MRS Student Spotlight

Beril Tonyali is our October Student Spotlight from Bolton, Connecticut. She is a third year PhD candidate in Dr. Beese's research group studying functionally  graded materials (FGMs) fabricated via additive manufacturing (AM). Her research involves characterizing phases and mechanical properties in FGMs using computational and experimental techniques, and studying how these local composition variations influence phase formation and the resultant mechanical properties of additively manufactured FGMs.

Peyman Asghari-Rad from Iran is a post-doc researcher in Dr. Kim’s group. His work focuses on liquid metal batteries, advanced energy conversion and storage materials, and high-temperature electrochemistry. He was nominated for the MRS Student Spotlight for constantly helping and supporting those around him as well as his incredible dedication to his work. In Peyman’s free time, he enjoys bicycling, planting, hiking, and cooking.

Lauren MacDonald is from Portland, Oregon and a Ph.D. student in Dr. Karamalidis’s lab. Her work focuses on developing novel adsorbents for the recovery of palladium from various waste streams. She was nominated for being a very kind and welcoming person. Her friends describe her as kind, honest, and reliable. Outside of research, she is involved in the Graduate and Professionals Outdoors Club, enjoys reading outside, and likes to spend time with her friends.

Amirreza Dana is from Iran and is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Dabo group. Amirreza’s research focuses on finding new catalysts for PEM fuel cells. He uses machine learning and first principle calculations. Amirreza was nominated for the MRS Student Spotlight for being an honest and responsible person. His friends describe him as optimistic, kind, and patient. Outside of his research, he enjoys soccer, the gym, traveling, picnics, movies, and parties.

Jessica Sly is from Kuna, Idaho, and a first year PhD student studying glass science in the Mauro group. Her research focus on compositional design and characterization of bioactive glasses. Jess was nominated for her wonderful attitude and kind nature. Her best quality is her perseverance, and her friends describe her as  genuine and a great friend to have. She is involved with MRS and the American Ceramic Society. Outside of research, she enjoys hiking and going on outdoor adventures with her friends. Congrats again, Jess!

Gokul Nanda Gopakumar is from Kerala, India. He is a first-year Ph.D. candidate in the Intercollege Graduate Degree Program (IGDP) in MatSE, working in the Law Group. His research focus is on III-V semiconductor materials grown using MBE, trying to design a nanotube semiconductor device for applications in subwavelength optical imaging. He is a proud experimentalist, so don’t expect computer simulations anytime soon. He is proud of his initiative to bring about change, and his friends say he’s kind, passionate, and responsible. When not in the lab, Nanda is the treasurer for MRS, works with SPS, rolls a mean d20, and is super into Formula 1. If you need to stay up till 2 a.m. watching the Qatar Grand Prix, he’s your man.