delia milliron (markiewicz) received her a.b. in chemistry and materials science and engineering from princeton university where she performed undergraduate research with jeffrey schwartz and antoine kahn. during her undergraduate research experiences (and internships), milliron established an early publication record on techniques and topics spanning from magnetic force microscopy to polymer cross-linking. milliron would go on to receive her ph.d. in physical chemistry from uc berkeley in the laboratory of paul alivisatos where her thesis was on "new materials for nanocrystal solar cells" (2004). milliron's research during her early career was distinguished by studies on shape control of nanomaterials, charge transfer, and preparation of hybrid nanocrystal-polymer photovoltaic cells.