Students
Ph.D. Students
Suraj M.V.
sum84[at]pitt[dot]eduSuraj received his B.Tech and M.Tech in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Madras. Currently, his thesis work is aimed at nano structuring soft magnetic ferrites for the next generation of power electronic applications. Broadly, his research interests include thermodynamic modelling, electron microscopy and atom probe tomography.
Yang-Duan Su
yas57[at]pitt[dot]eduYang-Duan received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from National Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan. Before he earned a M.S. in Energy Science, Technology and Policy from Carnegie Mellon Univeristy, he was an Instrumentation Engineer at CTCI Corp., Taiwan. He previously worked on multi-objective optimization of power inductors for EV applications. He is now researching the systematic integration of plasmonic nanocomposite thin-film based fiber optic sensors in electrical assets including inductors, transformers and EV battery systems.
Pengdi Zhang
pez37[at]pitt[dot]eduPengdi received his B.S. in Energy and Power Engineering from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology. His previous research interest lies in the area of combining machine learning with fluid mechanics prediction during the M.S. program in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. He believes that the application of machine learning algorithms will bring a research efficiency boost to traditional fields. His most recent research thrust is the combination of ML and structural-acoustic detection. During leisure time, he enjoys film and swimming.
Tyler Paplham
twp16[at]pitt[dot]eduTyler received his B.S.E. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. He has previously conducted research on the additive manufacturing of functional magnetic alloys, including experimental work performed at Argonne National Laboratory. He is now researching novel processing methods for magnetic materials and their energy applications.
Yuankang Wang
yuw135[at]pitt[dot]eduYuankang received his B.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Sichuan University in China. After that, he received B.S. and M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from University of Pittsburgh. His previous research interest lies on microstructure-properties relationships of additive manufactured Fe-based and Ni-based alloys. He is now researching crystallization and corrosion behavior of high temperature magnetic materials.
Lauren Wewer
lhw12[at]pitt[dot]eduLauren received her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering with a Ferrous Physical Metallurgy concentration from the University of Pittsburgh. Her prior research was in bulk alloy design for extreme temperature and pressure applications that were processed through various metal additive manufacturing techniques. She is currently studying the synthesis of amorphous and nanocrystalline soft magnetic materials along with advanced thermal processing to be used in various applications.
Enrico Sarcinelli
ens65[at]pitt[dot]eduEnrico received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Espirito Santo in Brazil. His previous research lies on computational fluid dynamics for multiphase flow with solid disperse phase. He is now researching the coupling of AI and numerical structural-acoustic analysis for structural sensing techniques.
Bishal Bhandari
bib22[at]pitt[dot]eduBishal received his Msc. in Engineering Structures and Materials (Mechanical Systems) from University of Stavanger, Norway. He worked in hydropower industry for 2.5 year in Nepal after his completion of Bachelor of Engineering degree from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, India. Currently, he is pursuing PhD in Material science Engineering at University of Pittsburgh. His research interest includes powder metallurgy, advance manufacturing, material characterization , and energy processes.
Rory Blunt
rob128[at]pitt[dot]eduRory received his B.A. in Mathematics and B.S in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester. He went on to Ohio State University where he received his M.S in Mechanical engineering. He spent 4 years in the automotive industry before moving to the nuclear industry at Westinghouse Electric Company where he is pursuing his PhD in parallel with work. His research interests include fiber optic sensor applications in generation IV nuclear power plants.
Jun Young Hong
JUH112[at]pitt[dot]eduAs a PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh, Jun Young's research has focused on characterization and processing of advanced materials for energy applications. This includes projects on photovoltaics, solar cells, and dielectric composites. He also has experience collaborating with industry partners on technologies like photonic sintering and RF devices. Jun Young is interested in expanding his research to include fiber optic sensors, which will be a new area of study for him. His background in Germany, Japan, and South Korea allows him to bring an international perspective to research challenges. Outside of academic pursuits, Jun Young enjoys walking his dog and traveling to experience new cultures.
Jonah McAnulty de Cortie
jod93[at]pitt[dot]eduJonah received his B. Sc. In Materials Science and Engineering in 2021. Afterward, Jonah spent a few years working in as an R&D Metallurgical Engineer producing conductor material for performance-critical applications and as a Failure Analyst specializing in metallurgical defect investigations. Jonah is now investigating electron and thermal transport properties and novel rapid thermal processing techniques for soft magnetic materials in power electronic applications.
Zisong Wang
ziw112[at]pitt[dot]eduZisong received his B.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Sichuan University in China and University of Pittsburgh in U.S. His prior research was in nanocrystalline magnetic alloys and magnetic ferrites. Now he is a Ph.D. student with research interests in soft magnetic ferrites.
Todd Marzec
tjm162[at]pitt[dot]eduTodd is now a PhD student in Electrical Engineering. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. His previous work includes co-oping with Curtiss-Wright Electro-Mechanical Division and undergraduate research in circuit and system modelling. His current research interests/efforts are in the area of applied electromagnetism for the purpose of designing magnetic energy storage components (inductors/transformers) for the next generation of power electronics operating at ultra-high frequencies. In his spare time, he enjoys exercising and watching sports/film.
Devika Mohan
dem276[at]pitt[dot]eduDevika received B.Sc. in Physics from Mahatma Gandhi University, and M.Sc. in Physics from Assumption College in India. She was a summer research fellow at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and worked as a project assistant at CMS College in India. She previously worked on the theoretical modelling of plasmonic nanostructures for sensing applications. Her current research focuses on distributed fiber optic chemical sensing and the optical modelling of distributed responses of chemical sensing layers.
Jahid Inam Chowdhury
JAC891[at]pitt[dot]eduHe completed his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh. He joined the master’s program in the Department of Chemistry at UTRGV in Fall 2022. He was awarded the Graduate Teaching Assistantship at UTRGV. There, he worked as a graduate teaching assistant. He earned his degree in Summer 2024. He has started his Ph.D. in Material Science and Engineering in the Fall of 2024 at the University of Pittsburgh. His current research focuses on distributed fiber optic chemical sensing and the optical modelling of distributed responses of chemical sensing layers.
Azhagu Devathai
AZD22[at]pitt[dot]eduAzhagu Devathai received her B.E. in Metallurgical Engineering from the Government College of Engineering, Salem, and her M.Tech. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. She has prior research experience as a research fellow at the Advanced International Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, Chennai on a project focused on producing Strontium hexaferrite powders suitable for bonded magnets and as a research intern at General Electric (GE-GRC), India on the study focusing on Hydrogen Embrittlement of structural materials. Her prior research was in CALPHAD modeling and the structure-property relationship of additive-manufactured Copper and Nickel-based bimetallic components for space applications. She is currently working on Advanced sintering and densification processing of conventional and Additively Manufactured Soft Magnetic Ferrites for applications such as Power electronics.
Master's Students
Undergraduate Researchers
Heather Phillips
heather.esci[at]pitt[dot]eduHeather Phillips is an undergraduate student pursing a Bachelors in Philosophy degree in Engineering Science focused on the design and development of an evanescent wave fiber-optic sensing interrogation unit with integrated energy harvesting and wireless communication.