Ashley Alfred is a senior at Southern University and A&M College studying mathematics and physics. She is a LS-LAMP, Timbuktu, and Honors College scholar. After graduation she plans to obtain her PhD. In her free time she enjoys playing tennis and volleyball, listening to music, reading, and eating sweets. 

Project: Study of chalcogenide thin film materials for applications in reconfigurable electronics using machine learning methods

Mentors: Joost Vlassak, Gayatri Perlin

Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

LinkedIn

Canyon Aspy is a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology where he is majoring in mechanical engineering technology and minoring in psychology. He would like to work in industry and eventually teach. In his free time, he enjoys learning about history, psychology as well as climbing and camping in the great outdoors. 

Project: Applications of soft robotics

Mentors: George Whitesides, Jeff Rawson

Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1559890

LinkedIn

Caterina Baffa is a rising senior at Smith College who is majoring in chemistry and seeks to pursue an MD or MD/PhD degree after graduation. Outside of research, she enjoys fencing, volunteering, and trying out new recipes with her friends.

Project: Rheological behavior and printability of compacted spheroid aggregates and alginate beads as printing material

Mentors: Jennifer Lewis, Sebastien Uzel, Mark Skylar-Scott, Connor Verheyen

Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

LinkedIn

Neil Baugh is from Charlotte, NC. He is a rising senior at North Carolina State University majoring in Materials Science and Engineering with a biomaterials concentration. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. and then found a company. In his free time, he enjoys reading, hiking, and traveling. 

Project: Cellular backpacks for enhancing pro-inflammatory phenotypes in adoptive macrophage therapies

Mentors: Samir Mitragotri, C. Wyatt Shields IV, Lily Wang

Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

LinkedIn

Apryl Begay is from Crownpoint, New Mexico. She attends Navajo Technical University where her major is animal science. She is expected to graduate in 2020. She wants to become a veterinarian, and gain as much experience and knowledge. She wants to apply what she learned back to the Navajo Nation. Her hobbies are riding horses and her dirt bike. 

Project: Reversing pesticide toxicity effects by using a biomimetic receptor 

Mentors: George Whitesides, Khaled Abdelazim Mohamed

Funding: NSF Partnership for Research and Education in Materials Seed - Vision for Excellence at Navajo Technical University in Research and Education in STEM (VENTURES) | NSF DMR-1828012 | 

NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

LinkedIn

Eric Bias is an engineering student at Chandler-Gilbert Community College and plans to attend graduate school for physics or engineering. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy submarine force where he worked as an electrician and power plant operator. 

Project: Fabrication of large area topological metamaterials

Mentors: Eric Mazur, Haoning Tang

Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1559890

Jiuk Byun is studying chemistry and math at Mount Holyoke College. She is originally from Korea and likes to travel. She also enjoys photography, cooking, and music.

Project: Direct and accurate non-contact temperature measurement of diamond

Mentor: Derek Englund

Funding: NSF Science & Technology Center - Center for Integrated Quantum Materials (CIQM) | NSF DMR-1231319

LinkedIn

Kyra Capitan is a rising sophomore at Navajo Technical University, where she is majoring in biology. She plans to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine. In her free time, she likes to ride horses. 

Project: Temperature responsive hydrogels

Mentors: David Weitz, Brendan Deveney

Funding: NSF Partnership for Research and Education in Materials Seed - Vision for Excellence at Navajo Technical University in Research and Education in STEM (VENTURES)  | NSF DMR-1828012 | 

NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

Claire Carlin is originally from Colorado and a rising senior at Amherst College studying physics. She is a member of the Amherst College electronics club and enjoys mountain biking and hiking. After completing her undergraduate degree, she hopes to attend graduate school in applied physics or a related field. 

Project: Mixed lead halide perovskite crystals for blue LEDs

Mentors: Dan Congreve, Mahesh Gangishetty

Funding: The Rowland Institute at Harvard

LinkedIn

Lee Roger Chevres Fernández is a senior undergraduate student at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. He is majoring in theoretical physics and plans to pursue graduate studies with the goal of obtaining a Ph.D. degree in theoretical particle physics or theoretical cosmology. Lee Roger is passionate about research in theoretical physics and pure mathematics. 

Project: Study of lie algebras in quantum mechanics and particle physics for the production of pedagogical files

Mentors: Howard Georgi

Funding: Puerto Rico - LSAMP

Jonathan Chinana is a first-generation student at Navajo Technical University. He is pursuing a bachelors's degree in electrical engineering and is in his sophomore year. He loves playing pool while listening to Tool. 

Project: Fabricating an open-source potentiostat to utilize in the Navajo Nation

Mentors: George Whitesides, Jeff Rawson, Mike Litchfield, Jim MacArthur

Funding: NSF Partnership for Research and Education in Materials Seed - Vision for Excellence at Navajo Technical University in Research and Education in STEM (VENTURES)  | NSF DMR-1828012

NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

LinkedIn

Patrice Constantin is a sophomore electrical engineering major at Bunker Hill Community College. 

Project: Characterization of oxide etch in fabrication of InGaN QD microdisks

Mentors: Evelyn Hu, Jonathan Dietz, Niamh Mulholland

Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) | NSF ECCS-1541959

Christina Curreri is a rising junior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, pursuing a degree in biology on the pre-med track with a minor in economics. She hopes to go for her Ph.D. after her undergraduate degree. She loves to travel, ski, hike and spend time with friends and family.

Project: Transdermal drug delivery using ionic liquids 

Mentors: Samir Mitragotri, Eden Tanner

Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1559890

LinkedIn

Nizhonabah Davis is from Ganado AZ. She is a rising junior at the University of Arizona majoring in chemical engineering. 

Project: Extracellular matrix plasticity as a driver for metastatic breast cancer migration

Mentors: David Mooney, Joshua Grolman

Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1559890

LinkedIn

Antowan Davtians is a chemical engineering student at UC Berkeley. He will finish his undergraduate degree in May 2021. Antowan is interested in space exploration and plans to pursue research in this field. One of his many goals is to enter the astronaut candidate program. He enjoys the outdoors, good people, and he has a great sense of humor. He is always eager for opportunities to learn. 

Project: Electrochemical sensors for soft robotics

Mentors: George Whitesides, Lee Belding

Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

LinkedIn

Sabrina de Jong is a rising senior at the University of South Alabama. She is studying Physics with a minor in Mathematics. She hopes to get her Ph.D. in Biophysics and conduct research. In her free time, she enjoys playing music, participating in various school organizations, and the outdoors. 

Project: Using stochastic simulations to understand the evolution of phenotypic variability

Mentors: Ariel Amir, Ethan Levien

Funding: NSF-Simons Center for Mathematical & Statistical Analysis of Biological Systems | NSF DMS-1764269 

LinkedIn

Michael Devaney is a sophomore environmental engineering major at Bunker Hill Community College. 

Project: Automation of the determination of crystal orientation of 2D materials using polarized second harmonic generation microscopy

Mentor: Arthur McClelland

Funding: NSF Science & Technology Center - Center for Integrated Quantum Materials (CIQM) | NSF DMR-1231319

LinkedIn

Michael Di Martino is a rising senior at the University of Pennsylvania pursuing a BA in Molecular and Cellular Biology, with minors in Chemistry and Theater. His interests include medical diagnostic and imaging devices for applications in teaching and research. He was born and raised in Hawaii, and in his free time likes to sing, write bad jokes, and test the limits of his circadian rhythm. 

Project: Glucose responsive microcapsules

Mentors: David Weitz, Joerg Werner

Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

LinkedIn

Elbert Du is a rising sophomore at Harvard University. He is interested in Computer Science and Mathematics. He plans on pursuing a Ph.D. and hopes to become a professor. He spends his free time reading, playing video games, and going to the gym. 

Project: Implementing a differentially private synthetic data generation algorithm for the PSI tool

Mentors: Salil Vadhan

Funding: NSF Trustworthy Computing Systems (TWC): Large: Collaborative: Computing Over Distributed Sensitive Data | NSF CNS-1565387

Miya Duffy is from Cambridge, MA. She attends Santa Clara University where she is pursuing a double major in Neuroscience and Chemistry (2022). At school, she likes to lead backpacking, hiking, and camping trips. 

Project: Permeability efficiency using ionic liquids 

Mentors: Samir Mitragotri, Maggie Qi

Funding: NSF-Simons Center for Mathematical & Statistical Analysis of Biological Systems | NSF DMS-1764269 

LinkedIn

Meghann Dunn is a nurse who changed her major to physics. Currently, she is working on her undergraduate degree in physics. She strives to become a theoretical physicist. She hopes to study the quantum dynamics of gravity in order to progress a theory that reconciles quantum mechanics and the general theory of relativity.

Project: Chemical intercalation of copper into Bi2Se3 to achieve an odd-parity

Mentors: Philip Kim, Tamar Mentzel, Mehdi Rezae

Funding: NSF Science & Technology Center - Center for Integrated Quantum Materials (CIQM) | NSF DMR-1231319

LinkedIn

Riley Flores is a rising junior at Northeastern University studying behavioral neuroscience. She hopes to conduct research and teach at the university/graduate level. She is originally from Miami, Florida with roots in Suasua, Mexico. In her free time, Riley is the creative director of a local Boston Dance crew, and also enjoys yoga, surfing, and all things outdoors.  

Project: The effect of substrate stiffness on perineuronal net development in vitro

Mentors: Kit Parker, George Touloumes

Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) | NSF ECCS-1541959

LinkedIn

Santa Flores Alvarez is a rising junior at the Rochester Institute of Technology studying civil engineering technology with an immersion in American Sign Language. Originally from Honduras, she now resides in New York City with her family. In her spare time, she likes to read, watch TV shows, try new foods, and explore the city.

Project: Failure and fractures in mode porous materials

Mentors: David Weitz, Stefano Aime

Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1559890

LinkedIn

Rudy Gabardi is a sophomore electrical engineering major at Bunker Hill Community College. He hopes for a career in renewable energy production or automotive electronics. He enjoys motorsports and the engineering behind the vehicles.

Project: Customizing 3D printer software to print scalable models of a heart

Mentors: Kit Parker, Luke MacQueen, Suji Choi

Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1559890

LinkedIn

Danielle is a rising senior at Seattle Pacific University studying visual communications with additional coursework in engineering. She plans to pursue a master's degree in media arts and sciences. Danielle is passionate about sculpture, fish-keeping, and gardening. 

Project: Culturing cells over city maps

Mentors: Kit Parker, Michael Rosnach, John F. Zimmerman

Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

LinkedIn

Minhal Gardezi is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a rising senior at Wellesley College studying physics and computer Science. She hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in physics after graduation. In her free time, she enjoys strength training, eating fruit, and spending time with her family and friends. 

Project: Developing novel flat band phononic metamaterials

Mentors: Jenny Hoffman

Funding: NSF Science & Technology Center - Center for Integrated Quantum Materials (CIQM) | NSF DMR-1231319

LinkedIn

Georgina Gemayel is an environmental science and health student at the University of Southern California who transferred from Bunker Hill Community College. Georgina is 100% Lebanese and grew up in Massachusetts. She enjoys being outdoors and hiking, cooking plant-based meals, and traveling the world. Her goal is to help the planet become a place of unity and sustainability. 

Project: Investigating the construction and responses of a self-organized living architecture of Eciton hamatum

Mentors: Radhika Nagpal, Helen McCreery

Funding: NSF-Simons Center for Mathematical & Statistical Analysis of Biological Systems | NSF DMS-1764269 

Raelyn Henderson is a rising sophomore at Southern University and A&M College where she is pursuing a BS in mechanical engineering. She is very passionate about teaching others and plans on continuing her education after graduation.

Project: Study of fluid flow in constrictions for the measurement of mechanical properties of cells and droplets 

Mentors: David Weitz, Stefano Aime

Funding: NSF-Simons Center for Mathematical & Statistical Analysis of Biological Systems | NSF DMS-1764269 

LinkedIn

James Ikeda is a rising sophomore at Columbia University. He is a Marine Corps veteran majoring in neuroscience and behavioral psychology. After graduation, he is planning to attend medical school and open his own practice. In his free time, James enjoys spending time with his family and fiancé, weightlifting, learning about automotive engineering, and building performance cars. 

Project: Geometrically evolvable biohybrids

Mentors: Kit Parker, John F. Zimmerman

Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1559890

LinkedIn

Siddharth Iyer is a rising junior at Johns Hopkins University majoring in biomaterials engineering and applied math. He plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in bioengineering after graduation. In his free time, he enjoys baking, gardening, basketball, and exploiting market inefficiencies.

Project: Genome engineering of woolly mammoth and oligopaints for visualization of ancient DNA

Mentors: George Church, Eriona Hysolli

Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

LinkedIn

Shantanu Jha was born in India and raised across the west and east coasts, and he has come to call New York City home for the past nine years. As an aspiring physicist, he aims to understand and leverage the most fundamental nature of the universe through research at the Yale Quantum Institute. Outside of the lab and classes at Yale, he enjoys participating in and enabling volunteering through Yale Rotaract and VolunToken, as well as woodworking, playing intramural sports, and solving riddles! This summer, as a rising junior, Shantanu had the distinct pleasure of learning from and conducting experimental quantum cascade laser research with graduate student Dima and postdoc Marco in the Capasso Group. Whether during late hours at the lab or daily group lunches, Shantanu appreciated the diversity and expanse of intellectual passion in the Capasso group. He entered the lab as a self-proclaimed theorist, and he leaves the Capasso group with a newfound resolve on pursuing experimental physics research for his PhD and beyond. 

Project: Quantum cascade laser transceivers for Terahertz wireless communication

Mentors: Federico Capasso, Marco Piccardo, Dmitry Kazakov

Funding: NSF Collaborative Research: Quantum Cascade Laser Sources of High-Power, Coherent Frequency Combs | NSF ECCS-1614631

LinkedIn

Belinda Joseph is a rising senior at the University of Central Florida, studying mechanical engineering. She wants to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering to facilitate medical procedures by design and improving relevant devices and equipment. She enjoys exercising and attending social events.

Project: The viability of Caenorhabditis Elegans and fish eggs in magnetic levitation

Mentors: George Whitesides, Amit A. Nagarkar

Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

Ethan Kuhn is a pre-med student attending Bunker Hill Community College. As a prior service Marine, he hopes to return to active duty as a naval doctor after earning his MD.

Project: Nanoresist - engineering the refractive index for photonic structures
Mentors: Jiangdong Deng, Mac Hathaway, Guixiong Zhong
Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) | NSF ECCS-1541959

LinkedIn

Deidre Lee was born and raised in Montserrat. She attends the University of the Virgin Islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She is a physics major and mathematics minor, expected to graduate in May 2021. After completing her undergraduate studies, she plans to obtain a Ph.D. in bioengineering with the hopes of developing biomedical devices.

Project: Tough and biologically stable hydrogel adhesives

Mentors: Zhigang Suo, Jason Steck

Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

Kylie Ray Lee is a third-year at the University of Utah majoring in Chemistry with a Biology Emphasis. She is interested in research pertaining to Health Sciences and bringing diversity to STEM. Outside of academics, she enjoys skiing and reading. 

Project: Extracting biophysical mechanisms from in vitro fertilization videos of 30,000 embryos

Mentors: Dan Needleman, Brian Leahy

Funding: NSF-Simons Center for Mathematical & Statistical Analysis of Biological Systems | NSF DMS-1764269 

LinkedIn

Bryan Lukehart-Yun is a rising junior at Rochester Institute of Technology studying mechanical engineering. He is from Washington D.C. He enjoys reading anything that interests him, swimming during his free time, and learning about new technologies. 

Project: Fabrication of composites materials with soft polymers 

Mentors: George Whitesides, Amit A. Nagarkar

Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1559890

LinkedIn

Arthur Lynch served in the US Air Force and is currently majoring in biology at Bunker Hill Community College. He will graduate in fall 2019. He is from Richfield Springs, New York. His goal is to be an evolutionary biologist, with an emphasis on studying the taxonomic lineages of past and present species to develop a better picture of the tree of life. He also wants to probe deeper into the origins of life itself and hopefully do research all across the world. In his spare time, he likes to work out, run, go hiking, eat good food, and travel to all the cool places this world has to offer.

Project: Microfluidic droplet formation using soft lithography

Mentors: David Weitz, Ryan Garry, Kayla Keepseagle

Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1559890

LinkedIn

Arthur is from Bristol, RI. He is a rising senior at the University of Chicago studying physics and computer science. He is interested in soft matter, climate modeling and robotics. Outside academics/research he is interested in gardening, cooking, and anything near the ocean.

Project: Multi-dimensional locomotion from a robotic ring oscillator

Mentors: George Whitesides, Won-Kyu Lee

Funding: U.S. Department of Energy

LinkedIn

Nadja Maldonado Luna is a rising senior at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. She is majoring in mechanical engineering. After finishing her bachelor's degree, she is determined to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. She aims to continue a career in research either in academia or the private sector. In her free time, she enjoys singing and dancing, learning about astronomy, traveling, and spending time with her friends and family. 

Project: On-demand removal strategies for tough adhesive biomaterials 

Mentors: David Mooney, Benjamin Freedman

Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering | 

NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

LinkedIn

Wassim Marrakchi is from Tunis, Tunisia. He is a rising junior at Harvard College studying computer science and mathematics, and his secondary field is statistics. He is expected to graduate in 2021. His interests range from science and technology to ethics and law. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, reading, and playing soccer. After graduation and some years in the industry, he hopes to go on to graduate school and pursue a Ph.D. in computer science.

Project: Enforcement mechanisms for differentially private information flow in R

Mentors: James Honaker, Jack Murtagh

Funding: NSF Trustworthy Computing Systems (TWC): Large: Collaborative: Computing Over Distributed Sensitive Data | NSF CNS-1565387

LinkedIn

Shawn Meepagala is a rising senior at Howard University studying chemistry with a minor in biology. He enjoys reading, playing guitar, and spending time outdoors.

Project: Atomic resolution of imaging of SrTiO3 surface reconstructions using atomic force microscopy

Mentors: Jenny Hoffman, Tina Brower-Thomas, Ruizhe Kang

Funding: NSF Science & Technology Center - Center for Integrated Quantum Materials (CIQM) | NSF DMR-1231319

LinkedIn

Sophia Millay is a rising junior at Williams College double majoring in physics and art history. She enjoys playing lacrosse, hiking, and spending time with her family. 

Project: Broadband high-efficiency and polarization-insensitive metalens

Mentors: Frederico Capasso, Wei Ting Chen

Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) | NSF ECCS-1541959

LinkedIn

David Murray is from Atlanta, GA. He is a 4th year biochemistry major at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was homeschooled as a child and developed his interest in science through attending homeschool science academies and presenting at science fairs. He started college at a Georgia State University Perimeter College and obtained his A.S. in chemistry. During that time, he participated in his first REU at Princeton University. This experience allowed him to narrow down his future career goals to the pursuit of an M.D./Ph.D. program. Since that experience, he has spent two summers conducting research here with the Harvard University SEAS REU. 

Project: Characterization of in situ TEM heating holders using silver nanocubes

Mentors: David Bell, Jules Gardener

Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) | NSF ECCS-1541959

LinkedIn

Michael Nelwood is a student at Navajo Technical University majoring in biology. Before attending Navajo Technical University, he served in the U.S. Army.

Project: Plasma electrochemistry

Mentors: George Whitesides, Jeff Bell

Funding: NSF Partnership for Research and Education in Materials Seed - Vision for Excellence at Navajo Technical University in Research and Education in STEM (VENTURES)  | NSF DMR-1828012 | 

NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

LinkedIn

Tai is from Boston, MA. He was in the United States Army. Now, he is working on getting a biology degree at Bunker Hill Community College where he is a freshman. 

Project: Characterization of ALD oxide films grown with D2O

Mentors: Jiangdong Deng, Mac Hathaway

Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) | NSF ECCS-1541959

LinkedIn

Eva studies biology and education at Boston College. She is from Los Gatos, CA.  

Project: Investigating the effect of atrazine on the wasp microbiome 

Mentor: Rob Brucker

Funding: The Rowland Institute at Harvard

LinkedIn

Dominique Pablito is from Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico. She grew up on the Zuni, Navajo, Cherokee, and Comanche reservations. She will be graduating with a chemistry BS, emphasis in biology, and a pediatric clinical research minor in Spring 2020. Dominique aspires to become an epidemiologist with a specialty in infectious diseases. She plans to use her experiences of poverty, lack of healthcare, living in a food desert, crime, and lack of clean water/electricity to help healthcare workers in Africa. She also strives to provide research opportunities and mentorship to Native American students. Dominique started college at the age of 15 and she speaks four languages which are Zuni, Navajo, English, and French. Dominique loves playing basketball and beading in her free time. 

Project: Enhancing cell death using targeted photoactivable multi-inhibitor liposomes (TPMIL)

Mentors: Tayyaba Hasan, Girgis Obaid

Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) | NSF ECCS-1541959

LinkedIn

Devon Parfait is the future Chief of the Grand Caillou/Dulac band of Biloxi Chitimacha Choctaw (starting August ’22) and a ’22 graduate of Williams college, where he majored in geoscience. Throughout his undergraduate degree, he studied how coastal land loss is disproportionately affecting tribal communities in southeast Louisiana. Devon has had varied work experience ranging from developing media and GIS projects with the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to conducting fieldwork on shoreline change in the Gulf Islands National Seashore with the National Park Service. Devon has also held several other leadership roles through the Native Youth Community Adaptation Leadership Congress and the Y Bold and Gold Advisory Council. Devon is currently working as a Coastal Resilience Analyst for EDF and the MRD coalition, where he is working to support the science committee and to help advance justice for coastal communities. 

Project: Using GIS to determine LAI (Leaf Area Index) of the Amazon rain forest

Mentors: Scot Martin 

Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1559890

LinkedIn

Abena Peasah is a rising junior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she is studying bioengineering. She plans to get a Ph.D. in the biological sciences and use her knowledge to study diseases that primarily impact historically disadvantaged people. In her free time, she enjoys knitting, reading, and learning new languages.

Project: In vivo genetic reprogramming of mouse cardiomyocytes

Mentors: David Mooney, Irene de Lazaro, 

Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

LinkedIn

Christina Pizza is a former Navy Corpsman and currently a senior studying biochemistry at the University of West Florida. She intends to pursue a graduate degree in organic chemistry with a focus in medicinal chemistry. She's an avid bibliophile and recreational poet. Outside of academics, she enjoys serving her community as a volunteer firefighter and collecting books for donation to the Prison Book Project. 

Project: Transcriptional control of adipose tissue remodeling during hypertrophic expansion on a biomimetic nanofibrous scaffold

Mentors: Kit Parker, Ben Pope

Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

LinkedIn

Josh Platero is a junior at Navajo Technical University. He is studying biology and it is his dream to eventually attend graduate school. He has been married for 8 years and has 2 kids, both boys.

Project: Insertion of proteins into vesicles

Mentors: David Weitz, Tina Yuting Huang

Funding: NSF Partnership for Research and Education in Materials Seed - Vision for Excellence at Navajo Technical University in Research and Education in STEM (VENTURES)  | NSF DMR-1828012 | 

NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

LinkedIn

Atefeh Rahmani is a junior at the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth, majoring in software engineering. She enjoys painting, swimming, and dancing in my free time. She is friendly, likes to meet new people, and enjoys learning about computer science.

Project: The substrate effect on optical properties and exfoliation behavior of chalcogenide (MoS2, Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3)

Mentors: David Bell, Tina Brower-Thomas, Cigdem Ozsoy Keskinbora

Funding: NSF Science & Technology Center - Center for Integrated Quantum Materials (CIQM) | NSF DMR-1231319

LinkedIn

Kristopher Reynolds is a rising junior at the University of Tennessee studying biochemistry, where he is engaged in research in neuroplasticity in mouse models of Rett Syndrome. He is deeply intrigued by philosophy, specifically metaphysics which occupy a significant part of his thinking in his spare time. He wishes to pursue an MD/Ph.D. in biochemistry. 

Project: Elucidating the shape of the quantum tunneling barrier in self assembled monolayers

Mentors: George Whitesides, Maral Mousavi, Khaled Abdelazim Mohamed

Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) | NSF ECCS-1541959

LinkedIn

Alvaro Sahagun is a senior at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is majoring in electrical engineering, and double minoring in mathematics and materials engineering. Inspired by his research experience at MIT, Sahagun plans to pursue a research career after earning his PhD. in electrical engineering. He is interested in exploring the unique electromechanical and electronic properties of nanoscale materials to develop novel nano-devices with applications in electronics, sustainability, and eventually non-invasive medicine. In his free time, he enjoys running, weightlifting, trying new foods, watching baking shows, playing video games, and drinking a ton of coffee. 

Project: Photonic wire bonding by 3D laser lithography

Mentors: Jiangdong Deng

Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) | NSF ECCS-1541959

LinkedIn

Emmy Semprun is a Venezuelan-American raised in Miami, Florida. She is a rising sophomore at Harvard University concentrating in mechanical engineering with the intent of continuing research and becoming an engineering professor. 

Project: A new paradigm for soft controllers based on microfluidic circuits

Mentors: Rob Wood, Elizabeth Gallardo

Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

LinkedIn

Gabriel Seymour is from Ebensburg, PA. He is a rising senior at Columbia University where he is a physics and electrical engineering major with a minor in mathematics. His hobbies include playing guitar and piano as well as singing. He wants to pursue a career in academia to continue doing research in robotics. 

Project: Kilobots: An effective tool for robotics, bio-Inspired design, and outreach

Mentors: Radhika Nagpal, Julia Ebert

Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

LinkedIn

Kyle Smith is from Thoreau, New Mexico and is currently attending Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint, New Mexico. He is studying in the chemical engineering  A.A.S. Upon graduation, he plans on transferring to the University of Arizona. This program has opened his mind to the research field and he is interested in further pursuing this field. In his spare time, he likes to listen to a variety of music and work on electronics repair.

Project: A safe method of powering soft robots

Mentors: George Whitesides, Jeff Rawson

Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1559890

LinkedIn

Sophia Song is a rising sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley majoring in computer science. In her free time, she enjoys springboard diving, finding new music, and watching Game of Thrones.

Project: PSI utility study

Mentors: Jayshree Sarathy

Funding: NSF Trustworthy Computing Systems (TWC): Large: Collaborative: Computing Over Distributed Sensitive Data | NSF CNS-1565387

LinkedIn

Breanna was born and raised on the Navajo Nation in Crownpoint, NM. She is a student at Navajo Technical University in the biology program. Her goals are to continue her career past graduate school ultimately gaining experience so that she can bring it back to better her community. In her free time, she likes to spend time with friends and family, cook, go out, travel, read and relax.

Project: Fabricating biocompatible polymersomes using microfluidics

Mentors: David Weitz, Tina Yuting Huang

Funding: NSF Partnership for Research and Education in Materials Seed - Vision for Excellence at Navajo Technical University in Research and Education in STEM (VENTURES)  | NSF DMR-1828012 | 

NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

LinkedIn

Abraham Waldman is from Concord, MA. He is a rising junior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Commonwealth Honors College. He is majoring in chemical engineering, with a concentration in biochemical engineering and a minor in mathematics. He plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in either biochemical engineering or biomedical engineering. Outside of studying, he is the captain of the Club Soccer team at UMass Amherst, and enjoy hiking, camping, and spending time with family and friends. 

Project: Formulation and encapsulation of GRAS microorganisms using micro-droplet generation technologies

Mentors: George Whitesides, Lee Belding

Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

LinkedIn

Hadley Weiss is from Memphis, TN. She is a senior at Harvard studying bioengineering, with a secondary in women, gender, and sexuality studies. She plans to work in a synthetic biology lab for a few years and then pursue a graduate degree in a related field. 

Project: Rapid tests for virus genes that suppress the host antiviral defenses

Mentors: Pamela Silver, Jeffrey Way, Yukiye Koide

Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

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Kelsey Yao is a rising sophomore from Atlanta, GA pursuing a dual degree in an undecided science major and piano performance at Northwestern University. She enjoys physics, environmental science, swimming, Frisbee, eating food, and hanging out with friends.

Project: Pyrrhotite's contribution to the origin of life

Mentors: George Whitesides, Jeff Bell

Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

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Kasey Yu is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University where she majored in psychology with a minor in sports medicine. She hopes to pursue her DPT. In her free time, she enjoys sports, traveling and spending time with friends and family.

Project: Soft exosuits

Mentors: Conor Walsh, Franchino Porciuncula, Lauren Baker

Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

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Ye Zhang is a rising senior from Mount Holyoke College. She studies physics and electrical engineering. She grows up in Shanghai, China. She enjoys hiking and watching movies in her spare time. In the future, she hopes to get a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering.

Project: Scrolling up 2D materials

Mentors: Jing Kong, Qingqing Ji

Funding: NSF Science & Technology Center - Center for Integrated Quantum Materials (CIQM) | NSF DMR-1231319

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William Zunker is a junior at the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities studying civil engineering with a focus on structures. He plans on continuing his education by pursuing a Ph.D. with the eventual goal of conducting research and teaching as a professor at a university. Outside of school, his hobbies include calisthenics, climbing, and pottery.

Project: Bistable beam buckling robot 

Mentors: Katia Bertoldi, Jochen Mueller

Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-1420570

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