When he came to the University of Illinois as a graduate student, Brandon Kamiyama was interested in studying nuclear fission and thermal hydraulics. A couple of years later, Kamiyama’s focus has shifted to plasma physics and engineering, and with his hard work has come a graduate research fellowship from the National Science Foundation.
“I think what inspired me was the emphasis NSF puts on this fellowship,” Kamiyama said. “It’s a lot more than just research; it’s about outreach to your community and to undergraduates as a grad student.”
Outside of classes and research, Kamiyama volunteers time with Illinois’s student chapter of the American Nuclear Society and the university’s Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program (URAP), mentoring undergrads who have not traditionally been represented in research or don’t have research experience.
Kamiyama is currently working in Professor Mohan Sankaran’s group, as they work with other researchers at the University on a project with DARPA to develop new ways to produce food using air, water, and electricity, a project Kamiyama says “will have a tremendous impact on humanitarian aid missions and disaster relief.”
“Coming out of Oregon State (University), he was a really strong student, and we were excited that he came here,” Sankaran said of Kamiyama. “He’s really motivated and did an outstanding job on his (fellowship) proposal.”
Kamiyama said he eventually wants to go into research and development (R&D) after graduating in a few years, but for now, he is focused on his work in NPRE.
“Mohan and Professor (David) Ruzic opened my eyes to the realm of low-temperature plasmas,” he said. “You can do semiconductor processing, chemical synthesis…plasmas can be used for quite a lot of things that we take for granted.
Kamiyama also credits NPRE with giving him the tools needed to be chosen for the fellowship.
“With NSF, you need a research statement, you need to be able to think critically, you need to do a literature review and identify gaps in the present research and propose something new,” Kamiyama said. “The department trained me quite well. Our qualifying exam is very similar to that. The critical thinking skills learned at the graduate level helped me get this fellowship.”