Susan Cooper’s quest to analyze materials has taken her to the Danish Technological Institute, a research and technology organization with global clients. The institute serves as a bridge between scientific research and practical application, fostering technological progress and economic growth. Their expertise ranges from environmental technology to medical equipment, to food, materials and more. 

Cooper earned her PhD in chemistry from the University of Oregon in 2018 -- the first ARCS Oregon scholar to complete her PhD at UO. Her advisors were Jim Hutchison, Senior Associate Vice President, Lorry Lokey Chair in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Darren Johnson, Bradshaw and Holzapfel Research Professor in Transformational Science and Mathematics. She moved to Denmark to take a Postdoctoral position at the University of Copenhagen, where her research focused on determining the nanoscale structural changes of small inorganic nanocrystals, using total X-ray scattering and pair distribution function analysis.

At the Danish Technological Institute, Cooper leads the microanalysis and imaging group. Cooper explains the group’s three different focus areas:

• “The first is characterization of materials used in research and development activities. We work a lot with understanding microstructure of different materials. Microstructure is important as it influences the material properties and function. One technique we use is a 3D imaging technique to look at the interior structure of materials without cutting up the sample. Some of our work in imaging can be found in this link, where we looked at a small fish in collaboration with a Danish company. The video made by my colleague is especially impressive.”
• “The second focus is analysis of unknown materials, which is especially important in productions for food and pharmaceuticals where a mystery particle can halt production.
• The group’s third focus area “is the coating of materials with a hydrophobic coating, mainly used in the medical device sector, protecting products from liquids like spit and sweat to lengthen product lifetime.” 

And yes, Cooper has achieved fluency in Danish. “I speak it every day,” she says. 

Her Award was given by the Jill V. Josselyn Family.