Michael Christiansen graduated ASU with a BS in Physics in the spring of 2012. His Space Grant internship was on the physics of nanoscale systems, under Dr. Jeffrey Drucker on a project exploring the use of silver nanocrystals to enhance the interaction of silicon/germanium quantum dots with light. 

Quantum dots and nanowires are both types of nanostructures, tiny arrangements of atoms that have at least one dimension on the scale of nanometers. Michael has also done fieldwork for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science as a paleontology intern, interned with the Department of Energy at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, been awarded a Goldwater Scholarship as well as the John and Richard Jacob Award which was based on research with Dr. Drucker. He is now pursuing a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In the News: From Fossils to Nanoresearch, Student Pursues Scientific Chase