Members

Stoffel Janssens

I obtained a Master's in Physical Chemistry at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium (2006). Later, I received a Ph.D. in Physics (2011) at Hasselt University, Belgium, where I also did a two-year postdoc. During my Ph.D. and postdoc, I specialized in diamond synthesis with microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, device fabrication, and electronic measurements. During my Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) fellowship (2013-2015), I worked at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Tsukuba, Japan, and investigated diamond synthesis. Since November 2015, I have been working in the Mechanics and Materials Unit at OIST on the synthesis, characterization, and processing of thin polycrystalline diamond films. At OIST, I also made theoretical and experimental contributions to fluid mechanics and developed algorithms for simulating the synthesis of films grown from grains seeded on substrates. I'm on the editorial board of the journal Diamond and Related Materials and involved in the New Diamond and Nano Carbons conferenced and the International Conference on Diamond and Carbon Materials.

Vishesh Bhat

I am from Bengaluru, India where I completed my Ph D in Mathematics, with a broad focus in the area of differential geometry. I am interested in exploring geometric narratives that underlie the working of certain physical phenomena.  I am currently looking at ways to use differential geometric notions for the understanding and analysis of problems in mechanics.

Vikash Chaurasia

I completed my Undergraduate and Masters degree in Department of Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur, India in 2012. Later, I received my PhD from University of Houston in August, 2018 on Variational Mechanics of Charged Curves. During my PhD, I also worked with Professor Fried at OIST as a special research student. My core interest lies in continuum mechanics, variational calculus and Hamiltonian dynamics. I am keenly interested in studying interesting biological phenomena from mathematical perspective.

Sankalp Tiwari

I am from Agra, India. I did my bachelors, masters and PhD, all from IIT Kanpur. My research interests lie in theoretical and computational aspects of continuum mechanics, non-linear dynamics and physics of musical instruments. More specifically, I have worked on residual stresses, delayed non-linear systems, and physics of violin and Tabla (an Indian drum), among other things.

David Vazquez Cortes

I received my PhD in Applied Physics from the University of San Luis Potosi in Mexico, where I studied the self-assembly of semiconductor nanostructures in III-V systems, by molecular beam epitaxy technique, and its application to semiconductor devices.
I also have experience in the machining of high precision parts, by using the machines in the workshop.In general, I like to use machines. As a Research Technician in the Mathematics, Mechanics, and Materials Unit at OIST
, I have the opportunity to learn a very wide variety of exciting experimental techniques, and I am also supporting the researchers of the unit in the performance and set up of experiments.

Michael Grunwald

San To Chan

I earned my PhD from OIST under the supervision of Prof. Amy Shen, where my research focused on the vortex breakdown of microfluidic swirling flows and the edge fracture of rheologically complex liquid bridges. I love problems that challenge and transform my perspective on the world around me. To pursue this scientific passion, I will be exploring various everyday, solid mechanical phenomena within the Fried Unit. In my free time, I enjoy drawing and the company of my fluffy cat friends.

Garima

I am from Rajasthan, India, and hold Master's and Bachelor’s degrees in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. Previously, I worked in the oil and gas sector, where I specialized in designing techniques to enhance the production. I joined the Mechanics and Materials Unit to broaden my skill set by solving interesting problems.

Akyl Shakir

I received my BSc degree in Mathematics from Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan in 2019. During my bachelor’s thesis, I’ve worked on the investigation of the solution of a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) problem, used to model the oscillations of a thin metallic plate in a capacitor by applying singularity analysis in complex time.
I joined MMMU in September 2020 and interested in studying mathematical modeling of fluid mechanics problems.

Geoffrey Acoba Garcia

Francisco De Souza Forte Neto