James Knight

Name:  James Knight

Hometown:  Columbus, Ohio

Research Area:  Lithium-ion batteries

Why I chose to do research at The University of Texas at Austin: I chose UT Austin because of the wide range of faculty research areas.  I wanted to find a school that had four to five research groups that I could see myself working in.  The other thing that drew me to UT Austin was the laid back and social grad student population.

The biggest difference between undergraduate and graduate studies: The biggest difference is that you have to take your learning outside of the textbook and into the lab in a practical sense.

What I like to do in my spare time: I try to stay active by playing sports.  Depending on the time of year, I play kickball, flag football, soccer, or softball.

My favorite thing about Austin: All of the good local restaurants.

Three things most people don’t know about me:

1.  I have seen the inside of the Oval Office.

2.  I hated my middle name “Courtney”,  growing up and refused to tell it to anyone until high school.

3. As a senior in high school, I tried to capitalize on my kicking talents from soccer and be the punter for the football team, which failed miserably.