Alumni
Congratulations to the graduates of the Materials Science and Engineering PhD program, listed here with the title of their dissertation.
2026
Yang Ding
- Project Title:
- Laser cooling in lead halide perovskite nanocrystals
- Department:
- Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Advisor(s):
Masaru Kuno, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
- Prashant Kamat, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Adam Jaffe, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Google Scholar
Grayson Huldin
- Project Title:
- Top-down and bottom-up modified electrodes for complex sensing applications
- Department:
- Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Advisor(s):
Kaiyu Fu, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Merlin Bruening, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Yucheng Yang
- Project Title:
- Applications of micro-nano scale surface characterization and engineering: Atomic defect quantification in two-dimensional materials and flexible microstructural black
- Department:
- Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Advisor(s):
Matt Rosenberger, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Anthony Hoffman, Electrical Engineering
2025
Angela Abarca-Perez
- Project Title:
- Catalytic membranes for drinking water treatment
- Department:
- Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
- Advisor(s):
Kyle Doudrick, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
William Phillip, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Website
Faraj Al-Badani
- Project Title:
- Nanoengineering of phyllosilicates for novel gas sensing applications
- Department:
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Advisor(s):
Nosang Myung, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Yamil Colon, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Lan Li
- Project Title:
- Methacrylate-modified nanoparticles for noninvasive monitoring of photocrosslinked hydrogel scaffolds
- Department:
- Bioengineering
- Advisor(s):
Ryan Roeder, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and Bioengineering
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Vahid Serpooshan, Georgia Tech
- Placement After Graduation:
- Entegris
Jideofor Odoeze
- Project Title:
- Performance and reliability of deep-etched high-index-contrast ridge waveguide lasers
- Department:
- Electrical Engineering
- Advisor(s):
Doug Hall, Electrical Engineering
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
- Sylwia Ptasinska, Physics and Astronomy
- Ken Kuno, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Sanjoy Saha
- Project Title:
- Leveraging biomaterials and cellular engineering to advance lymphatic research and therapeutics
- Department:
- Bioengineering
- Advisor(s):
Donny Hanjaya-Putra, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and Bioengineering
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Matt Webber, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Walker Tuff
- Project Title:
- On-chip nanofabrication techniques for the manufacturing of nanoscale objects using nanometal templating, shape-directing ligands, atomic layer deposition, and selective etching
- Department:
- Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Advisor(s):
Svetlana Neretina, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Jon Camden, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Placement After Graduation:
- enFocus Inc.
Hanfeng Zhang
- Project Title:
- Multi-scale optimization of materials using machine learning
- Department:
- Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Advisor(s):
Tengfei Luo, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Jian-Xun Wang, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
2024
Sushrut Ghonge
- Project Title:
- Optical cooling and superradiance in fluorescent solids
- Department:
- Physics and Astronomy
- Advisor(s):
Boldizsar Janko, Physics and Astronomy
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Ken Kuno, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Placement After Graduation:
- Saint Mary's College
- Website
Irina Gushchina
- Project Title:
- Reshaping the future: Perovskites and chalcohalides semiconductor nanocrystals
- Department:
- Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Advisor(s):
Ken Kuno, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Alexander Mukasyan, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Placement After Graduation:
- Università degli Studi di Genova
Kirill Kniazev
- Project Title:
- Infrared photothermal heterodyne imaging for the characterization of micro- and nanoplastic environmental contaminants
- Department:
- Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Advisor(s):
Ken Kuno, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Kyle Doudrick, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
- Placement After Graduation:
- University of Notre Dame
Zachary Lawson
- Project Title:
- Development of fabrication and synthetic protocols to produce substrate-immobilized plasmonic nanomaterials
- Department:
- Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Advisor(s):
Svetlana Neretina, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Alan Seabaugh, Electrical Engineering
- Placement After Graduation:
- Faraday Technology Inc.
Frances Zengotita
- Project Title:
- Reactivity of iron oxide nanoparticle surfaces: Understanding the role of crystallite size and morphology on contaminant behavior
- Department:
- Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
- Advisor(s):
Amy Hixon, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Kyle Doudrick, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
- Placement After Graduation:
- Berkeley Lab
2023
Xiuyu Jin
- Project Title:
- Polymer grafting for inorganic nanoparticle surface functionalization and stabilization
- Department:
- Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Advisor(s):
Haifeng Gao, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Na Wei, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Placement After Graduation:
- Berkeley Lab
Suporna Paul
- Project Title:
- Optically tunable sensing performance of metal oxide composites for the detection of toxic industrial chemicals at room temperature
- Department:
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Advisor(s):
Nosang Myung, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Jennifer Schaefer, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Placement After Graduation:
- Faraday Technology Inc.
Bingxin Yang
- Project Title:
- Functionalized metal oxide semiconductor nanofibers based electronic-nose (E-nose)
- Department:
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Advisor(s):
Nosang Myung, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Interdisciplinary Mentor(s):
Yanliang Zhang, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
2022
Robert Neal
- Project Title:
- Advances in catalysis and functional surfaces utilizing plasmonic noble metal nanomaterials
- Department:
- Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Advisor(s):
Svetlana Neretina, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Placement After Graduation:
- University of Notre Dame
2021
Trevor DeMille
- Project Title:
- On the synthesis and plasmonics of surface-truncated noble metal nanostructures for on-chip nanogap engineering
- Department:
- Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Advisor(s):
Svetlana Neretina, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Placement After Graduation:
- Intel
Arin Preston
- Project Title:
- Synthesis, shape control, and preservation of noble metal plasmonic nanostructures
- Department:
- Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Advisor(s):
Svetlana Neretina, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Placement After Graduation:
- DePuy Synthes