Josey McBrayer
Chemical Engineering, University of Utah
PhD expected 2022
We are excited to introduce our mentoring coordinator, Josey McBrayer! Josey has been a member of SWE since the first year of her undergraduate degree. During her bachelors she served as the section treasurer and president. As president, she helped bring in over $20,000 in funding leading to over 30 students attending the national conference. They were also able to hold more outreach events than in previous years. These positions improved her ability to communicate effectively and work in a team environment, and improved her overall knowledge of SWE!
During her first year of graduate school, Josey was the graduate student representative for her school’s SWE section. In FY20, she was on the GradSWE mentoring team and matched graduate students to professional mentors. This year, she is the mentoring team lead!
Josey has also won many awards outside SWE. She was a UNM presidential scholar from 2013 to 2016. She was the UNM School of Engineering’s Outstanding Leader in 2017 and Outstanding Senior for Chemical and Biological Engineering in 2016. She was the University of Utah College of Engineering’s Gregory B. McKenna Fellowship recipient in 2017.
Josey’s research is on understanding the impact of the mechanical behavior of the solid electrolyte interphase on silicon electrodes on calendar life in lithium ion batteries. Silicon anodes for lithium ion batteries are promising because they offer a near 10-fold increase in energy density over current lithium ion batteries. However they suffer from poor cycle and calendar life due in large part to an unstable solid electrolyte interphase layer (SEI). Josey’s research involves using scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and other in situ characterization techniques to study the passivation behavior of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer that forms on silicon electrodes. Her end goal is to improve the cycle and calendar life of lithium ion batteries containing silicon to move towards widespread commercialization.
After graduation, Josey plans to perform meaningful research in the field of sustainable energy, with an emphasis on electrochemistry and energy storage, as a staff scientist at a national laboratory.
Josey’s hobbies include Zumba, gardening, weight lifting, agility with her dog, dancing salsa/bachata/country swing with her boyfriend, and playing with her cat, dog, and bird!
Chemical Engineering, University of Utah
PhD expected 2022
We are excited to introduce our mentoring coordinator, Josey McBrayer! Josey has been a member of SWE since the first year of her undergraduate degree. During her bachelors she served as the section treasurer and president. As president, she helped bring in over $20,000 in funding leading to over 30 students attending the national conference. They were also able to hold more outreach events than in previous years. These positions improved her ability to communicate effectively and work in a team environment, and improved her overall knowledge of SWE!
During her first year of graduate school, Josey was the graduate student representative for her school’s SWE section. In FY20, she was on the GradSWE mentoring team and matched graduate students to professional mentors. This year, she is the mentoring team lead!
Josey has also won many awards outside SWE. She was a UNM presidential scholar from 2013 to 2016. She was the UNM School of Engineering’s Outstanding Leader in 2017 and Outstanding Senior for Chemical and Biological Engineering in 2016. She was the University of Utah College of Engineering’s Gregory B. McKenna Fellowship recipient in 2017.
Josey’s research is on understanding the impact of the mechanical behavior of the solid electrolyte interphase on silicon electrodes on calendar life in lithium ion batteries. Silicon anodes for lithium ion batteries are promising because they offer a near 10-fold increase in energy density over current lithium ion batteries. However they suffer from poor cycle and calendar life due in large part to an unstable solid electrolyte interphase layer (SEI). Josey’s research involves using scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and other in situ characterization techniques to study the passivation behavior of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer that forms on silicon electrodes. Her end goal is to improve the cycle and calendar life of lithium ion batteries containing silicon to move towards widespread commercialization.
After graduation, Josey plans to perform meaningful research in the field of sustainable energy, with an emphasis on electrochemistry and energy storage, as a staff scientist at a national laboratory.
Josey’s hobbies include Zumba, gardening, weight lifting, agility with her dog, dancing salsa/bachata/country swing with her boyfriend, and playing with her cat, dog, and bird!
