Team

Sandipon Chowdhuri (schowdhury@wtamu.edu)

I am Sandipon Chowdhury. I received my B.Sc. in Civil Engineering and an M.Sc. in Water Resources and Environmental Engineering from the National Institute of Technology and West Texas A&M University, respectively. Currently, I am contributing to a USDA-NIFA-funded project, where my work centers on developing innovative, scalable solutions to enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability. Beyond environmental engineering, I am fascinated by soft robotics. My interest lies in exploring their potential for environmental applications, understanding how these materials interact with natural systems, and leveraging them for sustainable solutions.

Celina Pinela (cpinela1@buffs.wtamu.edu)

I am a mechanical engineering student conducting research in integrating experiments and simulations to understand sodium sulfate's phase behavior and nucleation. My research interest is to learn more about molecular dynamics simulations in aqueous and polymeric materials.

Tania Ledford (tdledford1@buffs.wtamu.edu)

Hi, my name is Tania Ledford; I am a sophomore at West Texas A&M University. I am majoring in mechanical engineering, and I’ve been working with WT’s research program during my time here. Making robots made out of silicone, known as “Soft Robotics”. So far, I’ve successfully made an actuator gripper that could pick up items weighing 10-20 oz. My next research project will be making a soft robot that can be able to climb and fit through tight spaces that hard/metal robots can’t do.

Karla Berkshire

My name is Karla Berkshire. I am a senior at West Texas A&M University majoring in Civil Engineering. I am currently working on a fiber reinforced soft robotic actuator for hand rehabilitation. My research interests involve the ways in which robotics can help humans and animals with disabilities or injuries have a better quality of life. 

Cayden Ruiz

I am a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering, my current projects have to do with running molecular dynamics simulations to study mechanical and physical properties of certain polymers. Additionally, I have worked on projects concerning studying and timing protein translocation. My research interests mainly lie within the computational side of material science, and I am interested in how radiation damage affects the properties of polymers.

Aicha Konate (abkonate1@buffs.wtamu.edu)

My name is Aïcha Konate, an undergraduate mathematics student at WTAMU, expected to graduate in Spring 2026. I am currently focusing on machine learning and its application in material sciences. My research interests include applied mathematics, actuarial science, and data-driven modeling in scientific and engineering contexts.

Kye Bailey (kbailey1@buffs.wtamu.edu)

Hello, my name is Kye Bailey, I am studying to be a Mechanical Engineer at West Texas A&M University. My current primary research is secondary ice nucleation in the atmosphere. My research interests include but are not limited to modeling ice nucleation on different surfaces and molecular modeling using LAMMPS and Ovito.