Duc T. Duong

My name is Duc T. Duong and I have graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Chemistry in June 2010.  Over the past four years, I have participated in several research internships, leadership roles and teaching opportunities.  First, I attended the Apprentice Researchers program as a junior in high school and then once admitted to UCSB I participated in the Summer Institute in Mathematics and Science (SIMS) during the summer of 2006.  Over the course of two weeks, I worked under the mentorship of Barry E. DeMartini in Professor Kimberly Turner’s laboratory.  My group’s project focused on analyzing Microcantilevers with Laser Vibrometry.  In the winter quarter of 2007, I began to work in the lab of Prof. Martin Moskovits under the guidance of Andrew R. Morrill as part of the EPSEM Freshman Undergraduate Research program.  Over the next two years, I explored the use of surface functionalizations on metal oxide nanostructures for sensing applications.  I was able to be a co-author on a publication in Chemical Physical Letters for my work in Prof. Moskovits lab.  Next, I participated in the Cooperative International Science and Engineering Internship (CISEI) in the summer of 2009.  This program allowed me to spend ten weeks working in the lab of E.W. Meijer at the Technical University of Eindhoven (TU/e).  Under the direction of Matthew Carnes and Erik B. Berda, I worked on characterizing self-assembling supramolecular systems made from polymers and planar organic compounds.  A publication based on my work here is under preparation and will hopefully be published in the near future.  Finally, over the course of my last year at UCSB and for the completion of my senior thesis, I worked in the lab of Thuc-Quyen Nguyen under the supervision of Bright Walker.  My project focused on using solubility studies as a mean towards optimizing thin film morphologies for improving organic solar cell efficiencies.  I am currently in the process of writing a publication using the results I have obtained.  Besides from research internships, I have also participated in other activities.  I was a Teaching Assistant for two quarters during my junior year and one quarter during my senior year.  Lastly, I also played the role of vice coordinator for the SIMS 2010 program. 

Throughout my undergraduate studies at UCSB, I was a member of the Honors Program and remained on the Dean’s Honor list for all four years.  I graduated with Highest Honors and College Honors and received the Academic Excellence Award for my completion of the honors program.  In addition, I was also given the Distinction in the Major Award, the Willard L. McRary Prize and the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research.  I will be pursuing my Ph.D. this fall in Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University.  I hope to one day become a successful professor in the field of nanotechnology and organoelectronics.  My life goal is to achieve one or more of the following:  win the Nobel Prize, become fluent in six different languages and/or produce my own film!