People

Pinshane Y. Huang is an Associate Professor and Racheff Faculty Scholar in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She also holds an appointment in the Materials Research Laboratory at UIUC. Pinshane holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell University, as well as a B.A, in Physics from Carleton College. Her research has been featured in Nova, National Geographic, BusinessWeek, CBS News, Discover Magazine, and the Guinness Book of World Records. Link to CV.

Research Awards

Teaching Awards

  • Grainger College of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award (2021)
  • Illinois Student Government Teaching Excellence Award (2018-2019)
  • List of Teachers Ranked As Excellent by Their Students for MSE 481: Introduction to Transmission Electron Microscopy (Spring 2017, Spring 2018)
  • List of Teachers Ranked As Excellent by Their Students for MSE 182: Introduction to Materials Science (Fall 2016-2021)

Post-Docs

Kayla Nguyen is a post-doctoral researcher in the MatSE department. Kayla holds a PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Applied Engineering Physics from Cornell University. Her thesis explores "New Imaging Capabilities enabled by the Electron Microscopy Pixel Array Detector (EMPAD)". At UIUC, her research utilizes 4D-STEM to image magnetic spin domains in antiferromagnets.
See Kayla's TED talk on electron detectors here!
Office: MRL/Supercon 3013
E-mail: kxn at illinois dot edu

Kayla Nguyen

Yichao Zhang is a post-doctoral researcher in the MatSE department. Yichao holds a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Minnesota. Her thesis focuses on "Nanoscale Coherent-Acoustic-Phonon Dynamics in Molybdenum Disulfide Using Ultrafast Electron Microscopy". Yichao's current research explores 2D heterostructures using atomic-resolution imaging.
Office: MRL/Supercon 3012
E-mail: ychzhang at illinois dot edu

Yichao Zhang

Graduate Students

Chia-Hao Lee is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Chia-Hao holds a BS and MS in Materials Science and Engineering from National Taiwan University. His research explores the structure-property relationship in 2D materials through STEM and machine learning.
Joined in Fall 2017.
Office: MRL/Supercon 3012
E-mail: chiahao3 at illinois dot edu

Chia-Hao Lee

Sang Hyun (Justin) Bae is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Sang Hyun holds a BS and MS in mechanical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.
Joined in Fall 2018.
Office: MRL Supercon 3012
E-mail: shbae2 at illinois dot edu

Justin Bae

Priti Kharel is a PhD student in the Chemistry department. Priti holds a BA in chemistry from Hamilton College. Her research utilizes electron microscopy and image processing to atomically-resolve small molecules.
Joined in Fall 2018.
Office: MRL Supercon 3013
E-mail: pkharel2 at illinois dot edu

Priti Kharel

Jeffrey Huang is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Jeffrey holds a BS in Applied Physics from Cornell University. His research uses selected area electron diffraction and 4D-STEM to study antiferromagnetic materials.
Joined in Fall 2019.
Office: MRL/Supercon 3012
E-mail: jhuan100 at illinois dot edu

Jeffrey Huang

Gillian Nolan is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Gillian holds a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Her research explores the intersection between materials simulation and atomic-resolution imaging.
Joined in Fall 2020.
Office: MRL/Supercon 3013
E-mail: gnolan2 at illinois dot edu

Gillian Nolan

Rahim Raja is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Rahim holds a BS in Molecular Engineering and BA in Physics from University of Chicago. He uses 4D STEM, ultra-fast electron microscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy to study the unique properties of 2D interfaces .
Joined in Fall 2022.
Office: MRL/Supercon 3012
E-mail: rahimr2 at illinois dot edu

Rahim Raja


Alumni

Graduate

Dr. Edmund Han - Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, 2022
Dissertation: Atomic-scale studies of bending in two-dimensional materials using transmission electron microscopy
Present: Senior Engineer at Seagate Technology

Edmund Han

Dr. Blanka Janicek - Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, 2021
Dissertation: Probing small organic molecules at the angstrom-scale in the scanning transmission electron microscope
Present: Post-doctoral researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Blanka Janicek

Chuqiao (Joe) Shi - M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, 2020
Present: Ph.D. student at Rice University

Chuqiao Shi

Undergraduate

Amanda Loutris - Class of 2022, Materials Science and Engineering

Rachel Lawless - Class of 2020, Materials Science and Engineering
Present: Ph.D. student at Georgia Institute of Technology

Jane Park - Class of 2020, Materials Science and Engineering
Present: Ph.D. student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Shunya Namiki - Class of 2020, Materials Science and Engineering
Present: Process Engineer, TSMC