2010
REU Participants' Bios, Projects, Principle Investigators, Mentors and Funding
 Wilmer Adorno Martinez was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is doing a major in Chemistry, is planning to do a PhD in the same field. He attends University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, and just finished his sophomore year. He likes to play piano, any sport (e.g. biking, tennis, basketball, baseball and more), travel, and is all about music and spending time with hisfamily. Also he is a BIG fan of MLB & NBA. Project: Conductive polymers as a tool for generating new hierarchical structures |
Prof Joanna Aizenberg Philseok Kim Funding: BRIDGE |
 Peter Bailis is a rising Senior at Harvard College concentrating in Computer Science. Peter hails from Omaha, Nebraska and is looking forward to a terrific summer with the RoboBees team and the REU program.Project: Seeking Karma: Towards a Distributed Operating System for UAVs |
Prof Matt Welsh Prof Radhika Nagpal Karthik Dantu Funding: Robobees |
 Michelle Barber is from Novi, Michigan and is a rising sophomore at MIT. She is concentrating in Chemical Engineering, and in her free time, she enjoys shopping, listening to music, writing, playing the piano, and spending time with her family and friends.Project: Self-assembly of metamaterials |
Prof Federico Capasso Jon Fan Funding: NSEC |
 Anna Brockway is a rising junior at Haverford College, majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Philosophy. She is originally from Kiev, Ukraine, but has lived just outside of St. Paul, Minnesota, for most of her life. She is interested in interdisciplinary work, exploring new things, and loves swing dancing.Project: Computational Methods for Organic Solar Cells |
Prof Alan Aspuru-Guzik Mark Watson Shule Atahan-Evrenk Funding: SOLAR |
 Cara Brown is a rising sophomore majoring in Biological Engineering at MIT. Outside of academics, she likes to play tennis, play Wii Fit Plus, watch movies, and hang out with friends. She looks forward to working in the Mooney Lab and meeting everyone this summer.Project: Tumor Development Based on Varying ECM Stiffness |
Prof David Mooney Praveen Arany Funding: BRIDGE |
 Edy Cardona is a physics major at the University of California, Berkeley. He plans to attend graduate school to pursue a Ph.D. with an emphasis in electronics. He enjoys programming, music, and sports.Project: Automation of sample-positioning and data-collection for pulsed-laser-melting experiments |
Prof Michael Aziz Dan Recht Funding: NNIN |
 Rachel Carey is a rising senior at Le Moyne College with a double major in Chemistry and Physics, and a minor in French. She plans to pursue a PhD that integrates her two majors. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, reading, traveling, and the outdoors.Project: Gold Nano-Electrodes Templated by Biodegradable Polymers |
Prof George Whitesides Charlie Mace Funding: NSEC |
 Chunhin (Sam) Chan is a rising senior at Cornell University and majors in Biological Engineering and minors in Biomedical Engineering. He enjoys jogging and hiking as ways to relax. He also hopes to learn to cook and to play the guitar during the summer.Project: Effect of Delta Ligand 4 on NOTCH Signaling Pathway |
Prof David Mooney Will Yuen Funding: MRSEC |
 Alexander Cho Project: Using Electroactive Hydrogels for Developing Bio-Inspired 3-D Materials |
Prof Kit Parker Holly McIlwee Funding: BRIDGE |
 Cynthia Crespo Rivera is a senior majoring in Biomedical Engineering at Florida International University in Miami, FL. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She enjoys learning and is amazed by science. She likes music, movies, and traveling.Project: Cell Migration Under Constrained Dimensions |
Prof David Weitz AllenEhrlicher Jim Wilking Funding: BRIDGE |
 Shijit Dasgupta is a rising sophomore at Johns Hopkins University who is majoring in mechanical engineering. He enjoys guitar and breakdancing in his spare time.Project: Freezing in liquid supercooled water |
Prof George Whitesides Claudiu Stan Funding: BRIDGE |
 Caitlin Dillard is a rising junior at Rowan University. She is a chemical engineer major with a concentration in bioengineering. She was born in California, but grew up in New Jersey. She enjoys outdoor activities as well as relaxing and watching movies.Project: Growth of biofilms |
Prof David Weitz Allen Ehrlicher Funding: BRIDGE |
 Dominique (Johann) Djanal-Mann was born in Douala, Cameroon, yet was raised in Gainesville, Florida, United States. She attends the University of Florida and is majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineeing. She is a soccer and basketball enthusiast, an avid hip-hop and smooth jazz fan, enjoys good times with good company, and loves learning.Project: Transfer of Electron Beam Resist Photonic Nanobeam Cavities to Flexible Substrates |
Prof Marko Loncar Ian Burgess Funding: NNIN |
 Kirk Dressen is a rising junior studying chemistry and physics at the University of Denver. He enjoys playing soccer with friends, hiking, and snowboarding.Project: Toward a Computationally Inexpensive Determination of Organic Semiconductor Packing |
Prof Alan Aspuru-Guzik Leslie Vogt Funding: SciGPU |
 Mackenzie Eagleson Project: Characterization of Cardiac Myocyte Organization |
Prof Kit Parker Anna Grosberg Funding: MRSEC/HCRP |
 Chirantan Ekbote is a rising junior majoring in Philosophy and Computer Science at The Ohio State University and plans to pursue a career in computer graphics and animation. He is a big fan of science fiction and enjoys playing his guitar and exploring new places.Project: GPU-accelerated Biomedical Image Analysis |
Prof Hanspeter Pfister Won-Ki Jeong Funding: SciGPU |
 Tom Elsey is an applied physics major at the University of Iowa. He just finished his sophomore year of school. He enjoys long drives on the disc golf course when he is not studying.Project: Electron Tunneling Through Self Assembled Monolayers |
Prof George Whitesides Martin Mwangi Funding: WYSS |
 Rodriguez Exilus Project: Applications of Nanofibers for Tissue Engineering using Rotary Jet- Spinning |
Prof Kit Parker Leila Deravi Funding: BRIDGE |
 Chelsey Fenton just completed her sophomore year at the University of New Mexico. She is a chemical engineering major who enjoys biking, hiking, running, yoga, and new experiences.Project: Musical Cells: Creating Ordered Surface Nano-topography Using a Compact Disc |
Prof Debra Auguste Jin-Oh You George Ye Funding: PREM |
 Carina Fish is a rising sophomore at Harvard College. She plans to concentrate in Mechanical Engineering. Outside of her studies she enjoys being in good company and dancing.Project: Soft Robotics |
Prof George Whitesides Ramses Martinez Funding: NSEC |
 Zachary Gault is from southwest Ohio and is a senior at Wright State University majoring in both Physics and Philosophy. He hopes to be a physics professor one day. In the meantime, he enjoys playing electric guitar and has recently taken up painting as a second hobby.Project: Annealing Silver Microstructures |
Prof Eric Mazur Kevin VoraSeungyeon (Sally) Kang Michael Moebius Funding: MRSEC |
 Dustin Gerrard is a senior at Brigham Young University double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics. Dustin plans to get a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and teach and do research at the university level. Project: Stronger materials |
Prof David Weitz Sujit Datta Funding: MRSEC |
 Amy Goodale Project: Paper-based Immunoassay |
Prof George Whitesides James Li Funding: BRIDGE |
 Jack Greenberg Project: Automated detection and 3D situating of wing outline curves from high speed camera flapping footage |
Prof Rob Wood Hiroto Tanaka Madhusudhan (Madu)Venkadesan Funding: WYSS |
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Anny Hierro was born in New York, but was raised in the Dominican Republic. She moved to the United States in time to start her College Education. She is currently a junior at the College of Saint Elizabeth and she is majoring in Chemistry and Art. Her future plans include going to graduate School for a PhD in Organic Chemistry. Anny enjoys reading, drawing, going to museums, music and the theatre. Project: Co-assembly of Au nanoparticles and PMMA colloids for large area three-dimensional ordered macroporous (3DOM) structures |
Prof Joanna Aizenberg Yolanda Vasquez Funding: WYSS/Oregon REU |
 Tom Iancovici is a rising Senior at the UMass Lowell College of Engineering concentrating in Electrical Engineering. Upon graduation he is hoping to continue his education and purse a MS Eng degree in the Opto-Electronics field. He likes to listen to music and hang out with friends.Project: Portable Electrochemical Reader |
Prof George Whitesides AaronMazzeo Frederique Deiss Funding: Other |
 Adam Johnson is a rising sophomore from Warner Robins, GA, who attends Morehouse College. He is a Biology/Spanish double major whose future goals include obtaining a MD/Ph.DProject: Precursor Phosphorlyzing Agents of RNA and ATP in Prebiotic Chemistry |
Prof George Whitesides Jasmin Mecinovic Funding: BRIDGE |
 Neena Kamath was born in Jamshedpur, India and has moved and resided in Norwalk, Connecticut since the age of seven. She is a rising senior majoring in Computer Science at Harvard University. When not working on algorithms for the RoboBees project, she enjoys playing ultimate frisbee, sailing, and poker.Project: Efficiency of Random and Deterministic Strategies for Pollination by a Swarm Robotic System |
Prof Radhika Nagpal Spring Berman Funding: Robobees |
 Teresa Kao is a rising sophomore at Columbia University where she will be majoring in Applied Physics.Project: Single molecule force studies |
Prof Wesley Wong KenHalvorsen Diane Schaak Funding: ROWLAND |
 John Keller is a rising sophomore majoring Physics and Mathematics at Eastern Nazarene College, with a tentative plan for a PhD in Physics. He enjoys mountain-biking, snowboarding, hiking, programming and reading in his free time.Project: Automated 2D Tracking of Colloidal Particles with Digital Holographic Microscopy |
Prof Vinothan Manoharan Jerome Fung Jesse Collins Funding: MRSEC |
 Veronika Kivenson immigrated to New York city from the Ukraine at the age of five. She is currently attending Bunker Hill Community College, majoring in bio-tech. Veronika is transferring to a four year college in May of 2011.Project: Using C. Elegans in Microfluidics |
Prof George Whitesides Anna Laromaine Funding: MRSEC |
 Andrew Klump is the second of three children. Born and raised in St. Louis, he entered Seton Hall University in the fall of 2008. He is majoring in Physics and plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in the same field.Project: Organizing Yeast Cells inside Monodisperse Droplets |
Prof David Weitz Adam Abate Funding: BRIDGE |
 John Koullias is a rising senior concentrating in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University. John is particularly interested in the fields of tissue engineering and plastic surgery, and hopes to eventually become involved in reconstructive surgery. In his free time, John enjoys running, swimming, hiking, and sunbathingProject: Modeling Angiogenesis and Neurogenesis using Microfluidic Systems |
Prof David Mooney Dima Shvartsman Funding: WYSS |
 Paul La Plante is a rising senior at Loyola University Maryland, where he studies physics and Spanish. After college, he hopes to get his PhD in physics. In his free time, he enjoys playing squash and reading.Project: Using GPUs for next-generation radio telescopes |
Prof Lincoln Greenhill Mike Clarke Stephen Ord DanielMitchell GianniBernardi Funding: SciGPU |
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Laticia Lee Project: Biocompatible polyglycol fluorsurfactan |
Prof David Weitz Adam Abate Funding: MRSEC |
 Ruby Lee is a rising sophomore at Stanford University, where she is planning on majoring in bioengineering. She is particularly interested in the fields of biotech and cleantech and hopes to pursue a career immersed in the Silicon Valley spirit. She also loves playing clarinet, playing tennis, reading tech news, watching sports, and keeping up with her social media.Project: Controlling nanoscale electronic variability in ZnO:Al transparent conducting films |
Prof Shriram Ramanathan Rafael Jaramillo Funding: NNIN |
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Robert Longcor is a rising junior at Harvard University where he studies biomedical engineering and economics. He is particularly interested in an interdisciplinary approach to business and engineering. Outside the lab, he enjoys playing sports, music, and sailing. Project: Inverse Opals as Scaffolds for Cell Growth |
Prof Joanna Aizenberg Ben Hatton Funding: WYSS |
 Beth Ann Lopez just finished her sophomore year in biochemistry at UNM, and will be studying in Puebla, Mexico at UDLAP next year! She is interested in anything having to do with chemistry, medicine, or biomedical engineering. She plans on going to medical or grad school after her bachelors. Outside from school, she likes to bike, read, and hang out with her dog, Peanut.Project: Fabrication of Stable, Controllable Nanoparticle-shelled Microbubbles |
Prof David Weitz Wynter Duncanson Funding: PREM |
 Max Mankin is a rising senior at Brown University concentrating in materials chemistry. Max is also interested in archaeology and cryptography. He enjoys playing trombone in the Brown Band, hiking, rock climbing, and playing squash.Project: Surface Chemistry of cis- and trans-Stilbene on TiO2 (110) |
Prof Cynthia Friend Elizabeth Landis Funding: SOLAR |
 Allison Mars is from Saugus, Massachusetts. She is a rising sophomore at Boston University where she is majoring in dietetics. After graduation she hopes to work as a pediatric dietitian. She enjoys reading, music, and loves spending time at the beach.Project: Analysis of kerosene impurities in diesel fuel using magnetic levitation |
Prof George Whitesides Charlie Mace Funding: Other |
 Jhim Meza Roman is a junior majoring in Electrical Engineering at UCLA, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. He grew up in Lima, Peru and moved to the USA 6 years ago. He is interested in nanotechnology and semiconductors. He plans to attend to graduate school in physics or Electrical Engineering. He enjoys working in groups, meeting new people and spending time with his family.Project: Lifetime of Charge Carriers in Silicon Nanowires |
Prof Ken Crozier Yaping Dan Funding: NNIN |
 Mark Moriarty studies Applied Maths and Physics in University College Cork, Ireland. He has won four national titles in maths and physics and scooped a bronze medal at the International Physics Olympiad 2008. He will spend the ’10/11 academic year in UC Berkeley, getting sunburned. He teaches piano part-time and enjoys acting, cycling, soccer and tennis, though typically losesto his younger sister. Project: Probing the Dynamic Properties of Muscle |
Chris Richards Funding: ROWLAND |
 Kendra Nyberg is interested in biophysics and programming. In her spare time, she rows on the Oregon crew team and plans to minor in dance.Project: Observation of 3D culture development by holographic microscopy |
Prof Vinothan Manoharan Tom Dimiduk Funding: MRSEC |
 Michael O'Brien was born in Washington state but has lived all over the United States. He attends Eastern Nazarene College and is currently majoring in computer engineering. He enjoys running, biking, climbing and playing tennis.Project: Paper-based MEMS Sensors |
Prof George Whitesides Xinyu Liu Funding: NSEC |
 Noah Olsman has been interested for several years now in the applications of biology to engineering. He feels that there is no better source of inspiration for technology than nature. The way he thinks of it nature has had millions of years of R&D to work come up with good ideas, we may as well use that resource. At USC he has done research both in mathematics (combinatorics and complex analysis) and in robotics. This has given him an interesting mix of the theoretical and the applied.Project: Simulation of Industrial Pollination Using Distributed Robotic Algorithms |
Prof Radhika Nagpal Justin Werfel Funding: Robobees |
 Kevin Satzinger is a rising junior majoring in Physics and Mathematics at Truman State University. His main interest is solid-state physics. He is originally from California but currently lives in Missouri, where in addition to school, he enjoys playing soccer and participating in the Society of Physics Students.Project: High resolution Kelvin probe force microscopy with shielded probes |
Prof Robert Westervelt Keith Brown Funding: NNIN |
 Priya Singhal will be a senior at Saint Bonaventure University. She has a major in Biology and a minor in Business Administration. After graduation, she wishes to attend medical school.Project: Can Breast Cancer be Reversed? |
Prof Don Ingber Silva Krause Funding: WYSS |
 Laura Solomon is going to be a senior at Temple University majoring in mechanical engineering. She was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA.Project: Microfluidic Droplet Combiner For Use in Self-Assembling Colloidal Systems |
Prof Vinothan Manoharan Prof David Weitz Jesse Collins Don Aubrecht Funding: BRIDGE |
 Stephanie Swartz is a rising sophomore who is studying physics and optics at the University of Rochester. When she is not at school, she lives in Rhode Island. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, going to the beach, playing the flute, and spending time with her family and friends.Project: Atomic Layer Deposition of TiO2 Thin Films |
Prof Eric Mazur Kasey Phillips Funding: BRIDGE |
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Christian Talavera is a rising junior at Brown University from Los Angeles, California. He plans to concentrate in Chemistry and attend graduate school to earn a PhD. He likes to read, explore nature, and hang out with friends. Project: Quantification of Indole-3-Acetic Acid in Primary and Secondary Xylem of Populus by Stable Isotope Dilution and GC-SIM-MS |
Rachel Spicer Funding: ROWLAND |
 Kunal Tiwari grew up in sunny Ithaca, New York. He is entering his junior year at University of Toronto, specializing in molecular biophysics, and minoring in mathematics. In his spare time he sails, plays electric bass and enjoys the company of friends. He is passionate about understanding the world around him.Project: Nanoscale Fibers for Building Three Dimensional Scaffolds in Valve Tissue Engineering |
Prof Kit Parker Funding: WYSS |
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Eugenia Volkova is a current sophomore at New York University, triple-majoring in biochemistry, bioengineering, and physics, originally from Kaluga, Russia. She has wanted to be a scientist and engineer since the age of 15, when she completed her first research project on the specificity molecular resonance imaging probes at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys competing in the Northeastern Collegiate Taekwondo League, dancing ballet, playing piano, reading classical literature, and learning new languages (Russian, English, French, Spanish, Norwegian). She hopes to obtain a MD/PhD in applied biophysics with a specialization in Radio-Oncology, head her own laboratory at the NIH, and eventually volunteer with Doctors Without Borders in Sudan and Uganda. Project: Bacterial Growth and Movement on Patterned Surface Topologies |
Prof Joanna Aizenberg Ben Hatton Funding: WYSS/NYU |
 Daryl Vulis is majoring in Electrical Engineering at Stony Brook University. She loves to explore NYC with her friends and pursues freelance web design and sketching in her spare time. She hopes to attend graduate school for an engineering related discipline or found a start-up company someday.Project: Study of finite size effects in 2-D millimeter sized coulombic crystals |
Prof George Whitesides Rebecca Cademartiri Funding: BRIDGE |
 Cory Wilson is a rising senior Chemistry major at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. On campus he is actively involved in the MBRS-RISE program, President of Beta Kappa Chi National Honor society, and does research with Dr. Jerremy Willis within the Distributed Drug Discovery project. After graduation, he plans to persue his Ph.D. in Chemistry and head his own drug discoveryproject. Project: Toward Membrane Associated Protein Crystallization |
Prof George Whitesides Phil Snyder Funding: BRIDGE |
 Jonathan Yam is from Richmond Hill, Canada! He is a freshman studying Engineering Science at the University of Toronto and plans to major in either Aerospace or Biomedical Engineering. He enjoys playing tennis, eating good food, playing the piano, and going out. He is passionate about using engineering to solve world issues.Project: Microfluidic Biosensor |
Prof Robert Westervelt Alex Nemiroski Funding: NSEC/Other |
 Bib Yang is currently a student at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts majoring in Biochemistry. She loves the outdoors and enjoys meeting new people, rollerblading, swimming, badminton, and many team sports.Project: Visualization of segregating cell populations and genetic drift |
Prof Debra Auguste Jin-Oh You Marjan Rafat Funding: BRIDGE |
 Reza Zarinshenas is a physics major at the University of California, Los Angeles.Project: Flexible Pendulum in a Soap Film |
Prof L. Mahadevan Mahesh Bandi Funding: WYSS |
 Guangtao (Taotao) Zhang was born and raised in China, immigrated to USA three years ago, and is currently living in Acton, MA. She is a sophomore double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Statistics at Clarkson University, NY. She likes to dance, read, spend time with her family and fellowship.Project: Hygroscopic and volatile properties of secondary organic particles |
Prof Scot Martin Mackenzie Smith Funding: MARTIN |
 Susan Zheng just completed her freshmen year at Carnegie Mellon University, where she is majoring in mechanical engineering. She was born and raised in New York City. In her free time she enjoys reading, rowing, fencing and napping.Project: Collective Construction |
Prof Radhika Nagpal Kirstin Peterson Funding: WYSS |