Some Current Student Profiles

Otoniel Duran
He/him/his

I am a Materials Science and Engineering PhD student with a bachelor’s degree in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Southern Mississippi. I enjoy playing sports with friends and exploring what the beautiful state of Colorado has to offer. I am grateful for the opportunity to connect with a truly diverse group of people here at CSU!

Megan Battson
She/her/hers

I am a first year PhD student with SAMD. I have bachelor’s degrees in Psychology from CSU and Chemistry from MSU Denver. I am passionate about working to address the plastic problem, and I think that the interdisciplinary approach materials science can lend will be instrumental in bringing about real change in the future. I am currently looking at making biodegradable plastics from alginate. I hope to also look at new methods to process recycled and microplastics.

Emma Rettner
She/her/hers

I am a PhD student co-advised by professors Garret Miyake and Travis Bailey with expertise in polymer chemistry, characterization, and soft materials processing. I received undergraduate degrees in Materials Science & Engineering and Chemistry from the University of Minnesota, and most recently worked in San Diego developing materials for use in nuclear environments. I presently work in developing and studying a range of soft material systems from photonic crystal coatings to waste plastic compatibilizers to novel composites and biomaterials.

Yu Sun

I am Yu Sun from the north part of China. I have undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering and chemical engineering. I am currently a Masters Plan A student in SAMD. My research is about nano particles synthesis. Nano particles are synthesized by using double emulsion method. The nano particles are used for carrying antibiotics to the targeted position. This technique has a lot of advantages in the medical drug delivery system. I plan to pursue a PhD eventually and work in the field after my masters.

Carter Dojan
He/Him/His

My name is Carter Dojan and I am a PhD student in SAMD. I’m from Washington state and received my bachelor’s degree in Plastic and Composite Engineering from Western Washington University. I’m primarily interested in polymer composite research and I’m currently working to develop methods for 3D-printing of novel composite materials.

Dominic Asebiah
He/him/his

I am Asebiah Dominic Cudjoe from Ghana. I earned a Geological Engineering as my bachelor degree at the University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa-Ghana. I have my masters degree in Science and Materials of Solar Energy at National University of Science and Technology, MISIS-Russia. I am currently a Ph.D. student in SAMD. I want to explore the field of materials science and engineering to enrich my research base and continue the development of my critical learning skills to enhance my intellectual capabilities.

Janelle Hobbs
She/Her/They/Them

Hello. My name is Janelle Hobbs, and I am a first year Plan B Master’s student in SAMD. I was born and raised in California and received a Bachelor of Chemical Sciences and Physics from the University of California, Merced both with a heavy emphasis on Materials Science. Through my academic career and beyond, I hope to engage in research in batteries and solar cells with a strong focus on efficiency and sustainability for use both here on Earth and for space exploration.

Taylor Hill
He/him/his

My name is Taylor Hill, I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and got my bachelor degree in physics from the University of Houston. I decided to pursue materials science engineering because I want to learn about how we can use and alter the thermal, optical, electrical, and mechanical properties of base materials. My past research includes applied mathematics in seismic imaging and high altitude balloon experiments; my current research is in materials for renewable energies, particularly thin film semiconductor technologies related to photovoltaics and solar cells.

Nipa Khair

I am a PhD student at SAMD with a research focus on synthesizing and designing stabilized polymeric nanoparticles. These stimuli-responsive nanoparticles could serve in the noble realm of biomed, including drug delivery. My undergrad was in Textile Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Textiles, where my research group processed conductive carbon ink and conductive cotton textile using the ink. We also reviewed the colloidal synthesis of graphene, CNT, and activated carbon and their related application cases in electronic textiles. I am more fascinated towards incorporating inorganic nanoparticles onto organic polymer nanoparticles.

Jeonghun Lee
He/him/his

I am a PhD student in SAMD. My master’s degree was in Polymer Sciences and Technology at Chonbuk National University in South Korea. I focused on developing polymeric biomaterials which can image oxidative stress relative diseases and serve as therapeutics as well. By manipulating the knowledge in polymer synthesis and finely-controlled nanostructure, I’d like to develop novel biopolymers which can advance the imaging and therapy of life-threatening diseases.

Boston Morris
He/him/his

My name is William Boston Morris and I’m from Arvada, Colorado. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Colorado State University in May 2019. Currently, I’m working towards my Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at CSU’s School of Advanced Materials Discovery. I am interested in research involving the design and characterization of polymeric materials and the application of hydrogel polymers in various additive manufacturing techniques including volumetric printing. In my career, I aspire to contribute to the creation of more sustainable materials.

Abraham Ojo Friday
He/Him/His

Abhishek Bhattacharjee He/Him/His

I am a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering and a recipient of Walter Scott Jr. Fellowship. I did my undergrad in Textile Engineering from Bangladesh University of Textiles and finished my master’s in Design and Merchandising (Textile Science) from Colorado State University. During my masters, I prepared a nanofiber composite that can change its color from blue-to-red at the presence of bacteria and studied the mechanism of that color change. The research offered potential in sensor application and in future I want to continue research on synthesizing novel materials for biomedical and sensor applications. Currently, I am working on a project to prepare a face mask that can detect and kill SARS-CoV-2 which is causing a COVID19 pandemic around the world. My long-term career goal is to become a materials scientist and pursue exciting research works.

Rafael Almaraz
He/Him/His

My name is Rafael Almaraz and I’m from Puebla, Mexico. I earned two Bachelor’s degrees one in Chemical and Biological Engineering and the other one in Chemistry from Colorado State University in May 2020. I am interested in research involving nanomaterials and sustainable energy specifically solar energy. I´d like to help with the fight towards sustainability and making the world a better place.

Kim Sunghoon
He/Him/His

My name is Sunghoon Kim and I am from South Korea. I received my Bachelor’s and master’s degree in Environmental Science at Konkuk University in South Korea. I am interested in research involving manipulating the knowledge in polymer synthesis and developing novel biopolymers that can apply to the therapy of disease.

Miyuru Piyathilake She/Her/Hers

I am a PhD student in SAMD. My bachelors and master’s degree were in Materials science and engineering at University of Moratuwa Sri Lanka. My PhD is mainly focused on investigating the oxidation of the polymeric monofilaments embedded in Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GCLs) under elevated temperatures and aggressive chemical solutions. The property degradation in polymeric material in micro scale is to be studied. My objective is to use this study to develop a method to predict the service life of GCLs in in-situ applications.

Justin Gangwish
He/Him/His

My research interests include using synthetic polymer chemistry to design materials for use in an artificial heart valve, polymer interfaces, rotary evaporators, biomechanics, running (ugh), green chili (it’s a New Mexico thing), watching baseball, playing baseball, thinking about baseball, fantasy baseball, ummm more baseball, rafting, camping, skiing, and the occasional PBR when grilling. Before starting in SAMD at CSU, I attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst and received a master’s degree in biomedical engineering (The first ever biomedical engineering degree conferred at UMass Amherst!). Before that, I completed a Chemical and Biological engineering degree at CSU and worked in industry. In industry I was employed as a wireline engineer for Halliburton Energy Services, and in the color science department at PPG. While I am most often in the lab, I can occasionally be located trying to find other wayward New York Yankees fans in Colorado or planning my next adventure into the wilderness.

Rashedul Islam
He/Him/His

I am a Ph.D. student in SAMD. My undergraduate was at the Bangladesh University of Textiles in Textile Engineering where I had the opportunity to work on flexible and smart electronic textiles. Currently, my research revolves around the aerospace-grade advanced composite materials. More specifically, the characterization of the viscoelastic behavior of thin ply high strain composite materials from neat resin to laminae and laminate level to better understand viscoelastic behavior and design the efficient deployable space structure.

Karla Cureño

She/Her/Hers

My name is Karla and I’m a PhD student in SAMD. I am from Mexico City, where I received my bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and my master’s degree in Chemical Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Then I moved to Colorado to continue my studies. Delighted with the perspective of designing materials with potential applications, my current research topic is related to the study of zwitterionic nanoparticles and their interaction with mucus.