Ph.D. Students

Aditya Prajapati

Ph.D. : Fall 2016 - Fall 2021

Current Position: Postdoctoral Scholar, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Thesis: Artificial Photosynthesis for Conversion of Water and Carbon Dioxide to Renewable Fuels

Awards:

2018 TA of the year award from the Department of Chemistry
2019 Provost's Graduate Research Award
2019 Award for Graduate Research
2021 CoE Graduate Student Award
2019 AIChE CRE Travel Award
2020 AIChE Environmental Division Best Student Paper Award

Project Description:

Development of low overpotential, stable and selective electrocatalysts for CO2RR
Characterization of catalysts, membrane and light absorbers
Development of test-beds and prototypes of artificial photosynthetic systems
Mathematical modeling and simulation of electrochemical cells

Background:

M. S. in Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India (2016)
B. Tech. in Chemical Engineering, SV National Insititute of Technology, Surat, India (2013)

Paria Coliaie

Ph.D. : Fall 2016 - Fall 2021

Current Position: Senior Scientist-1 at AbbVie Pharmaceuticals

Thesis: Microfluidic Platforms for High-Throughput Screening of Pharmaceutical Compounds

Awards:

2018 Chancellor’s Student Service Award
2020 Provost’s Graduate Research Award
2020 Provost’s Graduate Internship Award
2020 AIChE Women in Chemical Engineering (WIC) Travel Award

Project Description:

Development of microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip platforms for pharmaceuticals
High-throughput screening of crystal growth, nucleation and polymorphs
Multi-scale modeling and simulation

Background:

B. Sc. in Chemical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran (2016)

Anish V. Dighe

Ph.D. and M.S. : Fall 2016 - Fall 2021

Current Position: Postdoctoral Scholar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Thesis: Controlling Self-Assembly of Molecules for Directed Nucleation and Growth of Pharmaceutical Polymorphs

Awards:

2019 Provost’s Graduate Research Award
2021 Award for Graduate Research
2021 AIChE Separation Division Graduate Student Research Award

Project Description:

Multi-scale modeling and simulation of self-assembly of rigid molecules
Mechanistic modeling of crystal growth rate and nucleation rate
Experimental validation using microfluidic platforms

Background:

B. Tech. in Biotechnology, Sinhgad College of Engineering, Pune, India (2016)

Nishithan C. Kani

Ph.D. Thesis: Decarbonization of Ammonia Synthesis

Project Description:

Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia and urea: electrocatalyst synthesis and electrochemical cell development
Recovery of nitrates from wastewater and subsequent conversion to ammonia
Hydrogen generation from Biochar assisted water electrolysis

Awards:

2019 Best TA Award from Department of Chemical Engineering
2020 Award for Graduate Research
2021 3 Minute Thesis Competition (Honorable Mention)
2021 Provost’s Graduate Internship Award
2021 AIChE Sustainable Engineering Forum Student Paper Award.

Background:

M.S. in Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai, India (2015 -2018)
B. Tech. in Chemical Engineering, AC Tech - Anna University, Chennai, India (2011 - 2015)

Ayankola Ayansiji

Ph.D. Thesis: Magnetic Targeting for Site-Specific Drug Delivery (co-advised with Prof. Andreas Linninger)

Project Description:

Mathematical Modeling of Magnetophoresis
CFD Simulation of Cerebrospinal Fluid
Experimental Measurement of Magnetophoresis

Background:

B.S. in Chemical Engineering, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria- 2012

M.S. Students

Ragavendra Hari

M.S. Non-Thesis ( Fall 2017 - Spring 2018)

Background:

B. Tech. in Chemical Engineering, SRM University, Chennai, India (2016)

Project Description:

Analysis of Particle Breakage

Current Position:

R&D Technician at PepsiCo

Victoria Smith

M.S. Non-Thesis (Fall 2017 - Spring 2018)

Background:

B. A. in Chemistry, Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania, US (2015)

Project Description:

Development of Electrocatalysts for Dinitrogen Conversion

Current Position:

Engineer at Siemens

Michael Zepeda

M.S. (Spring 2020 - Spring 2021)

Project Description:

Phase-field simulation of Li-dendrite growth

Sihang Chen

M.S. (Spring 2020 - Spring 2021)

Project Description:

Discrete element modeling of dendrite growth in solid-state electrolytes

Rabia Ali

M.S. (Spring 2021 - Spring 2022)

Background:

B.S in Industrial Chemistry, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan (2015-2019)

Project Description:

Post-fabrication processes of the 3D-printed microfluidic devices.
Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) experiments for the batch sensitivity measurements of different metals.
Growth rate measurement using the continuous-flow microfluidic device and the detection of the liquid-liquid phase separation boundaries.

Research Associates

Carrie Schoeneberger

Research Topic: Electrochemical Oxidation of Ethane to Ethanol

Background:

B. S. E. in Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA (2015)

Project Description:

Design, synthesis and evaluation of electrocatalysts for oxidation of Ethane

Current Position:

Ph.D. Candidate at Northwestern University

Undergraduate Students

Sanjana Epari

Research Topic: Mechanism of Bone Remineralization

Background:

B. S. in Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA (2019)

Project Description:

Mechanism of bone regeneration using implants and scaffolds

Grzegorz Kokoszka

Research Topic: Transport Analysis of MEA for Integrated Carbon Capture and Reduction

Background:

B. S. in Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA (2018)

Project Description:

Membrane electrode assembly for integrated carbon capture and reduction

Emily Yolo

Research Topic: Solar-Driven Water Purification and Hydrogen Production

Background:

B. S. in Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA (2018)
Associate of Science, Rock Valley College, IL - 2015

Project Description:

Design of solar-driven electrochemical system for simultaneous desalination of water and hydrogen production

Rosanna Granata

Research Topic: Design of a 500 MW Carbon-Neutral Thermal Power Plant

Background:

B. S. in Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA (2017)

Project Description:

Design of CO2 reduction unit to utilize waste heat and CO2 from the thermal power plant

Qinyang Fang

Research Topic: Electrochemical Oxidation of Phenol to Gaseous Fuels

Background:

B. S. in Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA (2020)

Project Description:

Electrochemical oxidation of phenolic compounds to hydrocarbons

Karthikayini Thiyagarajan

Research Topic: High Throughput Screening

Background:

B.S. in Biology, Loyola University, Chicago, IL (2025 - Expected)

Project Description:

High Throughput Screening of Activity of CO2 reduction catalysts
High Throughput Screening of Electrochemical Synthesis of Metal Organic Frameworks

Vir Trivedi

Research Topic: High Throughput Screening

Background:

B.S. in Bioinformatics, Loyola University, Chicago, IL (2025 - Expected)

Project Description:

High Throughput Screening of Activity of CO2 reduction catalysts
High Throughput Screening of Electrochemical Synthesis of Metal Organic Frameworks

High School Students

Christopher Kull

Research Topic: Computer-Aided Design and 3D Printing of Heat Exchanger, Distillation Column, Cyclone Separator, and Reactor

Background:

Senior High School Student, St. Ignatius College Prep (2017)

Project Description:

CAD and 3D Printing of Chemical Engineering Equipments

Project Duration:

May 2017 - July 2017

Mary L. Dekold

Research Topic: Computer-Aided Design and 3D Printing of Heat Exchanger, Distillation Column, Cyclone Separator, and Reactor

Background:

Graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep (2017)

Project Description:

CAD and 3D Printing of Chemical Engineering Equipment

Project Duration:

May 2017 - July 2017

Current Position:

B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Notre Dame