Principal Investigator

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Education

PhD Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 2015

MS Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2009

BS Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2008

Awards & Honors

• NSF CAREER Award 2020
• Young Professional/Early Career Travel Grant Award, The Electrochemical Society, Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry Division, Spring 2018.
• Outstanding Reviewer for the New Journal of Chemistry, 2017
• Graduate Division Nano Block Grant Award, University of California, Berkeley, Spring 2014 & Spring 2015. Academic excellence and research in the area of Nanotechnology.
• Best Presenter Award, Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center Research Review, University of California, Berkeley, Fall 2014.
• Frederick Emmons Terman Engineering Scholastic Award, Stanford University, 2008. Top 5% of each year’s undergraduate senior engineering class
• Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America Student Design Competition Finalist, 2008.
• Hoefer Prize for Writing in the Major, Stanford University, 2007. Outstanding Stanford undergraduate writing in Writing in the Major Courses.
• Tau Beta Pi, Stanford Engineering Honor Society, Stanford University, 2006-2008. Top 1/8 of engineering juniors at Stanford University.
• President’s Award for Academic Excellence in the Freshman Year, Stanford University, 2005, Top 3% of the freshman class.

Research

Professor Warren is a mechanical engineer working in the field of nanoscale manufacturing for electrochemical energy storage and microfluidic device applications. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley under the supervision of Professor Liwei Lin. In the field of energy storage, her areas of expertise include electrode material design for supercapacitors and batteries, with an emphasis on redox pseudocapacitors, carbon electrochemical double layer capacitors, and sodium-ion batteries. Professor Warren’s research group is seeking new ways to reduce the cost and environmental impact of electrochemical energy storage materials for grid-scale energy storage, electric vehicles, and consumer electronics. Prior to completing her PhD, Professor Warren worked as mechanical engineer at Associated Engineering in Burnaby, British Columbia, designing renewable energy systems for municipal clients and testing water and wastewater pump efficiency.

Teaching

Engineering Design I (ME EN 4000): First course in the two-semester senior-level capstone design sequence. Course focuses on preliminary and detailed design phases, including: concept generation and selection, detailed engineering design, application of machine elements, prototype testing, engineering analysis, DFX, parameter design, project management, and preliminary economic analyses. Culminates in design review based on formal presentations of fully documented, detailed engineering drawings and prototype demonstration. Semesters taught: Spring 2016 (42 students), Spring 2017 (68 students), Fall 2017 (106 students), Fall 2018 (97 students), Fall 2019 (102 students), Fall 2020 (125 students).

Engineering Design II (ME EN 4010): Second course in the two-semester senior-level capstone design sequence. Lectures on and team assignments leading to the completion of the detailed design phase including: detailed engineering design, application of machine elements, prototype testing, engineering analysis, application of standards, and preliminary economic analyses. Culminates in ME Department Design Day poster presentations of fully documented, detailed engineering drawings and prototype demonstration. Semesters taught: Spring 2022 (125 students).

Micromachining (ME EN 5050/6050, BIO EN 6421, ECE 522/5221/6221, MSE 6421): Graduate and upper-level undergraduate course introducing students to the fundamental principles of micromachining, with an emphasis on processes applicable to IC and MEMS devices. Topics include: photolithography, etching, thin film deposition, ion implantation and diffusion, CMOS processing, as well as bulk and surface micromachining. Includes a lab component in which students develop hands-on experience with processes covered in lecture. Semesters taught: Spring 2018 (48 students), Spring 2020 (50 students), Fall 2021 (22 students).

Fundamentals of Nanofabrication (ME EN 6960): This course introduces students to fundamental processes involved in the fabrication of nano-scale materials, structures, and devices. In addition, the course explores issues related to nanofabrication process scale-up (e.g. from lab to industrial scale), including process robustness, throughput, yield, and economic considerations. A lab component provides students with hands-on exposure to several nanofabrication techniques available at the University of Utah Nanofab and research labs. Fundamentals of Nanofabrication builds on concepts covered in Micromachining (including basic principles of semiconductor materials, lithography, etching, and deposition). Semesters taught: Spring 2019 (12 students), Spring 2021 (11 students).

Service

Professor Warren is an active member of the Energy Technology Division and Battery Division of The Electrochemical Energy Society (ECS), including serving as lead organizer of the Nanoporous Materials Symposium at the 233rd ECS Meeting in Seattle, WA and 237th ECS Meeting (unfortunately cancelled). She serves regularly as a session chair and student poster session judge at ECS meetings, and has been on the Research Award and Graduate Student Award Committees of the Energy Technology Division of ECS. Prof. Warren has also volunteered as a Secondary Division Judge for the Salt Lake Valley Science & Engineering Fair.

Prof. Warren is a reviewer for numerous top journals in the fields of electrochemistry, nanoscale materials and fabrication, and microfluidics, including: Advanced Functional Materials; Advanced Energy Materials; Electrochimica Acta; Journal of Solid State Science and Technology; Journal of The Electrochemical Society; Journal of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society; Langmuir; New Journal of Chemistry; RSC Advances; Small; Sensors and Actuators A: Physical. She has served on several NSF review panels.

Within the University of Utah Department of Mechanical Engineering, Prof. Warren previously served as the Chair of the Capstone Design Committee (2020-2022). The committee was responsible for leading design and planning efforts for the department’s new 3200 sq. ft. senior design laboratory, and continuing efforts to expand the industrial-sponsored projects program within capstone design. Prof. Warren has also served on the department’s Micro/Nano Committee, and has been a member of the department Seminar Committee, as well as several faculty search committees. Prof. Warren is on sabbatical during the academic year 2022-2023.