More companies are betting on space to be the next major economic frontier. Their goals range from communications and manufacturing to resource extraction and exploration, but operating in space remains extremely difficult because of the harsh environment, including exposure to radiation. Mona Ebrish, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Vanderbilt, is working on a solution.
“Whether for communication, exploration, or building bases (on the Moon or Mars), the equipment we send to space will have some sort of power device in it, and those electronic devices will be in a harsh environment that has radiation,” Ebrish said. “We want radiation resilience.”
In collaboration with the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE) at Vanderbilt, Ebrish and her team of researchers used a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to make wide-bandgap based power devices that are tougher against radiation. The grant focused on improving the radiation tolerance of power conversion devices for space applications. Ebrish’s method involved manipulating the properties of the material inside the devices in such a way that they can absorb the impact of radiation or ionized particles.
“Dr. Ebrish’s work on methods to improve the performance and reliability of wide-bandgap power devices is critical for future space systems,” said Ron Schrimpf, Orrin Henry Ingram Professor of Engineering and founding director of ISDE. “Efficient power generation and distribution is needed for space-based data centers and human habitation, but the radiation present in space can lead to catastrophic power-device failure. Her work addresses this problem by increasing the voltage at which the devices can operate reliably, without burning out due to high-energy ions encountered in space.”
Ebrish is a member of the Vanderbilt Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE), where she makes the devices. Earlier this year, Ebrish received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the NSF’s most prestigious honor for early-career faculty recognizing exceptional promise in both research and education. Her CAREER project focuses on developing new strategies for programmable doping in wide-bandgap materials.
Ebrish acknowledges her work is challenging, but “I enjoy having challenges,” she added. It’s a mindset she adopted early on, with a little inspiration.
Early Influence
When she was in middle school, Ebrish learned about Marie Curie, the pioneering researcher on radioactivity who won the Nobel Prize twice, in physics and chemistry. It was a lasting impression.
“I never saw a woman scientist,” Ebrish said. “When I read about her, she inspired me; something clicked. You can be a girl and also a scientist.”
Later in high school, Ebrish chose STEM as a major and took classes in physics, math and chemistry. “When I was about to graduate from high school, I asked my teachers what is the field that will have both an equal amount of math and physics, and everybody told me electrical engineering,” she said.
Ebrish, a Fulbright Scholar, went on to earn a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tripoli (Alfateh University), Libya, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota. She came to Vanderbilt in 2023 after a post-doctoral fellowship at the U.S. Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C.
When she was deciding on schools, Ebrish said there were two main factors in selecting Vanderbilt, and they were its facilities and collaborative culture.
For instance, she said Vanderbilt’s ISDE was attractive because “very few schools in the U.S. have access to radiation testing facilities, and Vanderbilt’s combination of facilities, faculty expertise, and experienced engineers in radiation effects is truly unmatched.”
As for collaboration, Ebrish said some schools encourage collaboration by making almost everything shared, which can sometimes reduce the autonomy of individual labs; while others emphasize individualism so strongly that collaboration becomes complicated.
“Vanderbilt felt like the sweet spot,” she said. “A PI can build their own lab and maintain independence, while still being strongly encouraged to co-advise students, write collaborative proposals, and share resources or expertise as much as makes sense. It is also relatively easy to involve faculty from Engineering, Arts and Science, or the (VU) medical school on proposals, committees, and student projects. That balance of autonomy and collaboration made Vanderbilt feel like the right environment for me.”