Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Drexel University, 2019
  • B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2012
Professional Affiliations
  • American Chemical Society
  • American Institute of Chemical Engineers
  • Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering
Languages
  • Tagalog

Dr. Santos' areas of expertise include the synthesis and characterization of polymeric materials and composites. She has specific expertise in coatings and micro-encapsulation. 

Her current research interests include assessing these types of materials for use in architectural coatings, synthetic turf, piping and other construction products.

Dr. Santos performs root cause investigations involving polymeric materials and routinely uses material characterization techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Additional characterization techniques that she is proficient with include scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). Dr. Santos has experience with various composite fabrication techniques as well as standardized mechanical test methods for polymers and composite materials.

As a graduate student at Drexel University, Dr. Santos studied the development, incorporation, and creation of microencapsulated reversible healing chemistries and corrosion additives to improve the durability of epoxy-amine coatings for corrosion prevention. Her work included the development and study of solvent diffusion, plasticization, and microencapsulation reactions in self-healing coatings. She developed encapsulated corrosion inhibitors for use in the targeted delivery of liquid inhibitors to damaged areas in coatings. Fracture mechanics techniques and electrochemical techniques such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) were used to characterize self-healing ability and corrosion resistance of thermoset coatings.