Summary
Work History
Education
Skills
Activities
Publications
Timeline
Generic

Kerry O'Brien

Taft,TN

Summary

Recent graduate with a Master's in physics and four years of experience working in experimental research in academic laboratories. I am skilled in experimental procedures, have hands on experience with laboratory equipment, and am proficient in data analysis, documentation, and presentation.

Work History

Researcher

Bioinspired Advanced Manufacturing Lab
College Park, MD
2017 - 2019
  • Designed a microfluidic system replicating the retina vasculature on a micron level.
  • Designed a mold of microchannels and 3D printed mold onto silicon wafer using Nanoscribe GT.
  • Created a COP device by hot embossing COP block onto silicon wafer mold to form microchannels within device and bonded COP block to COP film to create a sealed microfluidic device.
  • 3D printed replica of retina vasculature taken from an STL on micron level within microchannels of COP device.
  • Imaged perfusion of IR-700 through retina vasculature replica using confocal microscope proving that a sealed, microfluidic device had been created.
  • Collaborated with another undergraduate student in a Biphotonic Imaging Lab and published our results in Optics Letters journal.
  • Presented results at colloquium at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
  • Conducted under the direction of Dr. Ryan Sochol.

Researcher

UMass Soft Matter Group
Amherst, MA
2021 - 2022
  • Studied passive and active microrheology.
  • Used compound microscope to take videos of microparticles suspended in alginate substance within coverslip.
  • Implemented single particle tracking algorithms to determine position and calculate mean squared displacement of microparticles suspended in alginate substance to characterize viscosity and storage and loss modulus of substance.
  • Used optical tweezers and bulk rheometer to measure viscosity and storage and loss modulus of alginate substance.
  • Presented results at weekly group meetings to professor and lab members.
  • Conducted under the direction of Dr. Manasa Kandula.

Researcher

UMass Soft Matter Group
Amherst, MA
2022 - 2023
  • Studied fluid dynamics.
  • Studied kinematics of steel ball impacting ultra-thin membrane suspended in tank of water.
  • Determined location over time of steel ball as it fell into tank of water and impacted membrane using tracking algorithms created from template matching at sub-pixel accuracy of images extracted from a high-speed camera of ball falling into tank.
  • Calculated velocity and acceleration of steel ball from spline fit of position data.
  • Tracked location of edge of membrane as steel ball made impact with membrane.
  • Determined location of outline of membrane during steel balls impact with the membrane and descent within the membrane further into the tank of water.
  • Presented results to colloquium speakers at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
  • Conducted under the direction of Dr. Varghese Mathai.

Teaching Assistant

University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA
2019 - 2023
  • Taught classical mechanics and electromagnetism labs.
  • Helped students troubleshoot problems with equipment and software.
  • Learned team-based learning approach to teaching. Guided several groups of students through solving physics problems on whiteboard during class.
  • Helped countless students with homework problems during office hours.
  • Taught and created physics problems for discussion sections.
  • Graded homework and lab reports.

Education

M.S. - Physics

University of Massachusetts
Amherst
01-2023

B.S. - Physics

University of Maryland
College Park
01-2018

Skills

  • Software: MATLAB, Mathematica, LabVIEW, SolidWorks
  • Experimental Design
  • Data Gathering and Organization
  • Data Analysis
  • Presenting Research
  • Analytical Thinking Skills
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Leadership
  • Team Collaboration

Activities

  • Women in Physics, 2017-2023. Mentored two mentees as an undergraduate student and mentored one mentee as a graduate student about their course work, homework, and research goals.
  • Society of Physics Students, 2017-2018. Held position as fundraising chair. Organized sales of donuts, coffee, and tea five days a week for duration of semester. Orchestrated two restaurant fundraisers.

Publications

Hannah Horng†, Kerry O’Brien†, Andrew C. Lamont, Ryan D. Sochol, Joshua Pfefer, Yu Chen, “3D Printed Retinal Vascular Phantoms for High-Resolution Biophotonic Image Quality Assessment via Direct Laser Writing,” Opt. Lett. 46, 1987-1990 (2021) †These authors contributed equally to the work.

Timeline

Researcher

Bioinspired Advanced Manufacturing Lab
2017 - 2019

Researcher

UMass Soft Matter Group
2021 - 2022

Researcher

UMass Soft Matter Group
2022 - 2023

Teaching Assistant

University of Massachusetts
2019 - 2023

M.S. - Physics

University of Massachusetts

B.S. - Physics

University of Maryland

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