UC Berkeley Materials Science and Engineering
Principal Investigator
Mary Scott
Ted Van Duzer Associate Professor, UC Berkeley
Faculty Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Postdoctoral Researchers
Xinxing Peng
Ph.D, Physical Chemistry, Xiamen University
Project: All solid-state batteries
Favorite snack is mochi
Mingee Cho
Ph.D, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University
Visiting scholar, Chemistry, UC Berkeley/LBNL
Project: Automated TEM analysis, in situ (S)TEM
Loves tasting wine and beer in her succulents home cafe
Katherine Sytwu
PhD, Applied Physics, Stanford University
B.S., Physics, Rutgers University
B.S., Mathematics, Rutgers University
Project: Machine learning for in-situ electron microscopy data
Favorite animal is a squirrel
Georgios Varnavides
Miller Research Fellow
Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, MIT
B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, MIT
B.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT
Project: Nanoscale imaging of non-uniform current densities
Spotify wrapped suggests he exclusively listens to musical theater songs
Ph.D Students
Ellis Kennedy
Materials Science and Engineering
B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, UC Berkeley
Project: Amorphous Materials, Magnetic Materials
Has a portable orchard in her backyard
Bengisu Yasar
Materials Science and Engineering
Fulbright Fellowship
M.S., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Middle East Technical University (2018)
B.S., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Middle East Technical University
Project: Amorphous Materials, Tellurium-based alloys
Alex Bruefach
Materials Science and Engineering
Chancellor’s Fellow, UCB
B.S., Biology and Chemistry, Temple University (2018)
Hannah Devyldere
Applied Science and Technology
B.S. Physics, Linfield College
Project: Ptychography and tomography
Didn’t know time could dilate or contract until college!
Luis Rangel DaCosta
Materials Science and Engineering
B.S.E., Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan; B.M., Music Performance (Trombone), University of Michigan
Owns a playable conch shell
Reed Yalisove
Materials Science and Engineering
B.S.E., Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan
In fourth grade, a Nobel laureate had me and my family over for dinner
Tofunmi Ogunfunmi
Materials Science and Engineering
M.S., Materials Science and Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, MIT
Selin Cetin
Materials Science and Engineering
B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University
Is certified to launch level 1 high power rockets
Meghan Shen
Materials Science and Engineering
B.S., NanoEngineering, UC San Diego
Project: Characterization of Li-air batteries
Was an acapella beatboxer for one quarter in college
Heegeun Song
Materials Science and Engineering
B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST
Project: Semiconducting nanowires
If I could turn myself into an animal, I’d go with an Orca.
Masters Students
Irisa Chang
5th Year MS/BS student, Materials Science and Engineering
B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
Project: Clustering analysis of diffraction data
Undergraduate Students
Alec Lumsden
Applied Mathematics, class of 2023
Project: Machine learning for nanomaterial analysis
Won a national soccer championship in high school
Nala Peoples
Materials Science and Engineering, class of 2024
Project: Characterization of energy materials
Has watched every single Marvel movie at least twice
Corey Williams
Materials Science and Engineering, class of 2023
Project: Machine learning for electron microscopy data analysis
Is obsessed with Star Wars, especially the Prequels
Alumni
Mengxuan (MX) Zhang
Materials Science and Engineering, minor in EECS
Project: Electron spectroscopy of Lanthanides
Has tried every boba shop within a three mile radius of campus and can rate all of them based on quality.
Yuhao Wang
5th Year MS/BS student, Materials Science and Engineering
B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
Project: 3D reconstruction of solid state Li-battery materials
Philipp Pelz
Ph.D, Physics, Max Planck Institute for Structure and Dynamics of Matter
Low-dose electron ptychography of biomaterials
Project: Atomic electron tomography, computational phase contrast methods, optimal experimental design
Attends annual Oktoberfest celebrations in the East Bay
Kate Groschner
5th Year, Materials Science and Engineering
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
Chancellor’s Fellow, UCB
MPhil Energy Technologies, University of Cambridge
B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
Project: High Throughput HRTEM
Is a roller skating enthusiast
Audrey Von Raesfeld
Materials Science and Engineering, Junior
Project: Synthesis of AuCu and AuPt BCB Nanowires
Has been given at least one Hydro Flask a year for the past 3 years
Yaqian Zhang
Ph.D, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta
Project: Electrode materials and interfaces in solid-state Li batteries
Got married over Zoom!
Kayvon Tadj
5th Year MS/BS student, Materials Science and Engineering
B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
Went backpacking through Europe with some friends after high school!
Nic Liang
Materials Science and Engineering
Project: Exit wave alignment and reconstruction in TEM for CdSe quantum wells
Adam Satariano
Chemical Engineering, Junior
Project: Control of BCB Au/Ag Nanowire Dimensions
Obsessed with Mandelbrot Set
Christina Choi
Materials Science and Engineering
Project: Particle labelling and UV-VIS Spectroscopy
Travelled through 7 countries in one month for less than $2,700
Ruijie Shao
B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, UC Berkeley (2018)
Project: Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Catalysis