2008
Adenike Adewuyi
Adenike Adewuyi is originally from Nigeria and is a rising senior at Harvard concentrating in biomedical engineering. Because of her desire to impact the medical field, learn about God's most prized creation - the human body - and serve others while doing it, she plans to pursue an MD and PhD in the biomedical engineering field after graduating and become a physician-scientist.
Project: Motor skill learning
Mentors: Maurice Smith, Gary Sing
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199 | Harvard College Research Program
Paul Aliotta
Paul Aliotta currently attends Eastern Nazarene College where he is a physics major with minors in math and philosophy. He enjoys performing music and is a part-time radio DJ.
Project: Superconducting-insulator transition in aluminum nanowires
Mentors: Robert Westervelt, John Free
Funding: NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Monica Allen
Monica Allen is a rising senior concentrating in physics and will be working with Prof. Amir Yacoby this summer.
Project: The Raman Spectroscopy of Monolayer and Multilayer Graphene
Mentors: Amir Yacoby
Funding: NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094 | Physics Department
Abraham Alvarez
Abraham Alvarez is a rising senior at Harvard University majoring in Biomedical Engineering and minoring in Neurobiology. In his spare time, he enjoys biking, long walks on the beach, stargazing and salsa dancing.
Project: Nanoenabler microfabrication studies
Mentors: Don Ingber, Kaustabh Ghosh, Dan Huh
Funding: Harvard University | Harvard Faculty Aide Program
Jennifer Caldwell
Jennifer Caldwell is a rising sophomore at The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She is a southern girl who loves to learn new things and have lots of fun. She is very optimistic, personable, and easy-going, and can't wait to meet all the REU students!
Project: Dscam binding capabilities and structural interactions
Mentors: Vinothan Manoharan, Jesse Collins
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199
Alex Capecelatro
Alex Capecelatro is a Materials Science & Engineering student at UCLA. Interested in various disciplines of advanced materials research, he has worked at numerous labs on applications including biosensors, fuel cells, structural materials, filtration devices, catalysts, etc. He is interested in entrepreneurial activities and is looking forward to his 2008 summer REU at Harvard.
Project: Fabrication of simple devices by nanoskiving
Mentors: George Whitesides, Benjamin Wiley
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199
Yousune Casana
Yosune Casana is a rising senior majoring in chemical engineering and a biology student. She grew up in Mexico and moved to New Mexico to attend college.
Project: Microfluidic virtual array platform for full genome sequencing
Mentors: David Weitz, Adam Abate, Jeremy Agresti
Funding: NSF University of New Mexico/Harvard PREM: Leadership in Biomaterials | NSF DMR-0611616
Adrian Delancy
Adrian Delancy is a rising junior at Purdue University majoring in Applied Physics with a concentration in Electrical Engineering. He was born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas and enjoys running, swimming, playing basketball and the saxophone.
Project Title: Liquid Sheets and Bells Produced by Fluid Flows over Micro-decorated Surfaces
Mentor: Prof. Howard Stone
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199
Erin Derbins
Erin Derbins is a rising senior at Louisiana State University, where she is pursuing a chemical engineering degree. Last year she participated in the REU program at the University of New Mexico working with Droplet-Based Microfluidics. In her spare time, Erin enjoys spending time with friends and family, riding horses, and biking.
Project Title: Design and fabrication of a microfluidic device to increase the aqueous volume fraction of water-in-oil emulsions for optimization of on-chip biological assays
Mentors: Prof. David Weitz, Don Aubrecht
Funding: Harvard University
Garland Deshazer
Garland Deshazer is a rising senior at Emory University majoring in chemistry, with a minor in mathematics. His research interests are up in the air right now, but he may go into pharmaceutical drug research.
Project: Blood vessels: How to quantify using biomolecular markers
Mentors: David Mooney, Eduardo Silva
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0213805
Christina Elias
Christina Elias is a rising sophomore majoring in engineering at The Ohio State University. She enjoys running, intramural sports, reading and exploring new places.
Project: STM of aldehyde coupling reactions on TIO2
Mentors: Cynthia Friend, Lauren Benz, Jan Haubrich
Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) | NSF ECCS-0335765
Jonathan Evans
Jonathan Evans is a rising sophomore at South Carolina State University who is originally from Arkansas. He is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Nuclear Engineering. He likes to play sports, hang out, and chill out with friends.
Project Title: Morphology of double emulsions consisting of two immiscible oils and water
Mentors: Prof. David Weitz, Anderson Shum, Rhutesh Shah, Dr. Daeyeon Lee
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199 | BASF
Pauline Gassman
Pauline Gassman just finished her sophomore year at the University of Iowa where she majors in biomedical engineering with a pre-medicine focus. She hopes to attend medical school upon graduation in pursuit of a degree in Ophthalmology. She is an active member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and will serve her second term as vice president next fall. She enjoys riding her bike, playing frisbee golf, photography, and spending time with her friends and family.
Project Title: Understanding the Neuronal Substrate of Form Vision Rodents
Mentors: David Cox
Funding: The Rowland Institute at Harvard
Sergio Gonzalez
Sergio Gonzalez is a rising senior majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of Texas-Pan American. During his spare time, he likes to hang out with friends and bbq. He likes to go fishing. When he needs to relax he'll read a book at a coffee shop.
Project: Building a magnetic scanning gate microscope tip
Mentors: Robert M. Westervelt, Erin Boyd, Halvar Trodahl
Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) | NSF ECCS-0335765
Craig Gorin
Craig Gorin is a rising senior in the Chemistry Concentration at Harvard University. His academic interests lie in the areas of Green Chemistry and Catalysis. Outside of Chemistry, he is on the fencing team and enjoys the outside, good food, and music.
Project Title: Oxidation selectivity across Cesium promoted silver surfaces
Mentors: Prof. Cynthia Friend, Ling Zhou
Funding: NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094 | Harvard College Research Program
Kathryn (Katie) Greenberg
Kathryn (Katie) Greenberg is a rising senior at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. She is a physics major and mathematics minor. In her free time, she enjoys biking and spending time with friends. After graduating from Mount Holyoke she plans to attend graduate school.
Project Title: Stabilization of emulsions using the interfacial formation of gold nanoparticles
Mentors: Prof. David Weitz, Anderson Shum, Rhutesh Shah, Dr. Daeyeon Lee
Funding: BASF
Jonathan Gross
Jonathan Gross is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and currently attends Penn State University as an undergraduate majoring in aerospace engineering.
Project Title: Design optimization and body force modulation for a flying robotic insect
Mentors: Prof. Rob Wood, Michael Karpelson, Ben Finio, Peter Whitney
Funding: SEAS
Josué (Josh) Guerra
Josué (Josh) Guerra is from Miami, FL and resided there most of his life, but he also lived in the Boston area during middle school. He's a Harvard College sophomore majoring in Chemistry and Physics with a minor in political science. His favorite activities include hiking, skiing, diving, and occasionally video games.
Project Title: An in vitro Model for Traumatic Brain Injury
Mentors: Prof. Kit Kevin Parker, Dr. Pat Alford
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0213805 | Harvard College Research Program
Dan Harburg
Dan Harburg is a Middlebury and Dartmouth dual-degree student studying Physics and Mechanical Engineering. He is entering his 5th and final year of the program in the fall. After graduation, Dan plans to work for a start-up company in California developing sources of alternative energy. When he's not in the lab, Dan enjoys surfing, skateboarding, biking, and jazz music.
Project Title: Aerogels for stabilizing and supporting fuel cells
Mentors: Prof. Shriram Ramanathan, Alex Johnson
Funding: NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Ashley Howard
Ashley Howard is a rising sophomore at Florida A & M University majoring in Biology Pre-Med. After her undergraduate, she plans on going to Harvard or Howard University for Medical School to become a Cardio-Vascular Surgeon. In her spare time, she likes to shop, surf the internet, and hang out at the beach with friends and family.
Project Title: Collective cell dynamics on micropatterned surfaces
Mentors: Prof. David Weitz, Dr. Tommy Angelini
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199
Tristan Hunt
Tristan Hunt is a rising Junior at the University of Notre Dame with a double major in Science Pre-Professional Studies and American Studies. In his free time, he enjoys playing music, playing basketball and wiffle ball, watching movies and doing anything else that involves being outside.
Project Title: Role of Stretch-Induced Signaling in Periodontal Ligament Homeostasis
Mentors: Prof. David Mooney, Praveen Arany
Funding: SEAS
Jason Kaufman
Jason Kaufman is a rising senior EE major at Yale with a strong interest in physics. He decided to join the dark side over the summer to the horror of his peers.
Project Title: Laser Cooling of Atoms using Ultra-Fast Pulses
Mentors: Dr. Andrew Speck
Funding: The Rowland Institute at Harvard
Moureen Kemei
Moureen Kemei is a rising junior at Mount Holyoke College majoring in Physics. She enjoys being outdoors.
Project Title: Quantum confinement effects in CdSe observed with scanning tunneling microscopy
Mentors: Prof. Venky Narayanamurti, Dr. Andrew Stollenwerk
Funding: The Rowland Institute at Harvard
Kenneth Lyons, Jr.
Kenneth Lyons, Jr. completed his freshman year at Morehouse College, where he is pursuing a B.S. in Chemistry. After Morehouse, he hopes to earn his Ph.D. When not doing research, studying, singing Bass in the (great) Morehouse College Glee Club, he loves reading science-fiction, taking walks, tinkering, and exploring the city.
Project Title: Fluid Dynamics in Three Dimensional Porous Materials
Mentors: Prof. David Weitz, Dr. Amber Krummel
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199
Joanna Ma
Joanna Ma is finishing her sophomore year at the New York Institute of Technology as a Biomedical Engineering major. She enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee, ballroom dancing, traveling, music, photography, and knitting.
Project Title: Highly Mobile Mesoscale Platform for Bio-inspired Swarm Robotics
Mentors: Prof. Rob Wood, Michael Karpelson, Peter Whitney, Ben Finio
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199
Aaron Magil
Aaron Magil is a rising Senior at Carnegie Mellon University majoring in Chemistry. In his free time, he enjoys playing ultimate and cello.
Project Title: Palladium as a substrate for self-assembled monolayers
Mentors: Prof. Joanna Aizenberg, Dr. Boaz Pokroy
Funding: NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Emily Margolis
Emily Margolis is a rising junior in the physics department at Princeton University. She is also minoring in Engineering Physics and German. Emily loves swing dancing, old musicals, and napping in hammocks.
Project Title: Study of grain boundaries in colloidal crystals by confocal microscopy
Mentors: Prof. Frans Spaepen, Prof. David Weitz, Kate Jensen
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0213805
Will Martin
Will Martin just finished his freshman year at Middlebury College and plans to major in physics and computer science. He is an avid computer modder and enjoys collecting penguins, playing the oboe, and lengthy board games. He also loves ancient Greek philosophy and PC games.
Project Title: Portable immunoassay based diagnostic tool with electrical readout
Mentors: Prof. Robert Westervelt, Keith Brown
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199
Kathleen (Katie) Martinick
Kathleen (Katie) Martinick currently studies chemical engineering at the University of New Mexico. In 2006-2007, she studied in Heidelberg, Germany as an exchange student. In her free time, she enjoys staying active outdoors
Project: Fabrication & characterization of nanoscale light sources
Mentors: Marko Lončar, Murray McCutcheon
Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) | NSF ECCS-0335765
Monica Mascarenas
Monica Mascarenas just completed her sophomore year in biology and chemistry at the University of New Mexico. She enjoys performing research and plans on attending graduate school with an emphasis on molecular biology. In her spare time, she loves to swim, check out local shows, watch movies, and longboard!
Project: Paper-based microfluidic devices as an inexpensive platform for biological assays
Mentors: George Whitesides, Andres Martinez, Katherine Mirica
Funding: NSF University of New Mexico/Harvard PREM: Leadership in Biomaterials | NSF DMR-0611616
Jelyn Moore
Jelyn Moore will be a sophomore at Hampton University this fall. She is majoring in physics and will minor in mathematics. Her hobbies are playing volleyball, watching anime, reading and sleeping!!
Project: Time-resolving the self-assembly of the CCMV protein capsids using the spectroscopic of Au nanoparticles
Mentors: Vinothan Manoharan, Dina Aronzon
Funding: NSF Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Team (NIRT): Optics on a nanoscale using polaritonic and plasmonic materials | NSF ECS-0709323
Alexander (Peyton) Nesmith
Alexander (Peyton) Nesmith has just completed his sophomore year in chemical engineering at Auburn University. He is the ultimate sports fan but particularly a fan of Auburn athletics and the Atlanta Braves. He also enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, playing sports, and running.
Project: Design and validation of a new method of engineering anisotropic cell monolayers
Mentors: Kevin Kit Parker, Crystal Ripplinger
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0213805
Bryan O´Gorman
Bryan O'Gorman is a rising junior at Harvard concentrating in physics and math.
Project Title: Developing Algorithms for the Boolean Satisfiability Problem
Mentors: Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Alejandro Perdomo
Funding: Harvard College
Jorge Pozo
Jorge Pozo just got out of the army and is an army veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan and conducted a special ops mission. He's now a senior at Northeastern University in Biochemistry. He loves playing all kinds of sports. He enjoys hanging out and meeting new people.
Project: Traumatic Brain Injury
Mentors: Kevin Kit Parker, Patrick Alford
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199
Danielle Raad
Danielle Raad is a rising junior majoring in materials chemistry at Brown University. She is particularly interested in the biological applications of nanomaterials.
Project: Reversibly adhesive fluidic devices
Mentors: Debra Auguste, Marjan Rafat
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199
Daniel Reeves
Daniel Reeves is a rising junior majoring in physics at Colby College. His biography starts in Toronto Canada where he was born. He still visits Canada a lot because he has relatives in Montreal. He lives with his parents and brother near Princeton NJ and played sports most of his childhood. He loves music and played the piano when he was young, then moved on to trumpet, then guitar which he plays often, every day at least. At Colby, he's been taking math and physics classes, as well as sprinklings of philosophy, music, and some literature. He rock climbs and snowboards a lot and he just went to Las Vegas to climb in Red Rock Canyon over spring break.
Project: Annealing silicon nanoparticles to increase T1 for use in medical resonance imaging
Mentors: Charles Marcus, Maja Cassidy
Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) | NSF ECCS-0335765
Victoria Reeves
Victoria Reeves was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida in August 1989. She has lived in Japan, Texas, Korea, and just finished her freshman year at Benedict College in Columbia, SC, majoring in chemistry, with a concentration in radiochemistry. Her hobbies include Air Force ROTC, basketball, drawing, exercising, eating with friends, hours of Law and Order and CSI, and course SCIENCE!!!
Project: Probing the microscopic origins of strain stiffening in biopolymer gels
Mentors: David Weitz, Louise Jawerth
Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) | NSF ECCS-0335765
Lori Sandberg
Lori Sandberg will be a junior at the University of Wyoming. She is majoring in Mechanical Engineering. She enjoys reading, running, crocheting, and hanging out with friends.
Project Title: Local microwave heating in microfluidic devices
Mentors: Prof. Robert Westervelt, David Issadore
Funding: NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Yah Laetitia Sangne
Yah Laetitia Sangne is a rising junior majoring in biomedical engineering at Western New England College. She is originally from the Ivory Coast. She enjoys learning about new things (cultures, places).
Project Title: Imbibition in customized systems of packed beads
Mentors: Prof. Howard Stone, Dr. Mathilde Reyssat
Funding: NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Maya Sen
Maya Sen is a rising senior at Columbia University, where she is majoring in applied mathematics.
Project: Double emulsions generated by microcapillary devices form liposomes of unique morphology and permeability
Mentors: David Weitz, Anderson Shum, Rhutesh Shah, Daeyeon Lee
Funding:
Anna Shneidman
Anna Shneidman is a rising senior at Harvard University, where she studies chemistry and physics. She enjoys traveling, dancing, reading, hiking, and being with friends. This summer, she will be gaining insights into the relationship between particle kinetics and bulk behavior of glass-forming materials.
Project: Probing colloidal glasses with confocal microscopy
Mentors: David Weitz, Mike Massa
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0213805 | Herchel Smith Fellowship
Laura Sofen
Laura Sofen is a rising junior chemistry major at Carleton College in Northfield, MN. She runs cross country and track, as well as enjoying other outdoor activities, reading, and playing the French horn.
Project Title: Synthesis and photophysical evaluation of a novel fluorescent reporter dye
Mentors: Jim Foley
Funding: The Rowland Institute at Harvard
Patrick Stollenwerk
Patrick Stollenwerk is a rising sophomore at Ohio State University majoring in Math and Physics. He is interested in space travel and the physics of the small. He also likes hanging out with friends and playing or watching any sport.
Project Title: Scanning Tunneling Luminescence on CdSe Quantum dots
Mentors: Prof. Venky Narayanamurti, Marissa Olson Hummon
Funding: NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Terence Verla
Terence Verla is a junior at Duke University, reading Biomedical Engineering with a strong passion for human mechanistic actions. The functioning of the human body triggers a sense of curiosity in him. He loves soccer, basketball, and tennis. He enjoys watching movies and taking a walk. He loves conversations because it gives him a chance to get to know and learn from others.
Project Title: Modeling the evolution of genetic networks as Boolean networks
Mentors: Prof. Don Ingber, Dr. Amy Brock
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199
Anthony Vicari
Anthony Vicari is a Chemistry and Physics major at Harvard University. He comes from Huntington, NY. He enjoys aikido, Kempo, fencing, and cooking.
Project: Fabrication of Bragg gratings using subwavelength-diameter silica nanowires on a silica aerogel substrate
Mentor: Prof. Eric Mazur, Jason Dowd
Funding: NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094 | Harvard College Research Program
Cavanaugh Welch
Cavanaugh Welch is finishing his freshman year at Morehouse College as an Applied Physics and Aerospace Engineering major with a Mathematics minor. He resides in Atlanta, Georgia where he enjoys rap music, sports of all kind, and exploring new things and places.
Project Title: Deconvolution of 3-D fluorescence microscopy images
Mentors: Prof. Eric Mazur, Chris Evans
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-0649199
Theo Wilson
Theo Wilson is a rising sophomore at Harvard University concentrating in Neurobiology
Project: Cell-cell inhibition of sprouts in angiogenesis
Mentors: David Mooney, Will Yuen
Funding: Harvard College Research Program | SEAS
Yunlai (Jerry) Zha
Yunlai (Jerry) Zha is a rising junior biophysics major at Brandeis University. He cooks real Chinese food, loves sports, and enjoys talking about economics and politics.
Project: New techniques in single-molecule force studies
Mentor: Wesley Wong
Funding: The Rowland Institute at Harvard