Athena grew up in Arlington, Virginia. She earned her B.S. in Materials Science & Engineering from Texas A&M University in May 2024. As an undergraduate, she worked in Dr. Emily Pentzer's lab on ionic liquids for greenhouse gas capture. Athena also studied metal sulfide ion-exchange materials for toxic waste remediation in the Kanatzidis group through the 2022 MRSEC REU program at Northwestern University. The following summer, Athena participated in the SULI program at Argonne National Laboratory, where she analyzed synchrotron data to understand failure mechanisms in steels during tribological experiments. Athena joined the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering in the fall of 2024 and is co-advised by Dr. Shrayesh Patel and Dr. Stuart Rowan.
Athena works on redox-active polymer particles for energy storage applications.