Alanna Koritzke, a graduate student in the lab of Prof. Brandon Rotavera, has been awarded the Chateaubriand Fellowship for 2020. The Chateaubriand Fellowship is a grant offered by the Embassy of France in the United States. It supports outstanding Ph.D. students from American universities who wish to conduct research in France for a period ranging from 4 to 9 months. Chateaubriand fellows are selected through a merit-based competition, through a collaborative process involving expert evaluators in both countries. Her fellowship is supported by the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Biology-Health (STEM) division, and aims to initiate or reinforce collaborations, partnerships or joint projects between French and American research teams. This fellowship is offered by the Office for Science & Technology (OST) of the Embassy of France in partnership with American universities and French research organizations such as Inserm and Inria. It is a partner of the National Science Foundation’s GROW program. Alanna will be working with a colleague of Prof. Rotavera's, Dr. Andrea Comandini, at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS-Orléans, France), one of the world's leading research institutions. Its scientists explore the living world, matter, the Universe, and the functioning of human societies in order to meet the major challenges of today and tomorrow. Internationally recognized for the excellence of its scientific research, the CNRS is a reference in the world of research and development, as well as for the general public. Together with Dr. Comandini’s research group, Alanna will be conducting shock tube experiments that utilize optical diagnostics and GC/MS to produce speciation measurements from high-temperature combustion of two biofuels: tetrahydrofuran and diethyl ether. Alanna’s work at CNRS-Orléans complements her Ph.D. research at UGA in Prof. Rotavera’s laboratory, which focuses on low-temperature combustion using a turbulent flow reactor equipped with a suite of advanced analytical diagnostics, including tandem gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and electronic absorption spectroscopy, and time-dependent Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy. Alanna’s physical chemistry research on biofuel combustion aims to support ongoing advances in sustainable transportation energy.
