Joyce Pham
Contact
Bio
Joyce Pham attended University of California–Davis and later Iowa State University in Ames, where she attained her respective B.S. (2012) and Ph.D. (2018) degrees in Chemistry. After a postdoctoral stint as a Humboldt fellow at Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden, Germany, she joined faculty at California State University–San Bernardino (2020), where she teaches general, inorganic lab, materials, and solid state chemistry. Her research focuses on discovering new inorganic extended solids via careful synthesis, structural characterization primarily via X-ray diffraction, and computational electronic structure & chemical bonding analysis. She uses solid state chemistry research as a teaching tool to cultivate healthy curiosity and motivate in-depth, critical thinking. In both teaching and research, she strives to strike a delicate balance between simplifying scientific concepts and retaining sufficient intricacy, in hopes that her students gain a greater appreciation for the role of science in society.
Education
University of California, Davis (UC Davis); USA
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry (ACS-certified): 2012
2010 ACS Undergraduate Award in Inorganic Chemistry
Undergraduate Research Studies with Profs. Håkon Hope, Susan M. Kauzlarich, Kirill Kovnir
Iowa State University (ISU); Ames, USA
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry: Defended December 2017; Conferred May 2018
Dissertation: Polar Intermetallic Crystals and Quasicrystals; Adviser: Gordon J. Miller
2018 Alpha Chi Sigma Research Award
2016 ISU Teaching Excellence Award
2014 Cotton-Uphaus Award
2019-2020 Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow; Dresden, Germany
Host: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids; Department of Claudia Felser; 2018-2020
Courses/Teaching
Spring 2023:
General Chemistry II Labs Coordinator
CHEM 2200: General Chemistry II and affiliated discussions
Fall 2022:
CHEM 4300L: Inorganic Chemistry Laboratories
CHEM 5002: Special Topics–Solid State Chemistry
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Spring 2022 (co-synchronous):
CHEM 2200: General Chemistry II and affiliated discussions
Fall 2021:
CHEM 2050: Survey of General Chemistry
CHEM 4300L: Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
CHEM 5150: Materials Chemistry
Selected discussions accompanying General Chemistry
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Spring 2021 (synchronously remote):
CHEM 2200: General Chemistry II
CHEM 5002: Special Topics–Solid State Chemistry
Selected discussions accompanying General Chemistry II
Fall 2020 (synchronously remote):
CHEM 2050: Survey of General Chemistry
CHEM 4300L: Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
Selected discussions accompanying General Chemistry
Research and Teaching Interests
solid state, inorganic, materials chemistry; chemical bonding, electronic structures; crystallography
For extended solids, the ability to control the results of a crystal structure remains largely empirical, thus warranting research toward more effective guidance. Examining metal-rich compounds, our research group (Solid State Chemistry Phamily) addresses the following fundamental questions: (1) where are the atoms, determined primarily using X-ray diffraction? (2) what gives rise to the observed crystal structures using electronic structure theory, which examines computationally, how do the electrons in various orbitals interact among one another? Answers to these questions are approached from the synergy of experiment and computation, which are harnessed to arrive at common principles that rationalize the crystal structural–electronic structural relationships. Examples include those with molecular structural motifs ranging from chains, planes, and tetrahedral-octahedral building blocks to large complex concentric cages and even icosahedral quasicrystals that transcend 3-dimensional crystallography. We collaborate widely and especially with nearby institutions, e.g., UC Riverside. We also utilize hypercluster resources of the Pacific Research Platform (UC San Diego) for our computational studies.
Solid State Chemistry Phamily:
Michelle De La Cruz (she/her), Chemistry
2023 CSUSB Center for Advanced Functional Materials Summer Research Stipend
Joined Group: Fall 2022
Armando Felix (he/him), Mathematics
Joined Group: Fall 2022
Joshua Lamaz (he/him), Chemistry
Joined Group: Spring 2023
Zoe Marr (she/her), Visiting Ph.D. Candidate in Chemistry
2023 CSUSB Center for Advanced Functional Materials Graduate Student Funding
Joined Group: Spring 2023
Kayla Ochoa (she/her), Chemistry
2023 Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Student of the Year Award
2022 CSUSB Office of Student Research–PATHS Stipend for Summer Research
February 2023: CSUSB Undergraduate Research Competition–Oral Presentation
November 2022: Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research–Poster, Pepperdine University
Joined Group: Fall 2021
Eric Torres (he/him), M.S. in Chemistry
Instructor of Chemistry
Joined Group: Fall 2022
Luke Van Hoosen (he/him), Chemistry
2023 CSUSB Center for Advanced Functional Materials Summer Research Stipend
Joined Group: Fall 2022
-----Group Alumni and Past Members-----
Valentin Acosta (he/him), B.S. in Biochemistry, CSUSB (2022)
2021 CSUSB Center for Advanced Functional Materials Summer Research Stipend
November 2021: Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research–Oral (synchronously remote)
Joined Group: Fall 2020
Affiliation Afterward: CSUSB Master's Student in Biology
Serina Erxleben (she/her), Biochemistry
Joined Group: Fall 2022–Fall 2022
Mayra D. Silva Barcenas (she/her), B.S. in Biochemistry, CSUSB (2021)
2021 CSU STEM-NET Edison Research Scholarship Award
Project: Atomic-Site Preference and Electronic Structures of a Pseudo-Binary γ-Brass Complex Metallic Alloy
May 2021: CSU-Wide STEM-NET Meeting–Oral Presentation (synchronously remote)
Joined Group: Fall 2020
Affiliation Afterward: CSUSB STEM Center Counselor
Asa Toombs (he/him), Ph.D. in Chemistry, Iowa State University (2018)
Instructor of (General) Chemistry
Joined Group: Fall 2020
Affiliation Afterward: Emporia State University
Kylee Young (she/her), Chemistry
2022 CSUSB Center for Advanced Functional Materials Summer–Fall Research Stipend
November 2022: Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research–Poster, Pepperdine University
Joined Group: Summer 2022–Fall 2022
For individuals interested in joining our research efforts, kindly send an email to joyce.pham@csusb.edu with a current CV/resume and a brief statement of your professional aspirations.