Tequila Harris facts for kids

Tequila Harris is an American engineer and a professor. She teaches about manufacturing at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. She studies how to make and use special materials called polymers and how to design mechanical systems.

Her Journey in Education

Tequila Harris started her college education at Lane College, where she earned her first degree in 2000. She then went on to study at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. By 2003, she was working on her advanced degrees. In October 2006, she earned her PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

• In 2005, she received the Young Alumnus Award from the United Negro College Fund.
• She was also a research trainee for the National Science Foundation from 2005 to 2006.
• She has been recognized with many special fellowships, like the General Electric Faculty of the Future and the Clare Luce Booth Fellow.

Her Work as a Professor

Professor Harris joined the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2006 as an assistant professor. She became a full professor in 2023. She leads a research group there that focuses on making very thin films from polymers.

Studying Fuel Cells

From 2010 to 2015, she was the main researcher for a special project funded by the National Science Foundation. This award allowed her to study Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. These are devices that turn chemical energy into electricity. She used computer models to understand how these fuel cells work.

• She looked at how the materials in fuel cells behave under stress.
• She also studied how these materials change over time, which affects how long the fuel cells last.
• As part of this project, she created a program called ELECTRoDE. This program helps minority students and teachers learn about energy conservation and research.

Helping with Water Projects

Professor Harris also worked with the University of Rhode Island. They created tiny, eco-friendly particles to help clean water in Jordan. She also teamed up with the Jordan University of Science and Technology. Together, they studied how chemicals and tiny living things can clog water filters.

• In 2015, she was chosen for a special program at Drexel University. This program helps leaders in academic technology and engineering.

Visiting the White House

Professor Harris even attended a ceremony at the White House. She was there with Kim Cobb when the National Science Foundation started new programs to help people balance their work and personal lives.

• Her work on making thin polymer films has been featured on a podcast called Stories from the NNI, which is from the National Nanotechnology Initiative.

Awards and Achievements

Professor Harris received a second National Science Foundation award in 2017. This award helped her take her ideas for making thin films from the lab to actual factories.

• She focuses on making multi-layer thin films for things like organic solar cells, which turn sunlight into electricity.
• She also works on tiny electronic parts called transistors and sensors.
• She studies why things go wrong during manufacturing and how these flaws affect the materials.
• She won the Lockheed Martin Inspirational Young Faculty Award. This award recognizes young professors who have a big positive impact on their students' lives and education.

Patents and Recognition

Professor Harris holds several patents for creating special thin films that can conduct protons.

• In 2018, she won the L. E. Scriven Young Investigator Award from the International Society of Coating Science and Technology.
• She is the first African-American person to win this award since it began in the 1990s.

Selected Publications

• Shrivastava, Naveen K.; Chatterjee, Abheek; A. L. Harris, Tequila (2023). "Manufacturing defects in slot die coated polymer electrolyte membrane for fuel cell application". Chemical Engineering Science. 280: 119051.
• Dong, Xiaobo; Lu, David; Harris, Tequila A. L.; Escobar, Isabel C. (2021). "Polymers and Solvents Used in Membrane Fabrication: A Review Focusing on Sustainable Membrane Development". Membranes. 11 (5): 309.
• Chede, Sneha; Anaya, Nelson M.; Oyanedel-Craver, Vinka; Gorgannejad, Sanam; Harris, Tequila A. L.; Al-Mallahi, Jumana; Abu-Dalo, Muna; Qdais, Hani Abu; Escobar, Isabel C. (2019). "Desalination using low biofouling nanocomposite membranes: From batch-scale to continuous-scale membrane fabrication". Desalination. 451: 81–91.
• Bhamidipati, Kanthi Latha; Didari, Sima; Bedell, Prince; Harris, Tequila A. L. (2011). "Wetting phenomena during processing of high-viscosity shear-thinning fluid". Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics. 166 (12): 723–733.

See also

In Spanish: Tequila Harris para niños