Blaskovits Group

Harold Mena

Harold Mena

PhD Student

Biography

I’m a lifelong challenge seeker. Few things excite me more than a well-posed, interesting challenge. During my master’s, my research focused on symmetry-protected excitonic quantum batteries developed by Professor Gabriel Hanna's group. My work consisted of proposing a chemical identity for the battery, parameterizing this model, and integrating it into Molecular Dynamics simulations for realistic performance evaluation. For my PhD research, I’m exploring the intersection of AI and Quantum Chemistry. I’m accelerating molecular discovery by employing computational methods, from electronic structure theory to machine learning, to reveal promising new materials, particularly for energy storage applications in Professor J. Terence Blaskovits’ lab. I’m also tackling the translation of academic insights into real-world, scalable impact.