Group Alumni

Senior Researchers and Faculties


Dr. Ahmed Talaat

aht17@pitt.edu

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

bo.liu@zhejianglab.com

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

chz47@pitt.edu

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.




Undergraduate Researchers


Bruce Zhuang Jia

bzj3@pitt.edu

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

vts1@pitt.edu

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

jga19@pitt.edu

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.