Group Alumni
Senior Researchers and Faculties
Dr. Ahmed Talaat
Dr. Talaat was an Assistant Research Faculty at the MEMS Department, University of Pittsburgh with an excellent track record and expertise on the topic of soft magnetic amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys. In 2018, he received the Extraordinary Ph.D. Thesis Award from the University of the Basque Country (Spain) along with numerous awarded fellowships such as the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship from the EU.
Dr. Bo Liu
Dr. Liu was a Senior Research Associate here at the Ohodnicki Lab, MEMS, Pitt. He received his dual B.S. degree in Optical Engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Mechanical Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology. He earned M.S. in Electromechanical Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech. During his 4 years at NETL, he became the inventor of Distributed Temperature Sensing technique using single crystal fibers. And he was the primary designer of over three sets of LHPG system at Virginia Tech, NETL, and Pitt. He was the recipient of Carnegie Science Awards in the Innovation in Energy (2020) and Finalist of William M. Steen Award (2019) (NETL, DOE). He is also the review panel for DOE SBIR and editor for journal MDPI. He is now a Principal Investigator at Zhejiang Lab, one of the top research labs in China.
Dr. Chuyuan Zheng
Dr. Zheng received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. Before he received B.S. in the University of Pittsburgh and also Sichuan University, China in 2016. Before joining the group, he worked on microstructural evaluation of sintered and infiltrated binder jet printed metals and ceramics. His research interests involve powder metallurgy, sintering process development, binder jet printing, and three-dimensional characterizations using computer tomography.
Dr. Dipika Mandal
Dipika was a Research Associate who received her M.Sc. in Physics from IIT Kanpur, India in 2015 following B.Sc. with Honors in Physics from University of Burdwan in 2013. She obtained Ph.D. degree in Physics (Experimental) from S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, India in 2021, as a recipient of prestigious national fellowship from CSIR, India. During her Ph.D., she has extensively studied structural, frequency dependent dielectric and magnetic properties of transition metal-based ferrites focusing on their application in Electromagnetic Interference Shielding/ Microwave Absorption. She also has an expertise in synthesizing various complex nanostructures of ferrites as well as multiferroics. Her research interests orient on microwave processing technology development, measurement and analysis of microwave properties of materials, mainly ferrites, and their high-frequency applications.
Dr. Jangho Yun
Dr. Yun was a Senior Research Associate at the MEMS Department, University of Pittsburgh. He received the B.E., M.E., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Korea University, Seoul, South Korea, in 2005, 2007, and 2019, respectively. From 2008 to 2016, he was with Hyundai Heavy Industries, Yongin, South Korea, where he worked on the development of electrical machines for industrial and commercial vehicle applications. From 2017 to 2019, he was responsible for the development and commercialization of industrial low-voltage motors at Hyundai Electric, Yongin, South Korea. From 2020 to 2022, he worked as a Principal Engineer at Samsung Electronics, Hwaseong, South Korea, where he was responsible for specifications and technologies for the safe and efficient operation of rotating machinery. His research interests include the design and analysis of electric motors.
Graduate Students
Edward Hoffman
Edward graduated with a Master's in MSE. He received his B.A. in Physics from Middlebury College in Vermont and worked for the Engineering Business Unit at KBR-Wyle, before joining us to work on Laser Heated Pedestal Growth as a technique for growing high quality crystalline fibers. His research interests lie in new methods of crystal synthesis and optical properties of crystalline samples. During his spare time, he enjoys photography and road biking.
Maurice Sturdivant
Maurice graduated with a M.S. in Electrical Engineering with an Electric Power concentration from the University of Pittsburgh. As an undergraduate, he worked as a co-op with GE Power Conversion and an intern with Ford Motor Company. His research interests include power electronics and power magnetic devices for use in electric vehicle and renewable energy applications. He is now an electrical engineer at Eaton.
Undergraduate Researchers
Bruce Zhuang Jia
Bruce was a senior in the Electrical Engineering Department. His research interests were in the generation and distribution of power as well as linear controls. His past work with us highlighted the development of low-cost photodetector transimpedance amplifier circuit to support commerical fiber optic sensing.
Victoria Schmotzer
Victoria was a senior in the Materials Science and Engineering program at Pitt. She researched optical fiber diameter tracking via machine vision through the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation Summer Research Program. She was interested in researching polymers, soft and biomaterials, and their potential contribution to sustainability. Her hobbies include being outdoors, drawing, and painting.
Jordan Athas
Jordan is an electrical engineer who graduated with his B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh in 2022. He worked with Ohodnicki Labs throughout his senior year, designing a device that utilized a transimpedance amplifier and ATmega328 to convert the light intensity into a corresponding voltage. His interest in photonic devices led him to pursue a PhD at Northwestern University. His other interests include nano-electronic fabrication, PCB design, and rock climbing.
Carter Leatherman
Carter is a senior electrical engineering graduate from Pitt. He worked on the design of low-cost commercial fiber optic temperature sensors for power equipment. His interests include renewable energy, energy storage, and smart grid technologies, and his hobbies include playing guitar and bass. Carter was also president of the IEEE student chapter at Pitt. He is now a Transmission Planning Engineer at Duquesne Light Company.