Bio

Hi there! I'm an aerospace engineer, chemist, and geoscientist striving to both protect our world and advance technologies to explore new ones. Sustainability, teaching, and DEI are just as strong of passions, in and outside of the aerospace sector.

My work in industry (Chevron, SpaceX, Benchmark, Boeing) and academia catalyzed my interest in advancing sustainable, safe propulsion and energy systems. As a Stanford PhD candidate in the Hypersonics, Propulsion, and Energy Laboratory (HyPEL) working under Professor Ronald Hanson, I employ fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and chemical kinetics to experimentally probe combustion behavior.

I welcome messages from folks with similar interests. I am also happy to answer any questions about graduate school, fellowships, aerospace/chemical engineering/geoscience, and industry careers.

Honors & Awards

  • School of Engineering Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award, Stanford (June 2024)
  • Robert H. Cannon Jr. Fellowship, Stanford (June 2024)
  • James and Anna Marie Spilker Award, Stanford (June 2024)
  • Community Impact Award, Stanford (May 2023)
  • SGF Fellowship, Stanford (March 2021)
  • EDGE Fellowship, Stanford (March 2021)
  • NSF GRFP Fellowship, National Science Foundation (April 2021)

Professional Affiliations and Activities

  • Vice President, Social, American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA) Chapter (2022 - Present)
  • Mentor, Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE) Fellowship (2022 - Present)
  • President, Women in Aeronautics & Astronautics (WIAA) (2022 - Present)

Education & Certifications

  • M.S., Stanford, Aeronautics & Astronautics (2024)
  • B.S, Northwestern University, Chemical & Biological Engineering (2021)
  • B.S., Northwestern University, Earth & Planetary Science (2021)
  • Certificate, Northwestern University, Design (2021)
  • Certificate, UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Business Administration (Marketing, Finance, Organizational Behavior) (2018)

Personal Interests

ultimate frisbee, running, hiking, baking, coffee-brewing, reading

Contact

  • Academic
    lvsimitz@stanford.edu
    University - Student Department: Aeronautics and Astronautics Position: Graduate

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 6150

All Publications

  • Experimental and numerical investigation of flame stabilization and pollutant formation in matrix stabilized ammonia-hydrogen combustion COMBUSTION AND FLAME Vignat, G., Zirwes, T., Toro, E. R., Younes, K., Boigne, E., Muhunthan, P., Simitz, L., Trimis, D., Ihme, M. 2023; 250

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.combustflame.2023.112642

    View details for Web of Science ID 000945070400001

  • Evaluating the Rheo-electric Performance of Aqueous Suspensions of Oxidized Carbon Black. Journal of colloid and interface science Ramos, P. Z., Call, C. C., Simitz, L. V., Richards, J. J. 2022; 634: 379-387

    Abstract

    HYPOTHESIS: The macroscopic properties of carbon black suspensions are primarily determined by the agglomerate microstructure built of primary aggregates. Conferring colloidal stability in aqueous carbon black suspensions should thus have a drastic impact on their viscosity and conductivity.EXPERIMENTS: Carbon black was treated with strong acids following a wet oxidation procedure. An analysis of the resulting particle surface chemistry and electrophoretic mobility was performed in evaluating colloidal stability. Changes in suspension microstructure due to oxidation were observed using small-angle X-ray scattering. Utilizing rheo-electric measurements, the evolution of the viscosity and conductivity of the carbon black suspensions as a function of shear rate and carbon content was thoroughly studied.FINDINGS: The carboxyl groups installed on the carbon black surface through oxidation increased the surface charge density and enhanced repulsive interactions. Electrostatic stability inhibited the formation of the large-scale agglomerates in favor of the stable primary aggregates in suspension. While shear thinning, suspension conductivities were found to be weakly dependent on the shear intensity regardless of the carbon content. Most importantly, aqueous carbon black suspensions formulated from electrostatically repulsive primary aggregates displayed a smaller rise in conductivity with carbon content compared to those formulated from attractive agglomerates.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.12.017

    View details for PubMedID 36542968