Meet the group!

Principal Investigator

Prof. Annalise Maughan

Annalise grew up in Tucson, AZ. Looking to escape the desert heat, she attended Northern Arizona University at 7000 feet where she majored in Chemistry and minored in Mathematics while researching inorganic sandwich complexes under Prof. Stephanie Hurst. After her time at NAU, Annalise came down in altitude to Fort Collins, CO for her graduate work at Colorado State University. Working with Prof. Jamie Neilson, her research focused on understanding structure-property relationships in new perovskite halide semiconductors. After earning her Ph.D., Annalise moved to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory under a Director's Postdoctoral Fellowship researching new solid-state electrolytes for all-solid-state batteries.

In her free time, Annalise enjoys downhill skiing, road cycling, board games, knitting, plants, fantasy and sci-fi books, and finding cool rocks.

Curriculum Vitae

Google Scholar

@LatticeDiva

amaughan -at- mines -dot- edu

Postdoctoral Scholars

Dr. Philip Yox

Philip was born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, TX. He completed his undergraduate education at Concordia University Nebraska in 2017 with a double major in Chemistry and Physics. During his undergraduate studies, Philip was inspired to pursue graduate studies by an NSF funded REU studying exfoliation of 2D materials at the University Nebraska Lincoln with Prof. Sinitskii. Philip completed his Ph.D. in 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Kovnir and Prof. Vela at Iowa State University. During his Ph.D., Philip used exploratory synthesis techniques to discover new pnictide materials with extended frameworks. Philip enjoys tackling synthetic challenges and crystal growth of materials and analyzing the physical properties. His general research interests include the discovery of new crystalline materials- especially those with energy related applications not limited to but including thermoelectrics and batteries.

Outside of research, Philip enjoys playing tennis and going on hikes. He also is an amateur pipe organist.

Curriculum Vitae

Google Scholar

@philipyox

pyox -at- mines -dot- edu

Graduate Students

Abby Cardoza

Abby traveled around growing up, but graduated high school in Omaha, Nebraska.

She attended The University of Oklahoma where she obtained her B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry and conducted research focusing on the synthesis of hybrid organic-inorganic copper (I) halides in application for light emitting diodes (LEDs). Now, she is in the Applied Chemistry PhD program at Colorado School of Mines looking forward to the adventures to come while being a member in the Maughan group.

Outside of working in the lab, Abby enjoys rock climbing, going on road trips, eating Chick-fil-a, and playing with her cat Toph.

Curriculum Vitae

abby_cardoza -at- mines -dot- edu

Sinclair Combs

Sinclair is from North Bend, WA, a small mountain community east of Seattle and known more favorably as the town in Twin Peaks. Sinclair then moved to Tacoma to attend Pacific Lutheran University, where she received a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in mathematics. During her time in the chemistry department at PLU, Sinclair primarily did research on blending ionically and electronically conductive polymers for use as semiconducting layers in p-doped organic electrochemical transistors. Over in the math department, she researched multi-dimensional derivations of the Schrodinger equation. Now, Sinclair is a Ph.D. student in the applied chemistry program at Colorado School of Mines with research interests in solid-state ion conduction mechanisms and disordered crystal lattice systems.Beyond academia, she loves reptiles, foraging, making collages, beer, fly fishing, and reading a good book in her backyard hammock. Sinclair is a dedicated parent to her cat, ball python, crested gecko, and a small jungle of houseplants.

Curriculum Vitae

Google Scholar

sinclaircombs -at- mines -dot- edu

Shelby Galinat

Shelby is from Boise, Idaho and got her chemistry degree from the University of Utah in 2022. As an undergraduate in Dr. Matt Sigman’s research group, she synthesized electrolytes and computationally modeled their solubility for non-aqueous redox flow batteries. After hopping across the Rocky Mountains to Mines, Shelby is now in the materials science PhD program and is excited to research renewable energy storage technologies as a member of the Maughan group.

When not thinking about batteries, Shelby loves to be outside, especially mountain biking, climbing, skiing, taking pictures of flowers, picking berries, and petting dogs.

Curriculum Vitae

shelbygalinat -at- mines -dot- edu

Alex Hughes

Alex grew up in Waukegan, Illinois. He attended Michigan State University, where he enjoyed competitive rowing and graduated with degrees in Russian and Materials Science. He spent two years learning too much about truck manufacturing before returning to academia to pursue a PhD in Materials Science. He is a recipient of the CoorsTek fellowship with current projects focusing on battery electrolytes. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, video games, and tabletop RPGs.

Curriculum Vitae

alexander_hughes -at- mines -dot- edu

Amy Louks

Amy is from Boise, Idaho and got her B.S. in chemical engineering from Colorado School of Mines in 2019. Between 2019 and 2022, Amy was working in the perovskite thin film solar cell group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developing new deposition processes that push the efficiency of lead-halide perovskites while also increasing their stability. Now, as a materials science Ph.D. student in the Maughan group, she will work on taking those processes and use them to produce high performing larger area perovskite solar cells.

When not in lab, she enjoys going to concerts, playing board games, climbing, learning how to sew, and playing with her cat.

Curriculum Vitae

Google Scholar

@Amyfish13

alouks -at- mines -dot- edu

Katie Palmer

Katie is from Westerville, OH. She attended Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, IN where she graduated in 2024 with an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering. Katie previously participated in the 2022 ICECRM REU program at Mines working with Dr. Colin Wolden on solution synthesis of solid state sodium battery electrolytes. The following summer she was a SULI intern at NREL working on degradation of electrochromic cells. She is excited to be back at Mines and NREL working on solid state batteries.

In her free time, Katie likes to enjoy the outdoors by hiking and camping. She is also an avid board gamer and loves reading fantasy books.

Curriculum Vitae

katiejaepalmer -at- mines -dot- edu

Austin Shotwell

Originally from the small town of McCall, Idaho, Austin spent his undergraduate career east of the Mississippi at Centre College. A well-rounded square, he received degrees in Politics and Chemistry, graduating summa cum laude and with departmental honors. His undergraduate research was multifaceted and included investigating the development of a GC-MS method for the identification and quantification of congeners in white dog bourbon samples as well as interrogating the applicability of molecularly imprinted polymers for the recognition and selective binding of drugs and their biological metabolites. Austin is currently an applied chemistry Ph.D. student at the Colorado School of Mines working to develop solid-state electrolytes with potential applications in battery technologies.

Curriculum Vitae

austinshotwell -at- mines -dot- edu

Undergraduate Researchers

Lucas Baker

Lucas was born and raised in Rome, Georgia. He has always had a love for STEM and the outdoors, which eventually lead him to Golden. He is currently studying chemistry and hopes to continue pursuing research and a Ph.D. in the field. Lucas is excited to bring his skills and enthusiasm to the research team and looks forward to learning from the group. In his free time, Lucas enjoys many outdoor activities such as highlining, climbing, and snowboarding.

Curriculum Vitae

Lexi Collins

Hello! I am Lexi Collins, an Arizona native who ran to the cold of Colorado the first chance I got. I am majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Biology. Following my successful completion of the International Baccalaureate program at Desert Mountain High School, I decided to venture into the world of chemistry at the Colorado School of Mines. Alongside undergraduate research, I am an executive member of the Sigma Kappa sorority on campus, a General Chemistry TA, and a member of Mines Little Theatre. Outside of the educational realm, I enjoy reading, hiking, and painting.

Bronwyn Maclean

Hi, I'm an undergrad expected to graduate in 2028. I'm from Anchorage, Alaska. I enjoy cross-country skiing and feeding my chickens mini marshmallows.

Mimi Rai

Mimi Rai is from Aurora, CO, and is currently completing her B.S. in Computer Science with a concentration in Data Science. Mimi's research interests lie in applying data science and machine learning models across a diverse range of disciplines. As part of her work in the research group, she is currently focused on software development. Outside of research, she also has a passion for teaching and works as an instructor for the DECTech program in the Computer Science department. She finds joy in helping students learn and hopes to continue teaching in some capacity while exploring various career paths, whether in industry or graduate studies. In her free time, she enjoys oil painting, photography, and playing the piano.

Curriculum Vitae

Drew Whitney

Drew is from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and has lived here his whole life. He is an undergraduate in electrical engineering, and he plans to specialize in power and energy systems. Afterwards, he hopes to pursue a master’s degree in power systems so he can help make strides in renewable energy integration. Drew’s primary research interests are solid-state electrolytes, semiconductors, and power grid technologies. He primarily works on software development for the group, but he hopes to move to more battery-related research as he gains more experience in his major. Outside of his academics, Drew loves biking, board games, choir and acapella, building mechanical keyboards, and reading (and is a huge fan of anything by Brandon Sanderson).

Claire Willard

Claire is from Greeley, CO and is an undergrad in chemistry. She’s interested in exploring all things inorganic but especially nanotech and electrochemistry. Claire is excited to learn new lab techniques and make a real impact in the research world! After working for a bit, she hopes to pursue a master’s degree and live happily ever after. Aside from labwork, you can catch her hiking, crocheting, and bingewatching new shows.