Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 2019
  • B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2014
Licenses & Certifications
  • Professional Engineer Chemical, California, #7176
Professional Honors
  • Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2020 – 2022
  • MIT Infinite Mile Award, 2022
  • Marilyn and Howard L. Anseth Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award, 2014
Professional Affiliations
  • American Chemical Society (ACS)
  • Electrochemical Society (ECS)

Dr. Diederichsen specializes in the design of complex material systems including the relationships between molecular structure and bulk physical properties. He is a trained chemical engineer, skilled in polymer synthesis and characterization, as well as formulation of polyelectrolyte solutions in aqueous and nonaqueous systems. He has extensive experience in battery technology and electrochemistry, including for example, testing of polymer systems in lithium battery cells, engineering of flow battery systems, and fundamental mechanistic analysis of redox reactions. Dr. Diederichsen applies his skills in chemistry, physics, and engineering to support clients in a wide variety of industries, including consumer electronics, construction and infrastructure, medical devices, and automotive.

Dr. Diederichsen is experienced with a range of characterization techniques to probe chemical, physical and thermal properties of polymeric and ion-containing materials, including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic scanning calorimetry (DSC), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).  He has built custom test systems for polymer characterization, flow electrochemistry, and gas absorption that combine fundamental understanding with engineering principles to illustrate solutions to multi-scale challenges. 

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Diederichsen was a Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT where he worked with electrochemical carbon capture in continuous systems incorporating hollow fiber membranes, combining experience in flow electrochemistry and membrane contactor technology. His projects included finite element modeling and nondimensional analysis of separations systems. For his doctoral work, Dr. Diederichsen attended the University of California, Berkeley, focusing on the design and characterization of high transference number polymer — based electrolytes for lithium batteries. His research interests have also included the self-assembly of block copolymer thin films for lithography.