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Akiko FillingerAssistant ProfessorChemistry
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My research theme is materials for alternative energies. The material that we are investigating now is nanocrystalline cuprous oxide (Cu2O). By illuminating nanocrystalline Cu2O in water with sunlight, the photon energy can be absorbed by the nanocrystalline Cu2O and can be converted to electricity. Our ultimate goal with nanocrystalline Cu2O is to generate hydrogen gas by splitting water (i.e., the production of an environmentally friendly energy source in an environmentally sensible manner).
Traditional lawns may be aesthetically pleasing, but their environmental and economic costs can be significant. Our second project deals with an effort to increase the sustainability of our College's landscaping practices, and we have begun a multi-disciplinary study over several years that will examine the cost-benefits of moving from traditional mono-crop lawns to a mixture that includes grasslands and wildflowers. Our initial efforts will be on a ca. half-acre site that will serve as a pilot study to gather data and experience that can be used in other areas of the campus. We will monitor soil chemistry, biodiversity, economics of lawn vs. non-lawn landscaping, and the attitudes of the college community.
Akiko Fillinger received her B.S. in Chemistry in 1995 from Portland State University where she became interested in chemical solar-to-electricity conversion under the guidance of Professor Carl Wamser. She went on to perform her graduate work at Colorado State University in Fort Collins where she received her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry in 2000. For her graduate thesis, she studied dye sensitized nanocrystalline TiO2 solar cells with Professor Bruce Parkinson.
In 2001 she became a Dreyfus Post-doctoral Fellow in Environmental Chemistry at the Division of Applied Sciences and Engineering at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Professors Steven Wofsy and Scot Martin). After the post-doc experience, She taught for a year at Grinnell College, in Iowaas a sabbatical replacement for Professors Leslie Lyon and Lee Sharp. She began teaching at Ithaca College in the fall of 2003, and has since taught Physical Chemistry I, Instrumental Analysis, Principles of Chemistry II, Environmental Chemistry and Experimental Chemistry I and V. She maintains an active research group investigating materials for harvesting solar energy as well as analyzing soil chemistry of the alternative landscaping site.
Akiko Fillinger, David Soltz and B. A. Parkinson, “Dye Sensitization of Natural Anatase Crystals with a Ruthenium-Based Dye,” Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 149, A1146-1156 (2002).
Akiko Fillinger and B. A. Parkinson, “The Adsorption Behavior of a Ruthenium-Based Sensitizing Dye to Nanocrystalline TiO2 (Coverage Effects on the External and Internal Sensitization Quantum Yields),” Journal of the Electrochemical Society.146, 4559-4594 (1999).
Beth Pallo ('06) presented a poster titled, "Multi-Faceted Evaluation of Sustainable Landscaping on a College Campus" at the 2nd International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology in Houston, TX, August 2006.
Beth Pallo (’06) presented an oral presentation, “Alternative Landscaping on a College Campus—Analyzing Soil Chemistry” at the Whalen Academic Symposium at Ithaca College, April 2006.
Shikhar Bajracharya (’06), Kira Erikson (’06) and Justin Fisher (’06) presented a poster, “Nanocrystalline Cu2O and CuO films for photoelectrochemical energy conversion” at the 231st American Chemical Society National Meeting, Atlanta, GA, March 2006.
Thomas Polson (’05) presented a poster “Nanocubic CuO Non-Aqueous Solar Cells” at the 229th American Chemical Society National Meeting at San Diego, CA, March 2005.
Meaghan Daniel (’05) and Thomas Polson (’05) presented a poster, “Solar Energy Conversion with Nanocrystalline CuO and Cu2O” at the 32nd American Chemical Society Northeastern Regional Meeting at Rochester, NY, November 2004.
