Ph.D. student Sam Portillo is the 2026 Vivian T. Stannett Graduate Awardee for Outstanding Early Publication! The award recognizes research excellence, initiative, focus and tenacity during the early career of Ph.D. students in the department. 

It is in memory of Prof. Stannett, a faculty member, internationally renowned polymer scientist, research leader, and National Academy of Engineering member. Stannett published over 400 research papers and reviews during his distinguished academic career.  The endowment honoring Prof. Stannett was made possible by the generous support of his wife, Suzanne Stannett, his daughter Rosemary Stannett-Royce and her husband, Chris Royce, many of his colleagues and friends, and several of his graduate students.

The 2026 award is for Sam’s paper, “Exsoluted Ni from Hexaaluminates for COx Free Hydrogen and Carbon Nanotubes via the Catalytic Decomposition of Methane,” published in ACS Catalysis in May 2025. He was the first author and took the lead in both the experimental and computational studies, synthetic and experimental work, data analysis and interpretation, and writing of the original and revised drafts.

The paper explores how exsolution materials can improve the process of methane catalytic decomposition 

by creating tiny metal particles to drive the reaction more efficiently and can be carefully controlled in size and distribution. The study shows that both the way these materials are prepared and the specific elements used in them affect how well these particles form and perform. The researchers also found that controlling particle size changes how carbon structures grow, with smaller particles producing different growth patterns. Overall, the findings suggest that these advanced materials can make hydrogen production cleaner and more efficient, while also capturing carbon by decomposing methane, even without relying on the high surface area materials typically needed in other approaches.

According to Prof. Fanxing Li, Sam’s research advisor, “he is one of the top Ph.D. students I have mentored, distinguished not only by exceptional productivity but, more importantly, by the rigor, originality, and scientific depth of his work. His contributions have been thoughtful, creative, and impactful.”

Sam received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from The University of Arizona in 2019 and began his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at NC State under Prof. Li in 2022.