Education
- Ph.D.,听Chemical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder (2015)
- B.S.,听Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2009)
Alia grew up in rural Arizona near the mountains in the Coronado National Forest. She moved to Pittsburgh, PA, to study Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and earned her BS degree in 2009. Returning west to Boulder for graduate school rekindled a love for outdoor activities in the mountains. She also plays recreational soccer. Alia is the volunteer coordinator for the department, and also enjoys participating in mentoring programs like Earth Explorers (a non-profit). She creates catalysts for hydrogen fuel cells using atomic layer deposition. Platinum nanoparticle aggregation within a fuel cell limits its longevity and is destructive for the expensive catalyst. Her work strives to improve efficiency and overall lifetime of the electrochemical device through substrate and catalyst design, while seeking fundamental understanding about its chemical operations.