Jessica Rimsza (PhD 2016)

Position: Principal Member of Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Previous School: University of Arizona

My time at UNT gave me the technical foundation and collaborative mindset I rely on every day. While working with Dr. Jincheng Du, I studied how the structure of complex oxide materials like glasses influences their properties. That work shaped how I approach materials science and opened doors to a broader world of research.

Through UNT, I spent summers at universities in Paris and Chengdu, building international collaborations that continue to benefit my career. I’ve since expanded my work to include minerals, cements, functional materials and liquids—everything tied together by disordered structures.

At Sandia National Laboratories, I’ve worked on nuclear waste disposal and carbon capture materials. One of my most surprising discoveries was detecting hidden fluorine atoms in a gas separation framework - proof that even well-known materials still have secrets.