She received her B.S. in Physics from Harvey Mudd College in 2004 and her Ph.D. in Materials from University of California, Santa Barbara in 2009. Her Ph.D. research focused on novel geometries for gallium nitride optoelectronic devices, including lasers and light-emitting diodes. Her postdoctoral work in Applied Physics at Caltech (2009-2011) focused on nano- and microstructured photovoltaic materials. She joined CSM in 2011, and her current research focus is on novel inorganic materials for photovoltaics.