Previous Group Members

Abdullah Al-Mahboob

Staff Scientist
[October 2019 - December 2021]

Visiting Researcher
[June 2019 - July 2019]

I obtained Doctor of Science from Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan where I studied organic molecular film growth employing low energy electron microscope (LEEM/PEEM), STM and complementary DFT calculations. Following my doctoral study, I continued my study on organic molecular materials at Tohoku University (2007-2009). I extended my study, later, on catalysis and 2D materials at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL, 2009-2013), USA. At BNL, I worked as research associate in interface science and catalysis and user program of PEEM/LEEM endstation of CFN at NSLS. Subsequently, I worked at the University of Liverpool (2014-2016), UK as research coordinator of intermetallic alloys and quasicrystalline compounds and Elettra Sincrotrone-Trieste (2016-2017), Italy as spectromicroscopy beamline scientist, at the City University of New York (2018-2019) and State University of New York -Farmingdale State College as adjunct faculty in energy science. I visited Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit (Keshav Dani Unit) on June-July 2019 for exploring Novel Ultra-Fast Spatially Resolved Photo-electron Spectromicroscopy technique developed by Dani Unit. Following my visit, I joined Prof. Dani’s group in OIST October 2019. Together, we seek to combine my experience in electron spectromicroscopy and catalysis with the group’s expertise in ultrafast spectroscopy techniques.

David Bacon

Postdoc

[August 2019 - August 2023]

I received the M.Eng degree and PhD in electronic and electrical engineering from the Pollard Institute at the University of Leeds, UK, in 2013 and 2017 respectively. The focus of the master project was on the characterisation of terahertz quantum cascade laser active regions. This was then expanded upon during my PhD where I investigated the time-resolved gain dynamics within the device using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. From this work, I awarded a 2-year-long EPSRC fellowship prize within the Pollard Institute, where I studied the use of photoconductive array structures for the generation of high-field THz radiation. Following that, I joined the femtosecond spectroscopy unit at OIST in August 2019. My research interests include the generation and application of high-field THz radiation, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and ultrafast electro-optics.

Christopher Petoukhoff

Postdoc
[June 2017 - May 2021]

Special Research Student
[July 2016 - April 2017]

Intern
[June 2015 - August 2015]

I obtained my Ph.D. from Rutgers University (NJ, USA) in Materials Science and Engineering in the group of Deirdre O'Carroll. The focus of my dissertation was on designing plasmonic metasurfaces for light-trapping in thin-film photovoltaics. I did a 10-week internship with the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit as an NSF-EAPSI - JSPS Summer Fellow during the summer of 2015, and returned as a Special Research Student from Jul 2016 - Apr 2017. I started as a post-doc in Jun 2017, and my current research interests include: ultrafast dynamics of energy materials, van der Waals heterostructures, organic semiconductors, and plasmonic light-trapping.

Chakradhar Sahoo

Postdoc
[March 2020 - February 2021]

Special Research Student
[July 2018 - December 2019]

Intern
[May 2018 - June 2018]

I received my Ph.D. from University of Hyderabad (Telangana, India). The focus of my research was on the development of efficient ultrafast pump-probe techniques and generation of high repetition rate (HRR) higher harmonic generation (HHG) for time-resolved micro angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (TR-µARPES). Part of my doctoral research was performed in FSU as a special research student. In this duration, I worked on the development of TR-µARPES instrumentation. I started as a postdoc in March 2020, and my current research interest involve studying TMDC heterobilayers.

Bala Murali Krishna Mariserla

[May 2013 - May 2018]

I am from southern part of India. I joined the Femtosecond spectroscopy unit on 13th may 2013. I have nonlinear optics background and my interests include time domain spectroscopy of optical pump-probe and THz. Before joining the group, I worked at Laser lab, University of Hyderabad for my Ph. D program. I received my masters in physics from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam.
At University of Hyderabad, my thesis involved nonlinear optical characterization of Graphene based hybrid materials, biosynthesized silver nanoparticles and organic molecules using nano, pico and femtosecond laser systems for optical limiting application. Good at degenerate four wave mixing, auto-correlation, Z-Scan and pump-probe techniques.

Update as of May 2018: Assistant Professor at Central University of Karnataka.

Taka Harada

Postdoc
[April 2015 - March 2017]

Special Research Student
[April 2013 - November 2013]

I have taken BSc (Honours) and PhD in Chemistry at the University of Adelaide in Australia, which involved unltrafast spectroscopy (femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy and time-resolved fluorescence upconversion spectroscopy). In 2013, I joined the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit at OIST as a special research student. My keen interest in optical-pump terahertz-probe spectroscopic characterization led to re-join in this unit in April 2015. I am glad to take cutting-edge research and challenging projects in this unit and OIST. It is my hope to further work on optical-pump terahertz-probe spectroscopy, conduct characterizations of novel materials, and extend my scientific skills in ultrafast spectroscopy.

Update as of July 2017: Occupational Health and Safety administrator at OIST.

Peter Hale

[June 2012 - September 2014]

I studied for both my Masters and Ph.D. at the University of Exeter and have a keen interest in the ultrafast optical properties of graphene. By probing with ultrafast pulses in both time-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy and degenerate four-wave mixing, the unusual electronic band structure of graphene can be probed and the interaction between photoexcited charge carriers and the lattice can be investigated. With the 10 fs broadband THz system at OIST, the fundamental physics of various materials and systems can be explored at much lower energies.

Trivia: Rubik's cube fan.

Eleftheria Kavousanaki

[May 2012 - May 2015]

I joined OIST and the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit in May 2012 with the challenging role to provide theoretical support to the group, given that I am a theorist with expertise mainly on the nonlinear optical properties of semiconductors. Previously I did a postdoc at the University of Konstanz in Germany, in the group of Guido Burkard, where I worked on problems related to the optical manipulation of solid state qubits. Before that, I was a postdoc in the group of Shaul Mukamel at University of California, Irvine, where I gained experience on the powerful tool of two-dimensional spectrocopy. I completed my Ph.D. at the University of Crete in Greece (where I'm originally from), in which I studied the ultrafast nonlinear optical response of the quantum Hall system under the guidance of Ilias Perakis. My research interests include linear and nonlinear optical properties of semiconductor nanostructures, ultrafast spin dynamics, electron-phonon and electron-nuclear spin interactions, and excitonic qubits, among others.

Vivek Pareek

PhD Student
[September 2016 - December 2023]

Rotation Student
[January 2016 - April 2016]

I received my dual BS-MS degree from IISER-Kolkata, India. During my master's thesis, I studied the high pressure dependence of multiferroics using Raman spectroscopy. My rotation project with FSU has increased my interest in the field of femtosecond spectroscopy. Therefore, I decided to join FSU to pursue my PhD. I will be studying the optical properties of 2D semiconductors for my thesis.

Sofiia (Sonya) Kosar

Junior Research Fellow
[October 2022 - February 2023]

PhD Student
[September 2018 - September 2022]

Rotation Student
[January 2018 - April 2018]

I received my BSc and MSc degree in solid state physics from Chernivtsi National University in Ukraine. I joined FSU in 2018 to investigate opto-electronic properties of semiconducting materials for energy applications. As a rotation student, I employed transient absorption spectroscopy to study charge transfer in mixed-dimensional heterojunctions. As PhD student in the FSU, I investigated hybrid perovskites - promising materials for next-generation solar cells. During my PhD, I employed time-resolved photoemission microscopy (TR-PEEM) to image nanoscale defects in hybrid perovskite thin films and to identify their roles in trapping of photo-excited charges. As a Junior Research Fellow in the group, I will continue investigating hybrid perovskites using TR-PEEM.

Joel Pérez Urquizo

PhD Student
[September 2017 - November 2021]

Rotation Student
[September 2016 - December 2016]

I got both my bachelor and master degree at “Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)”. I majored in Telecommunications Engineering where I worked at the microwave regime designing and fabricating planar resonant devices for near field microwave microscopy. For my masters I scaled up in frequencies and worked in the THz regime designing and fabricating photoconductive probes for THz near field imaging. Today I’m a PhD student of the 2016 class at OIST and I’m joining the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit where I will focus on the research of Quantum Cascade Lasers for THz generation.

Andrew Winchester

Junior Research Fellow
[November 2020 - May 2021]

PhD Student
[September 2015 - October 2020]

Intern
[January 2014 - July 2014]

I received my BSc and MSc in physics from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, where I studied various nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and layered 2D materials. I joined the FSU to study the ultrafast properties of novel semiconductor systems for use in optoelectronic devices. My PhD work mainly involved studying hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (HOIP) thin film materials, which are candidates for next generation high efficiency photovoltaic devices. My studies focused on using a novel time resolved electron microscopy technique (TR-PEEM) to investigate the nanoscale electronic properties of traps in HOIP films, and how these traps are involved in the recombination pathways of free carriers.

E Laine Wong

Postdoc
[March 2019 - July 2019]

PhD Student
[January 2014 - February 2019]

I joined Dani Unit for my PhD study in Jan 2014 after completing my brief rotations in various fields of optical microscopy, gene transformation, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and cold atoms. I graduated from National University of Singapore with a bachelor degree in Engineering and went on to work as a research assistant in the optoelectronics lab in the university. My PhD study will focus on nonlinear optical properties of condensed matter. I look forward to employ the various experimental tools such as pump-probe and high harmonic generation to acquire better understanding of the femtosecond dynamics in matter.

Update as of June 2020: Post-doc in Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Milan (Annamaria Petrozza Group).

Athanasios Margiolakis

[October 2013 - August 2016]

I completed my BSc (Physics), MSc (Photonics and Microelectronics) at the University of Crete and I worked as a technical student at CERN (LHC - Beam Position Monitoring system). I am currently enrolled in the postgraduate program at the University of Crete under Prof. G. Tsironis and I have been working as a special research student at OIST in Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit since October 2013. My work is placed both in the Microscopy and High energy Labs and it covers femtosecond spectroscopy techniques and fabrication processes. I am honored to be here and I am motivated by my colleagues and the work environment.

Catherine Caroline Chin

[January 2012 - July 2013]

I am originally from Malaysia. I finished my BEng in electronics at Multimedia University, Malaysia. I am currently doing my MSc in telecommuncations and electronics engineering at Telecom Bretagne in Brittany, France. With an interest in lasers and optics, I joined the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit to explore THz application in metamaterials and the study of ultrafast carrier dynamics. My main research interests include ultrafast optoelectronics, time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy and imaging. Since January 2012, I assisted the unit in to set up our first THz-TDS system.

Nicholas Chan

Technician
[June 2019 - September 2021]

Intern
[January 2018 - June 2018]

I recently graduated from Northeastern University with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering.  As part of Northeastern's co-op program I researched point-to-point communications at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Research Lab (AFRL Rome) in 2017 and 2D semiconductors with Dani Unit in 2018.  I am now returning to Dani Unit as a research technician to assist in 2D Van der Waals device fabrication.

Oksana Kravchyna

[June 2019 - November 2020]

I received my PhD at B.Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering (ILTPE, Ukraine) in Physical and Mathematical Sciences. During my PhD work at the research institution, I studied low-dimensional systems. I have investigated a series of metal-organic compounds. As a result of my work, I was able to determine the magnetic structure of these compounds and calculate the value of magnetic interaction between magnetic ions depending on changing exchange paths. I joined the Dani Unit in June 2019 as a technician. My job is to provide all the required technical, safety, and administrative support to enable the laboratory to function effectively.

Justus Grabowsky

I am a graduate from ETH Zürich with a BSc in Physics. During an exchange at École normale supérieure in Paris, I had the opportunity to conduct research on ultra-strong light matter coupling in THz LC-resonators in the group of Carlo Sirtori. During my internship in the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit, I built a setup for Fourth Harmonic Generation using nonlinear optical crystals as a UV-source for ARPES to access the bound states of GaAs-based quantum wells. After leaving OIST I will return to ETH to pursue a MSc in Physics.

Nova Noviati

I received my Bachelor’s degree in physics in January 2022 at IPB University, Indonesia. As my current interest is in physical chemistry, my thesis research was focusing on the first-principal study of CO2 conversion on Cu-doped graphene surface catalyst. Further, I want to be able to explore the properties of materials experimentally. Therefore, I have to enhance my knowledge in order to get a better understanding of experimental work in materials characterization. I decided to join Prof. Dani’s Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit through OIST Research Internship Program. By joining this internship for the next six months, I plan to learn about experimental lab work, especially in nanomaterials and quantum cascade lasers.

Saira Perveen

[May 2022 - August 2022]

I did my BS Physics from International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan, majoring in nanotechnology. Research work was based on template-based fabrication and characterization of onedimensional nanomaterials via electrodeposition. Later, I have done MS from the National University of Sciences and Technology Islamabad, Pakistan. Master’s research domain lies in Condensed Matter computation based on the first principle or DFT calculations. I have performed structure and stability analysis of Graphene-based 2D materials and analyzed electronic properties (DOS, Band Structure) after adsorption of halogen. Currently, I am working at OIST as an Intern in the Femtosecond spectroscopy unit. Here, I will work on laser safety and data analysis of ARPES.

Tatunosuke Hanano

[May 2022 - August 2022]

I am a rising senior at the University of Rochester, majoring in Optics. After a few years of studying Optics at my university, I got interested in lasers. I came to the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit as a research intern. While I stay at OIST, my project will be mainly on high harmonic generation. I am excited to work at this unit and to learn ultrafast optics and nonlinear optics.

Hiroki Murata

[September 2021 - Dececember 2021]

I am a senior student majoring in Physics at International Christian University, Tokyo. I am joining Prof Dani's Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit through OIST research internship program. As my senior thesis, I have been working on the generation of the cw THz wave using the single external cavity diode laser. My project at OIST will be on microplasma for broadband THz generation.

Lincoln Weber

[May 2019 - August 2019]

I am currently working on my bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale (USA) as part of Dr. Saikat Talapatra's group. During the summer of 2018 I worked with Prof. Masayoshi Tonouchi to do THz-TDS with aligned carbon nanotubes. I will be visiting the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit from May to August 2019 as a research intern to do work involving THz measurements of perovskite materials.

Lisa Walter

[February 2019 - April 2019]

I recieved my Bachelor’s degree in Physics in November 2018 at the University of Regensburg (UR), Germany. My thesis was focusing on fabrication and investigation of 2D materials. I joined the part of Rupert Huber’s group in Regensburg which investigated 2D TMDC materials using time-resolved pump multi-THz probe spectroscopy. Currently, I am doing my Master studies in Regensburg, where I recently worked on scanning tunnelling microscopy. I am joining the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit for a research internship where I plan to get an insight into photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) and hybrid perovskite materials.

Ricardo Gutierrez Gomez

[July 2018 - December 2018]

I received a MSc. at CINVESTAV in 2017 working on the stabilization of a high repetition rate Ti:Sa oscillator for an optical frequency comb system that is at the National Metrology Center of Mexico (CENAM). I’m currently pursuing a PhD that is focused in developing THz metrology. As a visiting research student for 5 months at FSU I’ll be doing frequency stability measurements of QCLs and THz wave generation with laser induced plasma.

Monika Eggenberger

[May 2018 - December 2018]

I am currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Physics (as well as a minor in Mathematics) at Northeastern University. I will be joining the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit for 8 months as a research intern. Previously, I have worked on the growth and optoelectronic properties of novel 2D materials, with special attention to moire patterns in TMD heterostructures. At FSU, I will be studying charge dynamics of plasmon-exciton coupling in 2D nanostructures.

Stuart Macpherson

[June 2018 - August 2018]

I received my MPhys degree from the University of St Andrews in 2017. I am a first year PhD student working under Dr Sam Stranks at the University of Cambridge, investigating perovskite materials for optoelectronic applications. My thesis is focused on the characterisation and treatment of electronic defect states which lead to parasitic losses in perovskite PV and LEDs. As a visiting collaborator at FSU, I will be conducting PEEM and TR-PEEM measurements on perovskite films to investigate the effects of chemical passivation, on the distribution and dynamics of defect states.

Rebecca Wong

[January 2018 - July 2018]

I received my bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College in Iowa, United States, where I studied physics and environmental science. Previously, I worked brief terms at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory investigating renewable energy and efficiency technologies. In the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit, I will be working on imaging charge dynamics in energy materials for six months.

Kalyani Thakur

[October 2017 - January 2018]

I have recently received my masters degree in Applied Physics from Amity University, and previously received my bachelors in Physics Honors from Delhi University, India. During my masters, I did my thesis on two-dimensional materials from IIT Delhi. I have done the growth of monolayer MoS₂ using CVD technique and characterized it using PL, Raman spectroscopy and AFM techniques. I also have experience of working in two laboratories in India (IISER Pune and JNU) which focused on synthesis of nanoparticles and its temperature dependent charge transport mechanism. Now I am joining the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit as a research intern for the period of six months. I will be working on fabrication of van der Waals heterojunctions.

Kasturie Jatkar

[July 2017 - September 2017]

I am currently doing my undergraduate degree, B.S. in Physics at Shiv Nadar University, India, and I have just completed my third year. I have previously worked on a project in experimental physics where I was learning about the properties of polymer-graphene nanocomposites for optoelectronic applications. I am also doing a project where I am studying the band gap modulation in 2D vdW-heterostructures for tunable optoelectronic devices computationally. I am joining the unit as an intern for 3 months. I'm very excited to have gotten this opportunity to work in Prof. Dani's Unit. Staying here and working at OIST seems like a lot of fun especially because of the location of the institute. I will be working on 2D van-der-Waals materials and Terahertz Applications and Devices here.

Matthew Kim

Update as of Sept. 2017: B.S. student at Santa Clara University.

Manami Goto

Now, I am a sophomore of Hokkaido University. I join this unit as a research intern. My major is applied chemistry, and I am especially interested in physical chemistry. That's why I am in this unit. I am thinking about going to graduate school in a foreign country. So, OIST is a good place for me to experience the international surroundings. In addition, I want to experience a research life because I have never done it although I want to be a researcher. I would like to learn about femtosecond lasers deeply and what researchers' life is like during my stay.

Update as of July 2017: B.S. student at Hokkaido University.

Bryan Berggren

Intern
[January 2016 - December 2016]

Visiting Researcher
[July 2015 - September 2015]

I am a 3rd undergraduate studying at Santa Clara University and majoring in Physics. For about a year and a half, I have been working for Dr. Chris Weber using transient grating pump probe experiments to find diffusion coefficients and optical response of various materials, focusing on three-dimensional Dirac semimetals and other semiconductors with little previous ultrafast research done on them. I am very excited to work at OIST, and while here, I'm researching two-dimensional materials.

Update as of July 2017: Ph.D. student at University of Colorodo Boulder.

Camille Chartrand

Natalie Foster

I received my BS in Astronomy and Physics from the University of Florida in December 2015. During my interim period before starting graduate school in the fall (TBD!), I have taken up an internship in Prof. Dani's Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit in order to learn more about experimental lab work in nanomaterials and quantum cascade lasers. My current interests are broad and lie in materials science and high-energy detectors.

Update as of July 2017: Ph.D. student at University of Texas Austin.

Dylan Renaud

[June - July 2015]

I am extremely excited to join the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit as part of NanoJapan 2015. After spending a month experiencing the culture of Japan, I am now more than ready to jump into research. I am a first year applied physics and mathematics major from New Jersey Institute of Technology. My research interests are far from set. At this point, I truly just enjoy delving into whatever I find fascinating. Currently, this includes working with and investigating stacked 2D materials. In the past I've worked under Dr. Gordon Thomas and Dr. Reginald Farrow of NJIT's Biophysis lab fabricating nano-scale fuel cells. This summer, I hope to learn as much as I can concerning 2D materials and Terahertz.

Update as of July 2020: PhD student at Harvard.

Ari Gilman

I am currently an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst studying chemical engineering. During the y ear, I work in Professor Shelly Peyton’s lab as a research assistant looking at breast cancer metastasis. This summer I am honored to be able to work with the Dani group for two months as a research intern. My area of focus will be in learning various fabrication techniques in the clean room that will be used to aid in the development of light and terahertz emitting devices. I hope to aid in the creation of newer, more efficient optical devices.

Jingjing Zhang

I am currently a Masters student in physics in France at Ecole Normale Superieure in Cachan and the University of Pierre and Marie Curie. I am so happy to join the Dani unit at OIST for 4 months as a summer intern. Right now, 2D materials have great potential both for industrial application and for fundamental research, it's a new field where people can always find exciting results. During this 4 months, I'm going to study the monolayer and double layer of 2D materials like graphene, MoS₂ and InSe. Apart from my project at OIST, I really enjoy my life in Okinawa as it's really a beautiful tropical island with mixed culture and nice food.

Skylar Deckoff-Jones

Intern
[January 2015 - August 2015]
[June 2014 - July 2014]

The summer of 2014 I had the great opportunity to work with the Dani unit for a short two months as a NanoJapan: IREU intern. I left wanting more, so I have returned for a longer stay as an OIST intern. I am an undergraduate physics major from Tulane University, originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico. I have worked in Dr. Diyar Talbayev's laboratory for the past two years. Previously, I have designed and constructed Terahertz systems as well as worked with mechanically exfoliated 2D materials. This time I will be constructing a THz TDS that will be compatible with the units 17T magnet as well as taking pump-probe measurements on a number of fascinating 2D samples.

Update as of July 2017: Ph.D. student at MIT.

Dibyashree Koushik

I am a final year student of 5-year Integrated M.Tech in Nanotechnology at Central University of Jharkhand, India. I did my Masters project on “Nonlinear optical properties of graphene based nanocomposites” from Raman Research Institute, Bangalore. I joined the Dani Unit at OIST in January 2015 as a research intern for three months. Previously, I have undergone various internship projects at IIT Delhi, NPL Delhi and IIT Madras and worked on diverse topics like water purification using graphene-silver nanocomposite, low temperature synthesis of rare earth hexaboride nanoparticles and solar cells. I got introduced to ATK-VNL simulation tool simulation at ABV-IIITM Gwalior where I worked on nanowires. Upholding my inclination towards light matter interaction at the nanoscale, I joined the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit led by Prof. Keshav Dani to work on quantum cascade lasers along with expanding my exposure of working in the clean room and gaining knowledge and hands on experience on device fabrication. I hope to do my best for the betterment of the group and a fruitful career ahead for myself.

Reuben Harding

Having just completed my MPhys degree at the University of Oxford, I'm really looking forward to leaving the library and getting back into the lab! My MPhys project was to construct from individual components an external cavity diode laser that was then used to perform spectroscopy on rubidium vapour. This summer, my project with the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit will be controlling the dispersion of femtosecond pulses propagating in photonic fibres, and I'm really enthusiastic about having an opportunity to further my understanding of the physics involved. In the future I hope to continue with further study, but the difficulty is picking a single area to focus on. For this reason, I think the interdisciplinary nature of OIST will make the Dani unit a fantastic place to work.

Julianna Richie

I’m a junior at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.  I am interning this summer under the mentorship of Keshav Dani and Saikat Talapatra to study MoS­­­2 and terahertz antennas.  I was given this wonderful opportunity through the NanoJapan program.  While I am at OIST, I would like to expand my researching skills so that I might be more versatile when I return to the lab I work for at SIUC.  Aside from research, I’m hoping to be able to explore the island on the rare occasions that I’ll have breaks.  I am very excited to come to the institute and begin working.

Siddharth Gupta

I have joined the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit led by Prof. Keshav Dani as a Research Intern for the spring of 2014. I am presently pursuing my bachelors in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology- Roorkee,India. My research at OIST is based on Producing N2 doped TiO2 nanoparticles,thereby reducing their bandgap and then further analysing their photocatalytic activity including femtosecond study. I have worked previously on fabricating micro and nano-gold spheres via Ultrasonic processing.Currently,I am working on producing graphene layers and stacking them against Si nanoparticles to be used anode material for lithium-ion batteries at IIT Roorkee.

Trivia: Poker Fanatic.

Mitchell Connolly

I am currently doing my undergraduate studies at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. My major is physics with a specialization in biomedical studies, but my research so far have primarily dealt with nanomaterial synthesis and characterization.  I joined the Dani Unit this summer as the first representative of the NanoJapan Program through Rice University, and I could not have gotten selected for a better place to spend my summer than Okinawa. My project will mostly consist of Raman Spectroscopy of few-layer materials, but will also be working to make interdigitated antennas.

Update as of July 2017: Ph.D. student at University of Illinois at Chicago.

Atish Agarwala

I am currently an undergraduate at Swarthmore College near Philadelphia in the United States. Originally from California, he hopes to graduate as an Honors major in physics with a course major in mathematics. In the summer of 2011, I worked as an undergraduate researcher under Matthew Mewes investigating group contraction, specifically in the context of breaking Lorentz symmetry. I joined OIST in May 2012 for a three month research position investigating metamaterials and their potential application in ultra-fast optical switching.

Rakesh Parayil Parameswaran Nair

I am a 5- year Integrated MSc photonics student at CELOS, CUSAT, Kerala, India. I joined the Dani Unit at OIST in January 2012 for his Masters Project on Photoluminescence and AFM Studies on Graphene Quantum Dots. I did my 6th semester project on “Preparation and Optical Characterization of TiO2 Nanoparticle" under the guidance of Dr.V.P.N. Nampoori at CELOS as part of the course curriculum. My research interests include laser physics, laser cooling, light matter interaction and metamaterials.