Michael Ghidiu
PhD student Michael Ghidiu (advisors: Michel Barsoum and Yury Gogotsi) is a recipient of the 2015 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. The fellowship provides funding for three years of graduate stipend and tuition support, as well as opportunities to conduct research internationally. In the MAX/MXene Research Group, Michael is currently working with MXenes, an exciting new class of two-dimensional materials that are electrically conductive and, like clays, can interact with water in interesting ways such as reversible swelling. Michael is currently looking into gaining an understanding and control of these interactions.
Sarah Gleeson
PhD students Bryan Byles (advisor:Ekaterina Pomerantseva) and Sarah Gleeson (advisor: Christopher Li) also both received Honorable Mention. Bryan’s research work focuses on utilizing tunnel-structured manganese oxides for beyond-lithium energy storage systems. This involves the synthesis and characterization of various manganese oxides phases and their application in sodium- and magnesium-ion batteries. Sarah is currently working on a project designing composite mineralized polymer materials to mimic the structure of bone. By controlling polymer structure and orientation on the nanoscale, she hopes to align and disperse minerals onto the polymer in a way that is mechanically and biologically similar to bone. These materials will hopefully be used to create more effective tissue substitutes for patients with bone disease or damage.
Bryan Byles
A total of 13 students from Drexel’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering have received the fellowship. Past recipients include BS/MS student Emily Buck (advisor: Caroline Schauer), PhD student Chelsea Knittel (advisor: Caroline Schauer), B.S./Ph.D. student Amanda Pentecost (advisor: Yury Gogotsi), Ph.D. student Derrick Smith (advisor: Christopher Li), Ph.D. student Kristy Jost (advisor: Yury Gogotsi), B.S. student Prineha Narang (advisor: Yury Gogotsi), B.S./M.S. student Holly McIlwee (advisor: Caroline Schauer), M.S. student Alex Moseson (advisor: Michel Barsoum), and Ph.D. students Stephen Niezgoda (advisor: Surya Kalidindi), Kris Behler (advisor: Yury Gogotsi), María Pía Rossi (advisor: Yury Gogotsi), and John Chmiola (advisor: Yury Gogotsi).