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Greg Guymon

Department: Mechanical Engineering Advisor: Devin MacKenzie Greg Guymon is a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student under the advisement of Prof. Devin J. MacKenzie. Based at the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds, Greg’s research focuses on advancing synthesis and nanomanufacturing strategies for fabricating heterointegrated photonic-based quantum computing and networking platforms. His work specifically explores how electrohydrodynamic inkjet printing can be optimized to reduce the field’s dependence on environmentally toxic and wasteful photolithography techniques while pushing the boundaries of conventional nanomanufacturing technologies. While his efforts are primarily aimed at quantum information science applications, the developed methods also hold promise for classical devices such as high-resolution, energy-efficient QLED displays, temperature-stable quantum dot...

Ahmet Mesut Alpkılıç

Department: Mechanical Engineering Advisor: Ricky Wang I am a second-year PhD student in Mechanical Engineering, currently working under the guidance of Professor Ricky Wang. My research is centered on utilizing optical coherence tomography (OCT) and its various modalities to investigate morphological and dynamic changes in living tissue on a layer-by-layer basis. This work aims to advance our understanding of tissue structures and processes through precise imaging techniques. Specifically, I am applying OCT to examine both the surface and internal layers of solar cells. This approach aims to enhance fast, precise, non-destructive, and reliable material quality testing. It also aligns with CEI’s mission by contributing to the advancement...

Yiwen Zheng

Department: Mechanical Engineering Advisor: Aniruddh Vashisth I am a third year PhD student in Mechanical engineering at UW advised by Dr. Aniruddh Vashisth. My research focuses on designing and understanding recyclable polymers (also known as vitrimers) by molecular dynamics simulations and machine learning models. By gaining insights into the structure-property relationships and self-healing mechanisms of vitrimers, we hope to widen the potential applications of these sustainable polymers and reduce the energy cost in plastics production and recycling....

Shijing Sun

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Shijing Sun's research lies at the crossroads of materials science, data science, and robotics, driving interdisciplinary studies into autonomous materials design for clean energy technologies. With a vision to address global energy, climate, and sustainability challenges, Dr. Sun’s interests span from understanding the fundamental structure-function relationships of inorganic materials to tool development incorporating artificial intelligence for amplified research capacities and efficiency. She joined UW from the Toyota Research Institute where she worked on EV energy storage. She previously worked at MIT applying data science to thin film photovoltaics. Email | Website | LinkedIn...

Aniruddh Vashisth

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering The Vashisth research lab focuses on energy efficient, advanced manufacturing of materials and composites. Specifically, we are interested in using low-frequency electromagnetic fields (1-200 MHz) and plasma for manufacturing and processing composites, synthesis of batteries materials, and recycling polymers. Additionally, the lab also couples experimental work with molecular simulations. Our lab uses reactive molecular dynamics to understand the reactive events that drive and can potentially be optimized for advanced manufacturing. The Vashisth lab is part of the Microsoft Climate Research Initiative. Email | Website | LinkedIn...

Ethan Schwartz

Department: Mechanical Engineering Faculty Advisor: Devin MacKenzie I am a second year Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, working in the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds with Dr. Devin Mackenzie. My research focuses on process optimization of scalable thin film photovoltaic technology. As a mechanical engineer, I have a unique perspective working in a largely material space, spending my time optimizing manufacturing processes such as slot die coating and gas quenching to control crystallization mechanisms, laser scribing for circuit integration, and building a large throughput physical vapor deposition system to expedite experiments. My degree also focuses in data science, where I plan to take these unique tools I...

Jie Xiao

Dr. Jie Xiao is the Boeing Martin Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington. She has been a Battelle Fellow at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory since 2022 and a PNNL-UW Distinguished Faculty Fellow since 2020. Prior to joining UW Mechanical Engineering in Autumn 2024, she led the Battery Materials & Systems Group at PNNL. Dr. Xiao currently serves as the Deputy Director of DOE’s Innovation Center for Battery500 Consortium to develop next-generation lithium metal batteries for electrical vehicles. She also directs the Cathode-Electrolyte Interphase Consortium which focuses on integrating scientific tools, across national labs, to identify and address interfacial challenges initiating on...

Igor Novosselov

Igor Novosselov is a Research Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the UW. The Novosselov Research Group (NRG) conducts a range of basic and applied research in the areas of fluids dynamics and energy. The multidisciplinary research at the NRG laboratory spans several areas, namely: sampling and analysis of particulate matter, particle surface interaction in the boundary layer, ionized flow near surfaces, combustion aerosol synthesis and deposition, modeled based combustion control, and chemical kinetics in supercritical water reactor. NRG's research in energy and fluids is united by applying the first principles to solve practical problems in Aerosol Science and Energy Conversion systems. Email |...

Kristina Gill

With global temperatures rising, technologies that can improve energy efficiency of heating and cooling are more important than ever before. The energy use of buildings and transportation vehicles due to lighting, cooling and heating corresponds to about 40% of the world’s annual energy consumption. Windows are the leading source of energy loss for buildings and vehicles. One way to reduce this energy loss is to use smart windows with thermochromic coatings which can spontaneously modulate the solar energy transmission in response to the ambient temperature. Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a promising candidate for these coatings due to a stable, rapid, reversible metal-to-insulator transition across a...

Vinh Nguyen

The Internet of Things (IoT) holds immense promise for energy sustainability but has a critical limitation: traditional energy storage cannot meet the power, energy, and size requirements of devices that power the IoT. Batteries that utilize specialized 3D geometries can meet these requirements, but manufacturing these batteries is currently time-intensive, inflexible, and requires laborious post-process integration. I will address these limitations by developing a manufacturing workflow that can print customized, integrated energy storage on-demand. First, I will develop a specialized manufacturing platform with custom printheads and tools. I will use this platform to 3D print a customized battery using a single-step, automated procedure that simplifies...