysis are possible.
Grace originally entered graduate school to help achieve her goal of working in research and development in the electronics industry. As she began to TA classes, she discovered a deeper passion for education and sharing engineering with the next generation of engineers. Whether her career takes her to academia or industry, Grace hopes to be able to make advances in science and technology while sharing her love for engineering with those around her either in the classroom or through outreach programs!
Beyond the lab, Grace (used to) enjoy exploring local coffee shops and breweries in Knoxville with friends, and taking advantage of the Great Smoky Mountains that are in her backyard. She also loves to watch professional baseball and football, where she roots for the Chicago Cubs and Bears, respectively!
