Russell J. Holmes is a Professor and the Executive Officer (Materials Science) in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota.  He holds the College of Science and Engineering Christenson Chair in Renewable Energy and is a Fellow of the Institute on the Environment. He has also been named a Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Distinguished University Teaching Professor.  He completed his B.Sc. (Honours) in Physics at the University of Manitoba in Canada, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Princeton University. Holmes leads an interdisciplinary group that carries out research into the optical and electrical behavior of organic and hybrid organic-inorganic thin film semiconductors, as well as their application in novel devices for light-emission and photoconversion.

Betty is a sixth-year graduate student in Chemical Engineering.  Her thesis research is focused on engineering energy light-matter coupling in organic photonic devices for enhanced long-range energy transfer and performance. Specifically, she is working to understand the materials properties that impact exciton-polariton behavior in organic semiconductors.

Emma is a sixth-year graduate student in Chemical Engineering.  Her thesis research is focused on applying moderate vacuum vapor transport deposition methods to engineer thin films of metal-halide perovskites for application in photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices.

Abhinav is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Physics. His research focuses on improving the performance of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) by controlling polarization-induced electric fields within the device stack. He is also investigating various parameters that influence angular color and intensity shifts in OLEDs through material optimization and optical modeling. Abhinav earned an M.Sc. in Chemistry (Hons.) from Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, where he developed nanoparticle-based electrochemical sensors for detecting hazardous pollutants in water.

Akib is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in Materials Science at the University of Minnesota. Akib's research is focused on exciton-polariton mediated energy transfer in organic semiconductors for device applications. Akib works with thin-film fabrication and angle-resolved optical spectroscopy. During his undergraduate studies at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), he also gained experience with DFT simulations for studying the electronic and optical properties of semiconductors. 

Gourav is a second year Ph.D. student in Materials Science. His research is focused on engineering organic semiconductor thin films and crystals to have specific light polarization behavior for application in OLEDs and other optical devices. He received his B.Tech. in Engineering Physics in 2024 from National Institute of Technology, Agartala, India working on ZnO Nanorods-Array Based CdS‒PbS Nanocrystals Sensitized Photovoltaics.

Muntaka is a second-year PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering. She earned her undergraduate degree in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Her research centers on vapor transport deposition (VTD) of metal halide perovskites for high-performance photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices. By tailoring A-site and B-site cations as well as halide compositions, she aims to enhance phase stability, reduce bandgap, and improve charge transport. The resulting materials are intended for application in solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and photodetectors. VTD-grown perovskite films offer a scalable, solvent-free route to fabricate efficient, stable, and compositionally tunable devices.