Sreya Paladugu
By David Goddard. Photography by Randall Brown.
One of the biggest areas being studied by scientists in relation to climate change is the impact of emissions on the environment.
Automotive exhaust emissions, in particular, have come under great scrutiny. One method of lessening their impact comes through the use of catalysts that convert them into less harmful gases. However, these automotive emissions contain acid gases that can reduce catalytic performance over time.
That’s the challenge MSE graduate research assistant Sreya Paladugu is trying to tackle. Helping her in that quest, she was named to the US Department of Energy Office of Science 2022 Graduate Student Research Program.
“This award is an invaluable hands-on opportunity for me to understand how my nanoscale catalysts behave under real-world industrial operating conditions,” Paladugu said. “The end goal will be using what we’ve learned to extract design strategies for more robust and efficient catalysts.”
Paladugu, who earned her master’s from the department in 2020, was one of just 80 students from around the US selected for the program.
Through it, students get the opportunity to work in DOE facilities, giving them access to vast resources and capabilities and helping foster the next wave of scientists and researchers.
In Paladugu’s case, that means the chance to conduct her catalyst-related research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a key partner for the department and one of the things that drew her to UT in the first place.
“We will study acid gas interactions with catalysts using a new gas handling system at the Nanoscale Ordered Materials Diffractometer beamline at the Spallation Neutron Source at ORNL,” she said. “The proximity of UT to ORNL presents a unique opportunity for close collaboration with one another. I am fortunate to work with scientists from different backgrounds who are well respected in the research community and value scientific innovation.”
Looking at things at the smallest scales drew Paladugu to materials science in the first place, making the opportunity all the more valuable.
Of her time at UT, she speaks highly of the department, the people in it, and the experiences that she has had here.
“The professors and students in the department are very approachable and willing to share their expertise, which fosters collaboration,” she said. “Our department actively pursues outreach and education, in which I have enjoyed being involved.”
That outreach can help spread the word about what is possible through MSE at UT—including Paladugu’s research.