Gary S. Harlow
Gary S. Harlow is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Oregon and an Associate Director of the Oregon Center for Electrochemistry (OCE). His research combines fundamental and applied electrochemistry with an emphasis on measuring, in real time, how interfacial structure controls reactivity, stability, and transport. A defining feature of his work is the use of synchrotron X-ray methods, especially surface X-ray diffraction, alongside custom experimental platforms that make high-quality operando measurements possible.
Harlow has contributed to several areas of electrochemical interface science and operando characterization. His work has helped establish atomic-scale views of the in situ Pt(111)/acetonitrile interface, linking potential-dependent structure to interfacial organization. He has performed synchrotron studies of nanopore formation in porous alumina and extended these approaches to track electroplating into nanoporous alumina templates, providing structural insight into growth in confined geometries. He has also carried out synchrotron studies relevant to corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement, using X-ray methods to follow structural evolution under electrochemical or environmentally driven degradation conditions.
A major theme across these projects is instrumentation development. Harlow has helped develop combined electrochemistry with high-energy surface diffraction for operando measurements on well-defined electrodes, enabling experiments that connect electrochemical behavior directly to structural changes at buried and electrified interfaces. He has also helped develop two-dimensional in situ surface optical reflectance measurements integrated with electrochemistry, expanding the ability to visualize spatially heterogeneous dynamics such as film growth, roughening, or reconstruction across an electrode surface.
Harlow earned his PhD in Physics at the University of Liverpool (UK) in 2016 with Prof. Christopher Lucas. He then worked with Prof. Edvin Lundgren at Lund University (Sweden) as a postdoc and researcher, where he developed an electrochemistry course and co-supervised three PhD students. This was followed by a short postdoc with Prof. María Escudero-Escribano at the University of Copenhagen. Prior to joining OCE, he held a joint researcher position between Malmö University and the NanoMAX beamline at the MAX IV synchrotron in Sweden.
Contact
Gary S. Harlow
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oregon
Associate Director, Oregon Center for Electrochemistry (OCE)
Email: gharlow@uoregon.edu
Research Highlights
- Atomic-scale studies of the in situ Pt(111)/acetonitrile interface using synchrotron X-ray methods
- Operando synchrotron measurements of nanopore growth in porous alumina
- X-ray studies of electroplating into nanoporous alumina templates to understand confined growth
- Synchrotron-based investigations of corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement mechanisms
- Development of combined high-energy surface diffraction with electrochemistry for operando interface studies
- Development of 2D in situ surface optical reflectance integrated with electrochemistry
Research Interests
- Electrochemical interface structure and the electrical double layer
- Single-crystal electrocatalysis and adsorption thermodynamics
- Corrosion, passivation, and electrochemical stability of materials
- Operando and in situ methods, including synchrotron X-ray scattering and optical diagnostics
- Instrumentation development for contamination-controlled and reproducible measurements