ORCID: 0000-0001-5715-5060
PI: Jesse Jokerst (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: peptide synthesis, electron microscopy, plasmonic nanoparticles

Lubna Amer is pursuing a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at UC San Diego. Prior to joining UCSD, she earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University. She is now part of Jesse Jokerst’s Lab, where her research focuses on the self-assembly of plasmonic metallic nanoparticles and their use in colorimetric systems to detect oral pathogens.

ORCID: 0009-0009-3041-2771
PI: Shaowei Li (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: Scanning Tunneling Microscopy/Spectroscopy; Single-Molecule Vibrational Microscopy/Spectroscopy; Single-Molecule Chemistry on Surfaces

Liya is a Ph.D. student of the Materials Science and Engineering Program working on the statics and dynamics of single molecules on the metal surface with the Laser-Coupled STM in Prof. Shaowei Li's lab. He received his B.S. in Physics from Wuhan University, China in 2019 and then worked as a research assistant in Prof. Chendong Zhang's group, where he gained instrumentation skills through building a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. Liya's main research interest is in surface and interfacial physical and chemical processes including charge/spin transfer at the molecule-semiconductor interfaces and single-molecule dynamics on surfaces.

ORCID: 0000-0002-7491-2497
PI: Gaurav Arya (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: Self-assembly, nanoparticles, ML, MD (molecular dynamics), MC (Monte-Carlo) simulations

Safak is a Ph.D. student in Prof. Gaurav Arya’s lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University. He received his B.S. degree in Physics and Electrical & Electronics Engineering in 2022 from Bilkent University in Turkey. His current research focuses on the self-assembly of nanoparticles using molecular simulations combined with machine learning.

(TLAC - IRG1 Lead Representative)
ORCID: 0000-0003-2489-1445
PI: Tod Pascal (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: Machine Learning, Computational Chemistry, Simulations

ORCID: 0000-0001-5966-7385
PI: Seth Cohen (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: Metal-Organic Frameworks, Heterogeneous Catalysis; Organometallic Chemistry 

Madison is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UC San Diego. Under the advisement of Professor Seth Cohen, she synthesizes novel low-valent metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and probes their catalytic activity. She earned her B.A. in Chemistry with honors from Princeton University in 2023, where she conducted homogeneous catalysis research under the mentorship of Professor Paul Chirik.

ORCID: 0000-0002-7385-1725
PI: Alex Fraño (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Dong is a Ph.D. student in Professor Alex Fraño’s XLab in the Department of Physics at UC San Diego. She received her B.S. in NanoEngineering with a minor in Physics from UC San Diego in 2020. Dong is studying nonequilibrium dynamics in classical systems, such as assembly dynamics of solid-state nanocrystals and of genetically modified proteins in polymer networks. As a part of the Fraño group, she learns about different X-ray characterization techniques including scattering (both elastic and inelastic) and correlation to study dynamics of various material systems at the nano- to mesoscale.

ORCID: 0000-0002-5235-3807
PI: Gaurav Arya (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Po-An Lin is a Ph.D. student in Professor Gaurav Arya’s lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University. Po-An received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. His current research focus on combining molecular simulations with machine learning to address fundamental problems in self-assembly of nanoparticles, including inverse design problems.

ORCID: 0000-0002-0407-1338
PI: Akif Tezcan (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: protein engineering, protein interactions, small-angle scattering (SAS) 

Yui is a Ph.D. candidate in Professor Akif Tezcan’s lab in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She received her B.S. in Pharmacological Chemistry from UC San Diego. Her current research focuses on characterizing the dynamics of polymer-integrated protein crystals during expansion, using various small-angle scattering methods (light, X-ray, and neutron).

ORCID: 0009-0007-9026-0795
PI: Andrea Tao (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: scanning probe microscopy polymer physics self consistent field theory surface chemistry nanoparticle synthesis

Wade is a Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Andrea Tao's group in the Nanoengineering Department. His current work involves using scanning probe microscopy and optics to characterize the molecular surface of individual nanoparticles. Wade's research interest concerns the often erroneously assumed the surfaces of individual nanoparticles are homogeneous. Scanning probe microscopy is one of the only techniques capable of resolving low density organic molecules on nanoparticle surfaces, allowing for proper characterization of the surface chemistry of individual nanoparticles. This knowledge is directly used for understanding assembly of nanoparticles and has the potential to impact fields such as drug delivery and nanoparticle catalysis.

ORCID: 0000-0003-1304-9404
PI: Michael Sailor (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: silicon nanoparticles, materials characterization, electron microscopy

Gabriella started as an Ph.D. Student in the UC San Diego Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, with a concentration in inorganic chemistry. She received a B.S. degree in Chemistry from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, where her undergraduate research focused on folding-based DNA biosensors. Prior to joining UC San Diego, Gabriella worked in the Drug Delivery Division at 3M. Her thesis interests focus on loading and delivery of nucleic acid-based therapeutics using porous silicon nanoparticles.

ORCID:
PI: Andrea Tao (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: Nanoparticle synthesis, Surface Chemistry, Catalysis

Shalaka is a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Andrea Tao's group in the Department of Nanoengineering at UC San Diego. She obtained her Ph.D. in Nano Chemistry in 2021 from Ariel University, Israel. Before joining UC San Diego, she pursued postdoctoral research at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. She received her Dual Degree B.Tech and M.Tech in Nanotechnology from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India in 2016. Her current research focuses on polymer-grafted copper oxide nanocrystal synthesis, surface modification, assembly experiments, and mesoscopic characterization.

ORCID:
PI: Josh Figueroa (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: Synthetic chemistry, Bulky isocyanide

Vincent earned his Ph.D. at UC Davis under professor Philip Power’s supervision. His research focused on low valent main group organometallic chemistry investigations. He currently work in the Figueroa group as a postdoctoral scholar, where his research is focusing on ligand design and synthesis for nano particles surface binding and growth regulation.

ORCID: 0000-0003-4601-2165
PI: Andrea Tao (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: Nanosynthesis, surface chemistry, self-assembly

Yufei Wang is pursuing a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at UC San Diego. Prior to joining UCSD, she earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Davidson College, NC. She is now part of Andrea Tao ’s Lab, where her research focuses on the synthesis and surface functionalization of nanocrystals with an emphasis on developing new approaches for rational assembly.

ORCID: 0000-0003-2489-1445
PI: Alina Schimpf (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: nanocrystal (transition metal dichalcogenides) syntheses

Hang is a Chemistry Ph.D. student in Professor Alina Schimpf's lab at UC San Diego, where he works on incorporating ligands onto 2D tungsten dichalcogenide nanocrystal surfaces. Hang received his B.S. in Chemistry and in Physics from UCLA in 2019.

ORCID: 0000-0003-1609-8316
PI: Alex Fraño (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Rourav is a third-year Ph.D. student in Professor Alex Fraño’s XLab in the Department of Physics at UC San Diego. Rourav is interested in order, defects, and excitations in strongly interacting systems.  Before joining UC San Diego, he earned his M.S. in Applied Physics from New York University, where he pursued such interests in Prof. L. A. Wray’s lab. Presently he is studying strongly interacting quantum systems, such as nickelates and cuprates, and strongly interacting classical systems, such as self-assembled nanoparticles in polymers and macro-molecular crystals in polymer networks. As a member of Xlab, Rourav uses various x-ray spectroscopy, microscopy, scattering (both elastic and inelastic) and correlation techniques to probe nanoscale and mesoscale systems.

ORCID: 0000-0001-9810-8869
PI: Michael Sailor (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: porous silicon, materials synthesis, surface chemistry, luminescence

Jiuk is a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering at UC San Diego. She is participating in the SSSiN remotely. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a B.A. in chemistry. Before coming to UC San Diego, she worked as a researcher at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Her research interests include surface chemistry, bio-inspired materials, and photonic materials for medical and environmental applications.

ORCID: 0000-0002-7648-6962
PI: Michael Sailor (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

William is an undergraduate Chemical Engineering major at UC San Diego (class of 2025), who began in the lab as a participant in the 2022 UCSD MRSEC RIMSE program, "Summer School for Silicon Nanotechnology". His degree in Chemical Engineering will have a specialization in material science and environmental engineering. Outside of the laboratory, he enjoys mountain biking, hiking, and surfing. His project focuses on optimized methods to prepare porous silicon nanoparticles using high shear microfluidization.

ORCID: 0000-0002-4839-0912
PI: Michael Sailor (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Han is an undergraduate Chemistry major at UC San Diego (class of 2024), who was introduced to the lab as a participant in the 2022 Spring Break RIMSE research introduction program, then continued as a participant in the 2022 UCSD MRSEC RIMSE program, "Summer School for Silicon Nanotechnology". She is interested in exploring applications of photonic crystals and other optical nanostructures.

ORCID: 0000-0002-7822-195X
PI: Tod Pascal (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Sergio is a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering, currently working in Professor Tod Pascal's group at UC San Diego. He completed his B.S. in Chemistry in 2019 and B.S. in Physics in 2021 from Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. Sergio's research involves utilizing first-principles calculations to gain insights into excited state phenomena and reaction mechanisms, focusing on applications in energy science and catalysis.

ORCID: 0000-0003-0626-849X
PI: Michael Sailor (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Ruhan Fan is a PhD student in the UCSD Department of Nanoengineering (NENG) who joined the Sailor lab in March 2018. Prior to joining, she received a BS degree in Pharmacy from Zhengzhou University (ZZU), China, where she studied drug delivery systems. She has been a participant (2018) and a Senior Mentor in the Summer School for Silicon Nanotechnology. Ruhan's project focus is on porous nanoparticle drug delivery systems for treatment of bacterial infections and cancer.

ORCID: 0009-0004-7558-102X
PI: Michael Sailor (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: Surface modification, surface coatings, pSiNP

Sophia Hsu is an undergraduate student at UC San Diego majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Environmental Systems (Class of 2025). She works as a research assistant in Michael J. Sailor's lab, where her research focuses on extending the circulation time of porous silicon nanoparticles (pSiNPs) using various surface modifications and surface coatings.

ORCID: 0000-0002-3611-665X
PI: Andrea Tao (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise:

Alex Fuqua is an incoming PhD student at UC San Diego in the Nanoengineering department. He will be in Dr. Andrea Tao's group. He graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor's Degree in Materials Engineering June 2021. He is interested in self assembly of inorganic nanocrystals.

ORCID:
PI: Josh Figueroa (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Adam is a graduate student in the Chemistry and Biochemistry department, working in the lab of Prof. Joshua Figueroa. His research broadly focuses on developing new materials and their applications. Within MRSEC, Adam is a part of a collaborative team focusing on new synthetic routes to nanocrystals, aimed at increasing control  to make more targeted materials. He received a BA in chemistry from Hendrix College and then worked in academia and industry for five years before returning to graduate school at UC San Diego.

ORCID:
PI: Seth Cohen (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Minjung is a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Seth Cohen's Lab at the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department at UC San Diego. She received her Ph.D. degree in chemistry at Korea University in 2023. Her current research focuses on synthesizing nano-sized metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), grafting polymers from the MOF surfaces, and forming self-assembled MOF monolayers (SAMMs).

ORCID: 0000-0002-8583-4957
PI: Zheng Chen (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise:

ORCID: 0000-0001-8434-6743
PI: Shaowei Li (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Kangkai is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Materials Science and Engineering program track at UC San Diego. He received his B.S in Physics at Sichuan University in 2020. He joined Prof. Shaowei Li's lab to develop scanning tunneling microscopy with the femtosecond laser. Kangkai's current research focuses on two-dimensional materials and molecular chirality.

ORCID: 0000-0003-2433-7786
PI: Tod Pascal (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Shawn is a UC San Diego Chemistry and Biochemistry graduate and furthering his studies by pursuing his PhD in Inorganic Chemistry at UC San Diego. He participated in the summer school for predictive assembly as part of the UC San Diego MRSEC RIMSE program. He uses computational chemistry to model complex supramolecular structures.

ORCID: 0000-0001-7486-9508
PI: Tod Pascal (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

ORCID: 0000-0003-1910-9877
PI: David Fenning (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Tejas is a PhD student at UC San Diego's Nanoengineering Department, eager to apply computational methods in accelerating the discovery of better catalysts and other energy materials. Prior to UC San Diego, he worked on atomic layer deposition (ALD) to synthesize green hydrogen electrocatalysts as well as low-cost materials for the high-temperature separation of green ammonia. Tejas received his Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering with a minor in computer science from University of Minnesota followed by internships in process engineering (adhesives and medical devices) and passed the FE exam before pivoting towards an academic route.

ORCID: 0000-0003-4914-4630
PI: David Fenning (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: fabrication and characterization of perovskite solar cells, materials chemistry, especially at interfaces

Jack is a Ph.D. student in the Materials Science and Engineering in Prof. Fenning's lab.

ORCID: 0000-0001-7024-0147
PI: Michael Sailor (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Yutong is an undergraduate Chemistry major at UC San Diego (class of 2025), who was introduced to the Sailor lab as a participant in the 2022 SSSiN, and served as a mentor in 2023 SSSiN. She was supported by a prestigious Physical Sciences Dean's Undergraduate Summer Research Award to support her summer 2023 studies.  Her research focus is on photo-oxidation of porous silicon to enhance molecule capture for drug delivery and related therapeutic applications.

ORCID:
PI: Tod Pascal (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Ricardo is a Materials Science and Engineering PhD student in Prof. Pascal's lab at UC San Diego. His research focuses on properties of metal-oxide frameworks (MOFs) and Li-C battery systems, and developing new Machine-Learned Molecular Dynamics forcefields for such materials and new techniques for measuring dielectric and mechanical properties at varied frequency exposures.

ORCID: 0000-0002-5673-7226
PI: Andrea Tao (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

Yu received his B.S. from ShanghaiTech University. He joined Professor Andrea Tao's research group in the Fall of 2019 as a graduate student in Nanoengineering. With the interest in self-assembly, he now focuses on the interfacial self-assembly of inorganic nanoparticles. He works to design the surface chemistry of nanoparticles, which affects the interaction between nanoparticles and the surrounding environment, to modulate the self-assembly patterns or even to get new materials.

ORCID: 0000-0002-7250-0966
PI: Andrea Tao (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

James is an undergraduate student at UC San Diego (class of 2025) majoring in Mathematics - Computer Science. He was first introduced to the program through the Revelle College's honors seminar and joined 2022 RIMSE Summer School on Predictive Assembly (SSPA). He returned to the 2023 RIMSE SSPA as a mentor.

ORCID: 0000-0002-1606-993X
PI: Akif Tezcan (Lab)
Key Areas of Expertise:

Iris received her B.S. in Chemistry from Zhejiang University, China, in 2018. She is a graduate student in Professor Akif Tezcan’s lab at UC San Diego, and her research is focusing on protein self-assembly at interfaces.