Alumni

Zhen Sang (Ph.D., 2024)

Zhen received his Ph.D. in Spring 2024 after defending his dissertation: “Dynamic Covalent Polymer Networks for Additive Manufacturing and Supersonic Impact”. During this time, Zhen was an author on 4 publications (1 first-author, 3 in preparation) and gave many presentations at APS conferences. He was co-advised by Prof. Svetlana Sukhishvili and Prof. Ned Thomas.

Current Affiliation: Postdoctoral Researcher at MIT

 

Aliaksei Aliakseyeu (Ph.D., 2023)

Aliaksei received his Ph.D. in Summer 2023 after defending his dissertation: “Star Polymers in Solution and Multilayer Assemblies”. For his thesis, he received the MSEN department’s “Best Ph.D. Thesis” award. During his time in the group, Aliaksei was an author on 8 publications (6 first-author). Aliaksei also actively served on the MSEN Graduate Student Advisory Council, as a member and volunteer of WIMS, and as a mentor to undergraduate and graduate students.

Current Affiliation: Postdoctoral Researcher at Texas A&M University

 

Diana Al Husseini (Ph.D., 2022)

Diana received her Ph.D. in Summer 2022 after defending her dissertation: “Surface Functionalization for Selective Mid-Infrared On-Chip Sensing”. During this time, Diana was an author on 5 publications (3 first-author). Diana also actively served as a member and volunteer of WIMS.

Current Affiliation: Postdoctoral Researcher at Texas A&M University

 

Qing Zhou (Ph.D., 2022)

Qing received his Ph.D. in Summer 2022 after defending his dissertation: “Effect of Crosslinker Flexibility and Crosslinking Density on Thermo-Mechanical Behavior of 3D Printable Diels-Alder Polymer Networks”. During this time, Qing was an author on 8 publications (3 first-author). His work on 3D-printable shape memory polymers was featured on many popular news sites.

Current Affiliation: Packaging R&D Engineer at Intel in Arizona

 

Raman Hlushko (Ph.D., 2021)

Raman received his Ph.D. in Summer 2021 after defending his dissertation: “Synthetic Antioxidant Polymers: Synthesis, Adsorption, and Layer-by-Layer Assembly”. During this time, Raman was an author on 6 publications (3 first-author). Raman also actively served as Treasurer of WIMS and mentored undergraduate researchers.

Current Affiliation: Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) in Maryland

 

Xiuzhu Zhu (M.S., 2021)

Xiuzhu received her M.S. in Summer 2021 after defending her thesis on using polymers to shape-stabilize phase-change materials. During this time, Xiuzhu received a PMSE Best Poster Award at ACS Spring 2021.

Current Affiliation: Ph.D. Student at Texas A&M University

 

Hanna Hlushko (Ph.D., 2020)

Hanna received her Ph.D. in Fall 2020 after defending her dissertation: “Synthetic Polymeric Antioxidants: Redox Properties, Metal Binding, and Anticorrosion Performance”. During this time, Hanna was an author on 4 publications, a patent, and a book chapter. Hanna also actively served the community by leading WIMS and a team of undergraduate students within the Aggie Research Program. Hanna was recognized by the MSEN department with the 2019 Excellence in Outreach Award.

Current Affiliation: Postdoctoral Researcher at Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory in Indiana

 

Parvin Karimineghlani (Ph.D., 2020)

Parvin received her Ph.D. in Summer 2020 after defending her dissertation: “Thermoresponsive Polymer Networks in an Inorganic Ionic Liquid Phase Change Material”. In the Sukhishvili Group, Parvin authored 5 publications (4 first-author) and served as a mentor in the NSF-funded O-REU program.

Current Affiliation: Polymer Scientist at Chevron Phillips Chemical Company in Oklahoma

 

Yashaswini Karanth (M.S., 2020)

Yashaswini received her M.S. in Summer 2020 after defending her thesis: “Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticle Films for Gas Adsorption in Exhaled Breath Analysis”. During this time, Yashaswini was an author on one publication.

Current Affiliation: Ph.D. Student at Arizona State University

 

Victoria Albright (Ph.D., 2019)

Victoria received her Ph.D. in Fall 2019 after defending her dissertation: “Temperature and pH-Responsive Layer-by-Layer Coatings for the Prevention of Bacterial Colonization”. During this time, Victoria was an author on 9 publications (5 first-author) and a book chapter. Victoria was an Aggie Research Team Leader from Summer 2016 to Fall 2019, mentoring teams of undergraduate students to develop skills for high-quality research. Among many other achievements, Victoria notably received the 2019 Outstanding Graduate Student Award granted by the Texas A&M College of Engineering.

Current Affiliation: Postdoctoral Researcher at BASF in New Jersey

 

Adwait Gaikwad (M.S., 2019)

Adwait graduated with a Master’s degree in Summer 2019. His thesis was “Electrospun nanofibers of hydrogen-bonding polymers: effect of processing parameters on mechanical properties”. During this time, Adwait was first-author on a publication that was featured on the NSF homepage. Adwait also received a 2019 Outstanding Teacher Award granted by the Texas A&M Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Current Affiliation: Ph.D. Student at Texas A&M University

 

Victor Selin (Ph.D., 2018)

Victor received his Ph.D. in December 2018 for his research on chain dynamics and layering within polyelectrolyte multilayer films. During this time, Victor was an author on 11 publications (5 first-author) and a book chapter. He also designed and produced the cover images for 3 journal covers.

Current Affiliation: Senior Development Scientist at ICU Medical in Texas

 

Anbazhagan (Anbu) Palanisamy (Postdoc, 2018)

Anbu Palanisamy was a postdoctoral researcher in our lab for two years. During this time, he researched the synthesis and layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of stimuli-responsive block copolymers for biomedical applications.

Current Affiliation: R&D Scientist at ICL Industrial Products in Amsterdam

 

Yuhao Wang (Postdoc, 2017)

Yuhao Wang received his Ph.D. in May 2017 from Stevens Institute of Technology. He was co-advised by Dr. Sukhishvili. After graduating, he conducted research in our lab as a postdoctoral fellow until December 2017.

Current Affiliation: Manufacturing Scientist at Enzo Life Sciences, Inc. in New York