About Me
My name is Neal Dawson-Elli and I’m a graduate student at the University of Washington studying Chemical Engineering.
My research focuses on using data science techniques to try to aid in the solving of extremely stiff physics-based lithium-ion battery models, chiefly the P2D model, which will be described in a detailed blog post in the future. My first paper has been published, which is exciting! I’m currently working on two more projects, which will be documented as they progress.
Most of my day-to-day activities in research include coding in Python and Julia, as well as using numerical solution techniques in Maple, Matlab, Fortran, and Julia, and creating interfaces between these languages. I predominantly use Keras for machine learning.
Hobbies
Whenever I’m not working, I enjoy:
- hiking
- biking
- photography
- playing soccer
- lifting
- running
- tinkering
- prototyping
As I get time, the projects list will be fleshed out more thoroughly.
Previous Industry Experience
08/17-09/17 Software Engineer at Faraday Technologies, Dayton, OH
My responsibilities here focused on using neural networks to predict characteristics of manufacturing processes. This involved formatting data, cleaning data, filtering out noise, and determining the best methods for analysis and visualization. Additionally, I created a toolbox in Python that allowed for the visualization of the data in addition to performing the desired calculations efficiently.
01/14 - 06/15 Technician at OLEDWorks, Rochester, NY
My responsibilities here included the day-to-day operation and maintenance associated with running a chemical vapor deposition chamber for the creation of ogranic LED light fixtures. In addition to performing this function, I wrote several Excel VBA macros for both data analysis and payroll that are in still in use today. The code is well documented and has been maintained by myself and others since I left.
03/13 - 08/13 Technician at Empire Precision Plastics, Rochester, NY
In this role, my main task was to manage other workers and oversee the production of injection molded pieces, including using ultrasonic welding. In addition to performing this role, I also completely overhauled the database written in FileMaker, which included correcting some calculations that were previously incorrect and designing a new layout for the database interface.
05/12 - 08/12 Technical Intern at Corning Incorporated, Corning, NY
This was my second internship with the Ultracapacitor group at Corning, and during my tenure I was tasked with replacing their current separator technology with something that was more robust, cheaper, and more amenable to roll-to-roll processes. My results were promising, improving the performance of the button cells in addition to satisfying all of the previously mentioned constraints.
05/11 - 08/11 Technical Intern at Corning Incorporated, Corning, NY
My first internship with the Ultracapacitor group at Corning involved learning about the processes associated with the creation of the highly porous activated carbon that makes up the electrodes in the ultracapacitor cell. My task was to tweak the manufacturing process in order to reduce costs and reduce any wastes that were being produced.
My resume is hosted below.