Branden Leonhardt, a senior from Palm Beach Gardens, FL, majoring in Chemical Engineering, was selected as recipient of the Jim and Sandy Dafoe HPMI Undergraduate Research Award for the 2017-18 academic year. 

Branden is working on his Honors in the Major project, “The Synthesis of Controlled Carbon Nanotube Spun Aerogels by Floating Catalyst Chemical Vapor Deposition for High-Performance Materials “at HPMI, under the direction of HPMI director Dr. Richard Liang. His Honors Thesis Director for the project is Dr. Jingjiao Guan at Department of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering.

Upon receiving his Bachelor’s Degree, Branden plans to pursue a doctorate in Chemical Engineering and continue research in either academic or industrial environments. His ultimate goals is to be involved in the solution to climate change and the world's energy crisis.

Jim and Sandy Dafoe established the award last year to provide financial support for an undergraduate researcher at HPMI. The Dafoes have also played other roles in supporting HPMI and the FSU Veterans Center. 

Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering major Sofia Garcia was recipient of the first award. Sofia is currently working as Quality Engineer at UTC - Carrier Corporation