Members

The email addresses for all members can be found at https://mcommunity.umich.edu

Principal Investigator

Yiyang Li

Yiyang is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. He received his BS in Electrical Engineering at Olin College, and his PhD at Stanford University in Materials Science and Engineering. His research interests aim to bridge electrochemistry with microelectronics, identifying both fundamental mechanisms and novel devices. Yiyang recently received the Intel Rising Star Award, the Sandia Truman Fellowship, and the Solid State Ionics Young Scientist Award. In his free time, he enjoys playing with his daughter and going bicycling.

Graduate Students

Jinhong Min

Jinhong is a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering. He graduated from University of Seoul with his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering and graduated from Sungkyunkwan University with his M.S. in Electrical Engineering. During his M.S degree, his research topic was characterizing ferroelectric-based semiconductor devices. His current research interest focuses on the heterogeneity of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. In his free time, he likes to play guitar.  

Wonjoon Suk

Wonjoon is a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering. Wonjoon previously worked on all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries, and his current research interest focuses on the characterization of sodium-ion battery particles in a liquid electrolyte system. In his free time, he likes to play tennis and table tennis. Won Joon is co-advised with Prof. Jeff Sakamoto.

Dongjae Shin

Dongjae is pursuing a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering. He received his BS from Konkuk University in Chemical Engineering with honor and his MS from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He studied solid-state electrolytes for lithium-based batteries during the MS program. Since MS, his research has focused on interests including electrochemistry, solid-state electronics, and solid-state ionics for batteries and memory devices. 

Andrew Jalbert

Andrew is a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering. He earned his BS in Engineering Physics from UC Berkeley. Following his undergraduate education, he entered the workforce as a Field Service Engineer where he worked on installing, calibrating, and servicing electron beam lithography tools. His research interests lie in electronics beyond conventional CMOS and understanding material interactions at the nanoscale. In his free time he likes to workout at the gym.

Yerin Hong

Yerin is a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering. She got her BS and MS from Korea University in Materials Science and Engineering. Her former research focused on synthesizing noble metal nanoparticles and photocatalysts, and her current research interest lies in 2D nanomaterials and their properties’ modification. During her free time, she mostly spends time riding bicycles and cooking.

Harshada Suryawanshi

Harshada is pursuing a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering. She obtained her undergraduate and master's degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. During her master's thesis, she focused on modeling the Electronic Band Structure of thermoelectric materials designed for low-temperature applications. Presently, her research interests are centered around Solid State Batteries. In her free time, she enjoys playing badminton and table tennis, and you can often catch her humming songs throughout the day.

Sangyong Lee

Sangyong is a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering.  He graduated from Chonnam National University with his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering and graduated from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology with his M.S. in Electrical Engineering. Following his graduate education, he entered a semiconductor company where he worked on developing NAND flash memory as a process integration engineer. His research interests lie in understanding and developing next-generation memory. In his free time, he likes playing with his kids.

Po-Yu Kung

Po-Yu is a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering. He graduated from National Taiwan University with his B.S. and M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering. During his M.S. degree, his research topic focused on Cu-to-Cu Bonding in 3D integration. His current research interest is in solid-state batteries. Po-Yu likes to play table tennis and work out at the gym in his free time.

Heather Hare

Heather is pursuing a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering. She completed her undergraduate degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan, where worked on synthesizing materials for photovoltaic cells using copper metal chalcogenides and characterizing their structural and functional properties. Her current interests involve ionic conductivity in oxide materials for microelectronics using electrochemical methods. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Undergraduate Students

Sabrina Wong

Sabrina Wong is an undeclared student in engineering. She has done research on cellulose-degrading microbes and biodiesel and hopes to continue exploring the field of renewable energy. As part of the battery subgroup, she is currently working on the molten-salt synthesis of battery materials. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, picking up new skills, and physical activity such as working out at the gym.

Leah Simakas

Leah Simakas is an undeclared student in engineering. Her research interests include solid-state electronics as well as particle and electrode-level heterogeneity in batteries. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in the improvement of renewable energy production and storage. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, experimenting with new cooking styles, and exploring nature.

Chayut Shinawatra

Chayut (Peak) is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Materials Science and Engineering. He has researched battery testing automation and, as part of the battery subteam, is currently interested in sodium-ion battery research, specifically regarding the interactions of hard carbon anode in a sodium-ion battery system. In his spare time, he enjoys winding down with friends, reading, and cooking. 

Alumni

Doctor of Philosophy

Dr. Jingxian Li

PhD in Materials Science and Engineering (2024)

Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Dr. Catherine Haslam

PhD in Materials Science and Engineering (2024)

Current position: Samsung SDI in Boston, MA

Master of Science

Lindsay Gubow

MS in Materials Science and Engineering (2021)

Current Position: General Motors Hardware Engineer (Detroit, MI)

Diana Kim

MS in Macromolecular Science and Engineering (2022)

Current Position: Actnano (Boston, MA)

Emily MacInnis

MS student in Materials Science and Engineering (2023)

Current Position: Applications Engineer at ASML (Portland, OR)

Pengyu Ren

MS student in Electrical engineering (2024)

Current Position: PhD Student at University of Notre Dame, EE 

Bachelor of Science in Engineering

Brianna Roest

BSE in Materials Science and Engineering (2022)

Current Position: Janicki Industries (Seattle, WA)

Virgil Watkins

BSE in Materials Science and Engineering (2023)

Current Position: PhD Student at MIT DMSE 

Laszlo Cline

BSE in Materials Science and Engineering (2023)

Current Position: PhD Student at Northwestern University, MSE

Riley Hargrave

BSE in Mechanical Engineering (2024)

Current Position: PhD Student at MIT DMSE

Visiting Student / REU

Noah Giesler

Visiting student for Semiconductor REU program (2023)

Current Position: Undergraduate student in Electrical Engineering at University of Southern Indiana