The people who make the magic happen :)
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Daeyeon Lee
Russell Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Professor
Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Seoul National University, 2001
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, MIT, 2007
Postdoctoral training: Experimental Soft Condensed Matter Group, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 2007-2008
email: daeyeon@seas.upenn.edu
phone: 215.573.4521
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS
Hong-Huy Tran, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Université Grenoble Alpes, France
Hometown: Phan Rang-Thap Cham, Vietnam
Major: Materials Science
Joined Lab: April 2022 (co-advised by Prof. Hyun (Michel) Koo)
Research: Biofilm removal
Yoon-Ho Hwang, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Korea
Hometown: Deagu, Korea
Major: Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: April 2022 (co-advised by Prof. Dave Issadore)
Research: Precise and scalable production of lipid nanoparticles
Baekmin Kim, Ph.D.
Graduated From: KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
Hometown: Gwangju, Republic of Korea
Major: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Joined Lab: May 2022
Research: Dynamic behaviors of soft materials near/at interfaces
Yijiang Mu, Ph.D.
Graduated From: The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Hometown: Hangzhou, China
Major: Materials Chemistry
Joined Lab: October 2022
Research: Synthesis of Janus colloids with disctinct optical properties
Jaekyoung Kim, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Seoul National University of Science and Technology (Seoul, Korea)
Hometown: Namyangju, Republic of Korea
Major: Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: March 2023
Research: Functional films by surface engineering, Mass production of microdroplets in microfluidics
Sunghee Lee, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Ewha Womans University, Republic of Korea
Hometown: Seoul, Republic of Korea
Major: Chemistry
Joined Lab: March 2023 (co-advised by Prof. Hyun (Michel) Koo)
Research: Biomaterials for Oral Disease Prevention
Taeyoung Heo, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Hongik University, Republic of Korea
Hometown: Seongnam, Republic of Korea
Major: Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: April 2023 (co-advised by Prof. Robert A. Riggleman)
Research: Polymer-Infiltrated Nanoparticle Films
Woojin Jung, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon
Hometown: Seoul, Republic of Korea
Major: Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: June 2023
Research: Liquid metal physics and applications, Surface and interface physics, Stretchable and wearable electronics, Nanopatterning, Bio-integrated flexible, implantable electronics
Seyeon Park, Ph.D.
Graduated from: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Hometown: Incheon, Korea
Major: Materials Science and Engineering
Joined Lab: September 2023 (co-advised by Profs. John Vohs and Raymond Gorte)
Research: Polymer upcycling
Kathrine Curtin Ph.D.
Graduated From: West Virginia University
Hometown: Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Major: Materials Science and Engineering
Joined Lab: September 2023 (co-advised by Dr. Misun Hwang)
Research: Ultrasound-responsive lipid nanoparticles and microbubbles for drug delivery applications
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Princeton University
Hometown: Bangkok, Thailand
Major: BSE in Chemical and Biological Engineering, Highest Honors
Joined Lab: Fall 2018
Interests: Novels (especially fantasy), comics, animation, video games, sports (all sorts), martial arts, and learning/trying out new things (particularly food) :)
Jessica O'Callaghan
Year: PhD candidate
Graduated From: Penn State
Hometown: Millbrook, New York
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2018
Interests: I love traveling, art, and music. I also enjoy yoga and eating good food.
Tian Ren
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Tsinghua University
Hometown: Zhengzhou, China
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2018
Interests: I love running marathons and meeting new people. I also enjoy traveling and reading.
Yuxuan (Ivy) Dai
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: The Pennsylvania State University
Hometown: Changsha, China
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2019
Research: Bijels as reaction media
Interests: Travelling, Movies, and DOGS!
Lilia Escobedo
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Cornell University
Hometown: Ithaca, NY
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2019
Research: Protein-inspired superhydrophilic surface design to create non-fouling surfaces
Interests: I like watching movies, cooking, and playing with my dogs. I also practice Taekwondo, and I'm in the process of learning how to ice skate!
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Anastasia Neuman
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: MIT
Hometown: Abingdon, MD
Major: B.S. in Chemical-Biological Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2019
Research: Effect of extreme nanoconfinement on the thermodynamics and transport phenomena in multiphasic nanocomposite films
Interests: field hockey, cooking, trying every kind of food, reading, traveling
Website: https://sites.google.com/seas.upenn.edu/annaneu/presentations?authuser=0
Trevor Devine
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: University of Pittsburgh
Hometown: Marlton, NJ
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2020
Research: Effect of extreme nanoconfinement on the thermodynamics and transport phenomena in multiphasic nanocomposite films
Interests: food and drink tasting, exploring the city, hockey, cooking, and audiobooks
Alexander Johnson
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Rowan University
Hometown: Oaklyn, NJ
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2020
Research: Protein-inspired superhydrophilic surface design to create non-fouling surfaces
Interests: I enjoy getting outside to hike, play golf, or play hockey on the pond in the winter. I am interested in trying new foods in the city and I am a fan of all Philadelphia sports.
Owen Land
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Hometown: North Vernon, IN
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2020
Research: Microbubble extraction of algal oil for biodiesel production and bio-refinery pptimization
Interests: Hiking, music, ultimate frisbee, craft beer, traveling, anything outdoors really
Anirban Majumder
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: IIT Kharagpur
Hometown: West Bengal, India
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2020
Research: Polymer Upcycling
Interests: Traveling, chess, music, movies, books, cooking and working out
CK Yeh
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Rutgers University
Hometown: Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2020
Research: Microbubbles for therapeutic and diagnostic applications
Interests: 🥐
Emery Hsu
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: National Taiwan University
Hometown: Taipei, Taiwan
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2021
Interests: Traveling, writing, reading and classical music
Hoang Dinh
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: MIT
Hometown: Hanoi, Vietnam
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2021
Research: Distributed Ribonucleic Acid Manufacturing (DReAM) using bijel.
Interests: baking, badminton, jazz, and J-Pop
Siddharth Sharma
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Penn State
Hometown: New Delhi, India
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2021
Research: Bioprocess upscaling using microfluidics
Interests: Movies, Traveling, Painting, Dancing.
Sophie Haddad
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Lebanese University, Faculty of Medical Sciences
Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon
Major: Bioengineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2022
Research: Theranostic Microbubbles
Interests: Traveling, cooking, trying new foods
Jesse James Efymow
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Drexel University
Hometown: Audubon, New Jersey
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2022
Research: Microfluidics
Interests: I love sports, hiking, and reading.
Philip Iaccarino
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Stony Brook University
Hometown: Farmingdale, New York
Major: M.S. and B.E. in Chemical and Molecular Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2022
Interests: Ultimate frisbee, cooking, watching sports, live music, good food
Kaiwen Wang
Year: PhD Student
Graduated From: Johns Hopkins University
Hometown: Nanjing, China
Major: B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Joined Lab: Spring 2023
Research: Polymer Upcycling
Interests: Video games, board games, cooking, singing, good food and good drinks.
Stuti Dureja
Year: Master's Candidate
Graduated From: University of Delhi
Hometown: Delhi, India
Major: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Joined Lab: Jan 2023
Research: Isolation and Purification of RNA
Interests: Movies, podcasts, boxing, trying new food
Christian Hernandez
Year: Master’s in Bioengineering 2023
Graduated From: California State University Long Beach
Hometown: Cerritos, California
Major: Bio Engineering
Joined Lab: Aug 2023
Research: Colloidal arraying by capillary assembly
Interests: Basketball, Soccer
Gabriela Gomez-Dopazo
Year: PhD Student
Graduated From: University of Puerto Rico - Cayey
Hometown: Cayey, Puerto Rico
Major: B.S. in Chemistry
Joined Lab: Fall 2023
Interests: Cooking, rock climbing and exploring the city.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
VISITING SCHOLARS
Jisung Park
Year: Visiting Scholar (2023-2024)
Graduated From: Inha University
Hometown: Daejeon, Republic of Korea
Major: Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Sep. 2023
Research: surfactant application (organic-inorganic binding) and surface chemistry
Interests: Reading