Team

Laura Signor

Laura is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Optics at the University of Rochester (UR). She received her Bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics and Physics from SUNY Geneseo in 2020. She then received her Master’s degree in Engineering Sustainability from the University at Buffalo (UB), where her research involved synthesizing a nanohybrid to initiate the photodegradation and absorption of PFAS, a group of manmade chemicals. In her free time, she enjoys painting and hiking!

Qiwen Xiao

Qiwen is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Materials Physics from Hebei University of Technology in 2016 and her Master’s degree in Materials Science from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in 2023. Her master’s research focused on the fabrication and characterization of colloidal copper nanocrystals (NCs) for potential use in biosensors as part of the IOT4Ag project. Her current project focuses on using stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy to achieve super-resolution temperature measurements of single metallic nanoparticles as part of the NSF Center for Single-Entity Nanochemistry and Nanocrystal Design (CSENND). In her free time, she enjoys doing crafts and swimming.

Junyi Lin

Junyi is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester (UR) in 2024. During his undergraduate studies, Junyi conducted research work on photoelastic analysis, where he investigated stress distribution in granular materials under load. His work involved refining techniques to visualize and quantify stress patterns using birefringent materials, contributing to the understanding of mechanical behaviors in complex systems. After graduation in December 2024, Junyi decided to stay in Rochester and joined Professor Pickel’s research group. Outside of his academic pursuits, he enjoys flying as a private pilot, and sharing his love of aviation through public engagement.

Jiangyuan Wan

Jiangyuan is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Flight Vehicle Design and Engineering from Zhejiang University in 2026. During his undergraduate studies, Jiangyuan conducted research on inverse heat conduction problems, focusing on methods to infer unknown surface heat flux from interior temperature measurements. He was also involved in projects on medical devices based on phase-change heat transfer and the measurement of materials’ thermophysical properties through research internships in other laboratories. After graduating in June 2026, Jiangyuan joined Professor Andrea Pickel’s research group at UT Austin, where he continues to pursue research in thermal sciences and related areas. Outside of research, he enjoys watching and playing sports, especially soccer, as well as playing video games and listening to a wide variety of music.

Soch Foskic

Soch is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan (UMich) in 2026, with a major in Mechanical Engineering and minor in Astronomy & Astrophysics. As an undergrad, she participated in a research internship; her work involved the development of a MATLAB sensitivity analysis tool for evaluating thermal metrology techniques such as frequency-domain thermoreflectance (FDTR), time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR), and 3-Omega. This tool can be used for extracting material properties of interest as well as designing experiments. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, baking, and traveling.