Texas A&M University, Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Dr. Junho Moon was awarded the MSEN Best Ph.D. Thesis Award in April 2026 for his dissertation, “Stimuli-responsive, programmable morphing materials via stereochemical control and microgel assembly“. This marks the third consecutive year that our group has received this award!
Congratulations to Dr. Moon on his achievement, successful dissertation defense, and graduation. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors!
PhD candidate Junho Moon won 1st place at the PTIC poster fall 2025 for the poster titled “Printable Microgel Toolkits for Smart and Functional Hydrogel Structures.” The Polymer Technology Industrial Consortium poster session is held in the spring and fall annually, seeking to enable mutually beneficial interactivity between the Center and the polymers industry globally, nationally, and throughout Texas.
Congratulations, Junho!
Fall 2025 PTIC poster 1st place winner
Undergraduate student Kiyaan Aly, who participated in MSEN REU-Multifunctional Materials summer program, won 3rd place overall at the Texas A&M College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Poster Session.
Congratulations, Kiyaan! Wishing you the best in your future endeavors!
Dr. Sukhishvili stands with Kiyaan in front of his poster
Dr. Kartik Rajagapolan was awarded the 2025 MSEN Best Ph.D. Thesis award for his thesis titled “Thermo-responsive Polymer Salogels for Shape Stabilization of Inorganic Salt Hydrate Phase Change Materials“. This is the second year in a row that our group has won this award!
Congratulations, Kartik!
Aliaksei Aliakseyeu and Junho Moon were awarded with 2023 MSEN Awards this summer.
Aliaksei received the Best Ph.D. Thesis award for his thesis titled, “Star Polymers in Solution and in Multilayer Assemblies”.
Junho received the Outstanding Teacher award for his teaching experiences in MSEN 360 Materials Characterization and MSEN 301 Lab A (Polymer) Unified Materials Lab. In these courses, he instructed the students on laboratory instruments, graded reports, and provided feedback.
Congratulations to both students on this great achievement!
PhD student Kartik Kumar Rajagopalan was selected as a recipient for Phi Kappa Phi’s Love of Learning Award. The Love of Learning Awards help fund post-baccalaureate professional development for active Phi Kappa Phi members. The committee was impressed with Kartik’s superior academic record and life/career ambitions.
Congratulations, Kartik!
PhD student Kartik Kumar Rajagopalan was one of two graduate students selected to receive the SPE-Henry Kahn Scholarship! The scholarship is sponsored by The Society of Plastics Engineers. The SPE Scholarship is awarded to both graduate and undergraduate students who display excellence both academically and in their respective research fields.
Congratulations, Kartik!
Kartik Kumar Rajagopalan was one of six finalists selected for the 2022 Eastman Chemical Student Award! He will be giving an oral presentation at ACS Fall 2022 in the Eastman Chemical Student Award symposium over his submitted paper, entitled “Infrared Spectroscopy Study of Polymer Gelation Mechanism in Inorganic Salt Hydrates”.
The award is sponsored by Eastman Chemical Company, and the competition is organized by the PMSE division of ACS. The purpose of this award is to “recognize research excellence by a graduate student in applied polymer science”.
Congratulations, Kartik!
