“I'm to write and tell you that you have your Whole Life Before You and that it's Criminal if you don't go after your Ph.D. before you go in for the actor's life in a big way.” ——Franny and Zooey
Embedded Files
Team & Openings
(G): PhD student; (UG): Undergraduate student.
Stephen Fuller (G)
DoD Fellowship (NDSEG)
[Awarded 2024]
B.S. (2023) @ Georgia Tech
"I’m interested in studying the electro-dissolution process for application in rechargeable metal-anode batteries. My overarching goal is to understand how we can tailor electrolytes and electrode crystal structure to maintain a uniform electrode surface morphology during cycling across a variety of different metals."
[since Summer 2023]
Rustam Gandhi (G)
B.S. (2023) @ UC Berkeley
"I’m interested in chemical energy storage systems and how to design and optimize these systems to meet the needs of the current market. My current project investigates methods to ensure that electrochemical deposition on metal battery electrodes is reversible over a large number of cycles, hopefully enabling a new generation of electrochemical storage devices."
[since Summer 2023]
Evalyn Wilber (G)
B.S. (2023) @ UT
"I’m interested in studying and characterizing the structures and interfaces formed during the crystallization of battery anode materials, as well as the electrochemical processes that control their growth."
[since Summer 2024]
Aakriti Aggarwal (G)
B.S. (2023) @ UC Berkeley
"I’m interested in understanding the impacts of individual electrochemical processes in batteries on their performance over time. I would like to achieve this by observing dendritic growth during metal plating/stripping in metal anode batteries. "
[since Fall 2024]
Paola Violeta Méndez González (G)
NSF Fellowship (GRFP)
[Awarded 2025]
(co-advised with Prof. Delia Milliron)
B.S. (2023) @ U Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
"I’m interested in the development of novel battery chemistries with earth-abundant charge carriers like sodium to develop high-performing electrodes. My goal is to study the electrochromic properties of nanocrystalline materials for battery applications."
[since Fall 2024]
Karan Chandra (UG)
Exp. B.S. (2026) @ UT
"I'm working on understanding and controlling the dynamic morphological & chemical evolution of cathodes for creating high-performance aqueous batteries using sustainable and low-cost materials."
[since Summer 2023]
Raul Bijy (UG)
Exp. B.S. (2027) @ UT
"... ..."
[since Fall 2023]
Etienne Reine (UG)
Exp. B.S. (2026) @ UT
"... ... "
[since Fall 2023]
Hailey Higdon (UG)
Exp. B.S. (2026) @ UT
"My goal is to deepen understanding of why dendritic growth occurs through the visualization of zinc batteries and image processing. "
[since Spring 2024]
Zachary Reihl (UG)
Exp. B.S. (2026) @ UT
"My goal is to understand and develop water electrolysis inhibitors to improve performance of zinc ion batteries.”
[since Fall 2024]
Amaris Sacalxot-Berrios (UG)
Exp. B.S. (2028) @ UT
"I am interested in exploring the application of electrodeposition techniques to address micro-particle contamination, specifically the behavior of u-plastics within electrochemical cells. I aim to investigate how this method can be developed into a viable and effective solution for wastewater treatment.”
[since Fall 2024]
Casey Mari Apurado (UG)
Exp. B.S. (2028) @ UT
"I aim to evaluate the application of electrochemical methodology in removing microplastics from wastewater, focusing on the potential of electrodeposition as an effective and sustainable solution to microparticle pollution.”
[since Fall 2024]
Sydney Manning (UG)
Exp. B.S. (2028) @ UT
"I am interested in understanding how substrate chemistry impacts electrochemical crystallization happening thereupon.”
[since Fall 2024]
End of Summer celebration!
@ Opa, August2025.
Organizer: Aakriti
Clockwise: Rustam, Evalyn, Violet, Aakriti, Kent, Stephen, Sydney.
End of Spring celebration!
@ Vic and Al's, April 2025.
Organizer: Evalyn
Clockwise: Rustam, Evalyn, Stephen, Violet, Aakriti, Karan, Raul, Kent.
Also notable is that, inspired by the athleticism demonstrated by the Team, Kent made up his mind to refresh his personal running records before anybody graduates; meaning, no one gets to graduate until......
The 10th Day of April celebration!
@ CPE 3.406, April 2025.
Organizer: Kent Zheng
Clockwise: Rustam, Stephen, Kent, Violet, Evalyn, Aakriti.
End of 2024 celebration!
@ Bamboo House, December 2024.
Organizer: Wen-Yang Jao
Clockwise: Rustam, Kent, Etienne, Hailey, Wen-Yang, Zachary, Evalyn, Stephen, Violet, Aakriti.
End of Summer celebration!
@ Sapori Italian Roots, July 2024.
Organizer: Rustam
Clockwise: Rustam, Stephen, Wen-Yang, Raul, Evalyn, Hailey, Kent.
End of Spring celebration!
@ Din Ho Chinese BBQ, April 2024.
Organizer: Stephen
Clockwise: Rustam, Raul, Stephen, Karan, Etienne, Joshua, Hailey, Kent.
Openings
We are hiring! It is our strong commitment to build an interdisciplinary team and a supportive lab culture. If you are interested in joining our group (more details here), please see information below and feel free to reach out at kentz@utexas.edu.
-Graduate students-
The group currently recruits students from the graduate programs of ChemE, MSE, and Physics at UT Austin. Prospective students are encouraged to explore these programs and their admission mechanisms & requirements before application to UT. Meanwhile, if you are excited about our research, please reach out to us with your CV and a very short statement of interest. For admitted students, please also feel free to schedule in-person/virtual meetings with the PI to discuss available research opportunities in detail, and to talk with other lab members for information.
-Postdoctoral associates-
We are looking for highly self-motivated researchers that bring new expertise into the lab. If you are interested, please email the PI with your CV. As a statement of interest, you are encouraged to include short descriptions (each <150 words) of your past research experience, how you see yourself fit & grow in the group, and your long-term career goals.
-Undergraduate students-
See information on the homepage.
-Other opportunities-
Feel free to reach out if you envision other opportunities for you to get involved in the group!
“And as I look back, it seems to me that we were fairly unique, the sixty of us, in that there wasn’t one good mixer in the bunch. We were all essentially letter-writing types, and when we spoke to each other out of the line of duty, it was usually to ask somebody if he had any ink he wasn’t using. When we weren’t writing letters or attending classes, each of us went pretty much his own way. Mine usually led me, on clear days, in scenic circles around the countryside.” ——For Esmé
Previous Members
Wen-Yang Jao (G)
"I’m interested in observing the reversibility and morphological change during metal plating/stripping in both aqueous and non-aqueous environment. My ultimate goal is to elucidate the correlation between electrochemical signature and the surface morphology of deposited metal, attempting to understand the reversibility of metal electrodeposition from a more fundamentally scientific aspect."
[Summer 2024 ~ Spring 2025]
Joshua Mathew (UG)
Exp. B.S. (2026) @ UT
" I am interested in studying into different accessible and cost efficient materials to improve battery performance mainly through different electrolyte additives."
[Fall 2023 ~ Spring 2024]
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