“From a pound of iron, that costs little, a thousand watch-springs can be made, whose value becomes prodigious. The pound you have received from the Lord,–use it faithfully.”
― Robert Schumann
We provide an interdisciplinary training ground for the next-generation scientists and engineers in the area of materials design, assembly, manipulation, robotization, and manufacturing for robotics, biomedicine, environmental remediation, and self-powered devices. A friendly, pleasant, and helpful atmosphere is fostered to assist each student and postdoctoral fellow to reach their highest potential in career development.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Donglei “Emma” Fan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and a faculty member of the Materials Science and Engineering Program, Texas Materials Institute at The University of Texas at Austin. Among her various honors, Dr. Fan is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and an invited Official Nominator of the Japan Prize. She holds the Robert & Jane Mitchell Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Engineering at UT-Austin since 2017, received the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2012, and is a Recognized Mentor by the Siemens Foundation. Her work on the bottom-up assembly of inorganic nanomotors was selected as the #3 of “10 discoveries that will shape the future in 2014” by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Focus magazine and was included in Science Year by Year, DK Smithsonian, 2017.
Postdoctoral Fellows and Graduate Students
Jiazheng Bao, Ph.D. student, 2021- present
M.S. University of Science and Technology, China
Bin Lian, Ph.D. student, 2021- present
B.S. University of Science and Technology, China
Mohammad Alsoraya, Ph.D. student, 2018- present
M.S. University of California, San Diego, US
B.S. Purdue University, US
Huaizhi Li, Ph.D. student, 2018- present
B.S. University of Science and Technology, China
Yifei Liu, Ph.D. student, 2018- present
Professional Development Award, UT-Austin, 2020
Harris L. Marcus Graduate Fellowship in Materials Science & Engineering, UT-Austin 2019, outstanding teaching Assistant, MSE program
B.S. University of Science and Technology, China
Hyungmok Joh, Ph.D. student, 2018- present
Harris L. Marcus Graduate Fellowship in Materials Science & Engineering, UT-Austin 2021, outstanding teaching Assistant, MSE program
M.S. and B.S. Korea University, Korea
Mingyu Zhao, visiting student, 2018- present
Donghua University, China
Undergraduate Students
Matthew Zhang, NSF-REU-supported Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2019- present
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Shaw-Iong Hsueh, NSF-REU-supported Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2019- present
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Jack Qiao, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Spring and Summer 2021, then NSF-REU-supported in Fall 2021
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Conny Cai, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Fall 2021
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Nolan Cummins, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Fall 2021
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Amelie Nguyen, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Fall 2021
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Luke Abrahams, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Fall 2021
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Highschool Intern Students
Esther Huang
Regional Finalist of the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology
Senior from the St. Agnes Academy, Houston, TX
June- August, 2012
Anna Huang
Regional Finalist of the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology
Sophomore from the St. John’s Highschool, Houston, TX
June- August, 2012- 2013
Priya Veeraraghavan
Senior from the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, Austin, TX
July, 2013
Yasmine Filali-Adib
Senior from the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, Austin, TX
July, 2013
Bryte You
St. Mary’s Academy, Austin, TX
June- August, 2014- 2015
William Liu
Liberal Arts and Science Academy, Austin, TX
Summer- winter break, 2015- 2016
Raymond Sun
Westwood High, Austin, TX
Summer, 2019
Alumni
Xiaobin Xu, Ph.D. in 2014
Current position: Professor, Department of Materials Sciences, Tongji University
Materials Research Society Graduate Student Award, 2014
2013 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Abroad, 2014
Best Presentation Award, Nano Portfolio Program, 2014
Best Poster Award, Texas Materials Institute, 2014
Nano Portfolio Program Travel Award, 2014
Best Poster Award, Texas Materials Institute, 2013
Graduate Student Professional Development Award, 2013
B.S. Zhejiang University, China
M.S. Zhejiang University, China
Kwanoh Kim, Ph.D. in 2015 and Postdoctoral fellow 2015- 2016
Current position: Senior Researcher at Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials
Research Poster Contest Award, UT-Austin, 2016
AFOSR Materials Research Society Meeting Travel Award, 2014
Graduate Student Professional Development Award, UT-Austin, 2014
Nano Portfolio Program Travel Award, UT-Austin, 2014
Research Poster Contest Award, Second Place, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin, 2014
Nano Portfolio Program Travel Award, UT-Austin, 2013
Graduate Student Professional Development Award, UT-Austin, 2013
Chair’s Honorable Mention Award, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin, 2013
National Science Foundation Travel Award (selection rate 12%), 2012
B.S. Yonsei University, Korea
M.S. Yonsei University, Korea
Chao Liu, Ph.D. in 2016
Current position: Senior Engineer at Global Foundries
Continuing Burton Fellowship, Graduate school, UT-Austin, 2015
Best Poster Award, Materials Science and Engineering Program, UT-Austin, 2015
Graduate Student Professional Development Award, UT-Austin, 2013
M.S. Zhejiang University, China
Dr. Wesker Lei, Ph.D. in 2015, Postdoctoral fellow 2015
Current position: Integration Engineer at Novati Technologies
B.S. The University of California at Berkeley, US
Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, US
Zheng Wang, Ph.D. in 2017
Current position: Postdoctoral fellow at IMEC
B.S. Tsinghua University, China
co-advised with Prof. Ray Chen
Jianhe Guo, Ph.D. in 2018, Postdoctoral Fellowship 2018- 2019
Current position: Assistant Professor, Medical School, Sun Yat-sen University
Materials Research Society Graduate Student Award, 2018
ASME Finalist of Best Graduate Student Presentation Award, 2018
ASME National Science Foundation Student Travel Award, 2018
Best Symposium Poster Award, Materials Research Society, 2017
Research Poster Contest Award, UT-Austin, 2017
Research Poster Contest Award, UT-Austin, 2016
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) International Student Research Fellowship, 2015
Materials Research Society Graduate Student Chapter Travel Award, 2014
Harris L. Marcus Graduate Fellowship in Materials Science & Engineering, UT-Austin, 2014
Graduate Student Professional Development Award, UT-Austin, 2014
B.S. University of Science and Technology, China
Weigu Li, Ph.D. in 2019
Current position: Processing Engineer, Applied Materials Inc.
University Graduate Continuing Fellowship, UT-Austin, 2018-2019
Graduate Student Professional Development Award, UT-Austin, 2018
Warren A. and Alice L. Meyer Endowed Scholarship in Engineering, UT-Austin, 2017
Research Poster Contest Award, UT-Austin, 2017
Graduate Student Professional Development Award, UT-Austin, 2017
B.S. University of Science and Technology, China
Zexi Liang, Ph.D. in 2021
Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University
Cockrell School of Engineering Continuing Graduate Fellowship, Cockrell School of Engineering, UT-Austin, 2019
George J. Heuer, Jr. Ph.D. Endowed Graduate Fellowship Fund, Cockrell School of Engineering, UT-Austin, 2018
Professional Development Award, UT-Austin, 2018
Harris L. Marcus Graduate Fellowship in Materials Science & Engineering, UT-Austin 2018, outstanding teaching Assistant, MSE program
B.S. Peking University, China
Yun Huang, Ph.D. in 2021
Professional Development Award, UT-Austin, 2019
Harris L. Marcus Graduate Fellowship in Materials Science & Engineering, UT-Austin 2017, outstanding teaching Assistant, MSE program
M. S. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Jiawei He, M.S. in 2017
Current position: Engineer at IBM
B.S. University of Science and Technology in China
Ki-pyo Hong, M.S. in 2018
Current position: Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineer at Nanomaster Inc.
B.S. Yonsei University, Korea
Kwangwon Seong, M.S. in 2020
The University of Texas at Austin
Jing Ning, visiting Ph.D. student, 2012- 2014
M.S. Xidian University, China
Guilan Feng, 2015- 2016
visiting Professor
co-advised with Prof. Ray Chen
Hangzhou, China
Tao Liu, visiting Professor, 2015
co-advising with Prof. Ray Chen
Hangzhou, China
Aochen Wang, visiting Ph.D. student, 2019
Tianjin University, China
Jing Liu, visiting Ph.D. student 2017- 2019
National Academy of Sciences, China
Xianfu Luo, visiting Ph.D. student, 2018- 2020
Chongqing University, China
Alice Biray, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2011
Program of Woman in Engineering, UT-Austin, 2011
Janhavi Das, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2011
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Wendel Willis, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2011
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Omar Fabian, Graduate Intern, 2011
Program of Materials Science and Engineering, UT-Austin
Ian George, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2012
Department of Physics, UT-Austin
Keshav Poddar Undergraduate Research Assistant, Plan II Honor Program, 2012. Current position: graduate candidate of University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX
Chockalingam Viswanathan, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2010- 2012
Department of Electric Engineering, UT-Austin
Christian Reding, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2012- 2013
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Bryan Boyd, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2012- 2013
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Xiaoyi Lu, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2013
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Andres Sada, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2013
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Andrew Duggan, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2012- 2013
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Virgilio Martinez, 2012-2014
Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the Office of the Vice President for Research
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Adam Jovan Vanderpool, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2013- 2014
Department of Physics, UT-Austin
Cheng Zhao, Undergraduate Summer Intern, 2014
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rochester University
Ashley Tom, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2015- 2017
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Jeremie J. Gallegos, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2015-2017
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Tristen Head, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2014- 2016
Department of Physics, UT-Austin
Jennifer Zvonek, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2015
Undergraduate Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Keith Chan, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2015-2016
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Olivia Conroy, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2015
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Robert Stephany, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2015
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Daniel Teal, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2017- 2019
Current position: Ph.D. candidate, University of California at Berkeley
Undergraduate Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin
Jacob A Hethcock, 2016- 2018
Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Vice President Office for Research at UT-Austin
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin
Karina Bertelsmann, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2017
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin
Haewon Kim, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2018 summer- Fall
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin
Marshall Tekell, Undergraduate Research Assistant 2016- 2019
Current position: Ph.D. candidate, Columbia University
Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Vice President Office for Research at UT-Austin
Honor Undergraduate Thesis, 2018- 2019
Department of Chemical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin
Samir Hassam, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2018-2019
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin
Ben Chen, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2019
Electric and Computer Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin
Junnan Yu, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2019
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin
Elora Ghosh, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Fall 2019
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Aly Hirani, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Fall 2019
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Kate Pinkerton, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Fall 2019
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Shree Trivedi, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Fall 2019
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
John G. Gizdich, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2019- 2021
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
David Huo, NSF REU, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Summer 2021
Department of Biomedical Engineering, UT-Austin
Jonathan Tao, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Summer 2021
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Marisa Gulati, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Spring 2021
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Michael DeMoor, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Spring 2021
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Prithika Sen, FIRE program, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Spring 2021
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Jason Juliette, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2019- 2121
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Alison Jin, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2019- 2020
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
Ryan J Benavides, Undergraduate Research Assistant, March 2021- May 2021, Current: Graduate student at Caltech
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT-Austin
