“A wave of disbelief washed over me. In that moment, all the hard work and dedication I had put into my projects felt validated.” 

This was the response from chemistry Ph.D candidate Mai Rashwan, this year’s winner of Best Presentation at NASA’s Thermal & Fluids Analysis Conference, when asked how she felt when she found out she won the award. 

Receiving her chemistry degree from Suez Canal University in Ismailia, Egypt, Rashwan, focused her MCs on the detection of interaction between Europium complexes and other bioligands for the development of sensitive probes for biological sensing and diagnostic tools. However, this was not what Rashwan won her award for. Rather, she focused on applying gold and diamond nanoparticles in photothermal heating. 

For those who are not caught up on nanoparticles and their usage, gold nanoparticles are widely used in cancer treatments. They can efficiently heat, allowing them to target and destroy tumor cells. Nanodiamond particles, similarly, have the ability to use light to control heat flow in space electronics. Together, the particles are highly effective for medical and thermal control in high-tech environments. 

“Mai is an innately curious person and therefore always self driven to do her best to unravel new phenomena,” describes Clemens Burda, professor of chemistry and mentor of Rashwan. “Her curious nature is how she became so good and inquisitive in her project.” 

That is not to say the entire research process was smooth sailing. While researching, Rashwan discovered the energy conversion mechanism for one nanomaterial cannot be generalized to other nanomaterials. This did not deter her. Rather, she agreed that surprises lead to more exploration and investigation, causing the project to be even more successful and exciting. 

Moving forward, Rashwan hopes to refine the efficiency of gold nanoparticles to be used in a broader range of fields, whether it be medical therapies to advanced technologies. 

“I hope to continue our findings through research publications”, said Rashwan, “contributing to the pace of the scientific community.”