Bryan D. McCloskey
B.S. Colorado School of Mines, 2003
Ph.D. University of Texas, Austin, 2009
Postdoc., IBM Almaden Research Center, 2009-2011
Research Staff Member, IBM Almaden Research Center, 2012-2013
E: bmcclosk(at)berkeley.edu
ResearchGate and Google Scholar

Bryan D. McCloskey joined the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in January 2014. He was previously a Research Staff Member at IBM Almaden Research Center, where he worked on the BATT 500 project to elucidate fundamental characteristics of electrochemical processes occurring in Li-O2 batteries. His PhD thesis, supervised by Benny Freeman at the University of Texas at Austin, focused on molecular transport through microporous and dense polymeric membranes, with a particular emphasis on membranes for water purification. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines where his research, supervised by Drs. Thomas McKinnon and Andrew Herring, focused on employing molecular beam mass spectrometry to characterize aromatic hydrocarbon formation during pyrolysis of cellulosic chars. 

Hyo Won Kim
B.S. Hanyang University, 2009
M.S. Hanyang University, 2011
Ph.D Hanyang University, 2014
E: khw0605(at)berkeley.edu

Hyo Won received his B.S. and M.S. from the Chemical Engineering Department at Hanyang University in Seoul, and his Ph.D. from the Energy Engineering Department at the same institution under the guidance of Prof. Ho Bum Park.  His research experience spans multiple areas of materials synthesis and characterization research.

Youngsang Kim
B.S. Hanyang University, 2007
M.S. Hanyang University, 2009
Ph.D University of Konstanz, 2012
E: youngsangkim(at)lbl.gov
LinkedIn

Youngsang is working on a joint project with Dr. Jeff Urban and Dr. Robert Kostecki as a member of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP). His research interests includes photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide as well as charge transport and thermoelectric energy conversions at nanoscales.

Colin Burke
NASA NSTRF Fellow
4th year graduate student
B.Ch.E. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 2013
E: colin.m.burke(at)berkeley.edu
LinkedIn and Google Scholar

Colin studies fundamental electrochemical challenges in the lithium-oxygen battery. He completed undergraduate research in graphene oxide/polymer nanocomposites with Professor Cate Brinson and Research Professor Karl Putz at Northwestern University.

Meron Tesfaye
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
4th year graduate student
B.S. University of Maryland, College Park, 2013
E: mtesfaye(at)berkeley.edu

Meron is currently working in Adam Weber's Lab at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and is shadow advised by Bryan. Her work focuses on understanding transport resistances of the catalyst layer for fuel cell application. She is currently working on gas transport through ultra-thin nafion membranes and effect of humidity. Her past research experience includes hydrogen production of algae, TiO2 thin films for solar applications, and process optimization in plasticizer synthesis. Meron enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing volleyball, watching documentaries, biking and reading.

Jessica Nichols
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
4th year graduate student
B.S. Arizona State University, 2013
E: jessicanichols(at)berkeley.edu
LinkedIn and Google Scholar

In her undergraduate research, Jessica studied dynamic headspace vapor collection for the analysis of fire debris and pyrolysis products at the NIST Boulder Laboratories. Her current research projects focus on the chemistry of sodium-air batteries and on the corrosion processes affecting magnesium and aluminum in aqueous systems, particularly negative difference effects. In her free time, Jessica enjoys singing, bicycling, writing, and attending concerts.

Sara Renfrew
NDSEG Fellow
4th year graduate student
B.S. Caltech, 2011
E: renfrew(at)berkeley.edu

Prior to coming to Berkeley in 2013, Sara worked on li-ion batteries, organic dielectrics, and DNA electrochemistry.

Kyle Diederichsen
3rd year graduate student
B.S. University of Colorado, Boulder, 2014
E: kyled(at)berkeley.edu

Kyle Diederichsen graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering in 2014 and joined the lab in the fall of that year. In the past he has studied graphene growth on copper substrates at NIST in Boulder, spray dried dispersions with Bend Research in Oregon and block copolymer self-assembly in thin films with Mark Stoykovich at CU Boulder. His current research focuses on polysulfone based polymer electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries.

Peter Dudenas
3rd year graduate student
B.S. Penn State, 2014
E: pete.dudenas(at)berkeley.edu

Pete is a part of Adam Weber's laboratory at LBNL and is shadow advised by Bryan.

Eddy Zaia
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
3rd year graduate student
B.S. Columbia University, 2012
E: ezaia(at)berkeley.edu
LinkedIn and Google Scholar

Eddy is a graduate student in Jeff Urban's lab at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and is shadow advised by Bryan. He is currently investigating hybrid inorganic-organic nanomaterials for thermoelectric applications. Prior to coming to Berkeley, Eddy has worked on a dendrimer-based platform for siRNA drug delivery, angiogenic bio-nanomaterials, and process development for direct CO2-to-biofuel production.

Erin Creel
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
4th year graduate student, Chemistry Department
B.S. Sewanee-The University of the South, 2013
E: erin.creel(at)berkeley.edu
LinkedIn

Erin is interested in using nanocrystals for surface-plasmon-enhanced solar fuel generation.

Keren Zhang
Senior, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Alan C. Luntz
Visiting Scholar
B.S. Northwestern
Ph.D. UC, Berkeley
E: acluntz(at)slac.stanford.edu
 

Hilda Buss (PhD, 2017)
Thesis title: "Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of Functional Materials for Battery Electrolyte and Marine Antifouling Applications"
Current Position: Dow Chemical
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
LinkedIn

Francis Richey (Postdoc, 2014-2015)
Current employer: EOS Energy Storage 

Sophia Chan (BS, 2015-2017)
Current position: PhD student at Columbia U. Chemical Engineering
NSF Graduate Research Fellow (starting fall 2017)

Christopher Dekmezian (BS, 2014-2016)
Current position: Engineer at QuantumScape

Jakob Asenbauer (Visiting Scholar, 2016)
Current Position: University of Regensburg Graduate Student

Howie Nguyen (Amgen Summer Scholar, 2016)
Current position: Georgetown undergraduate

Charles Wan (Amgen Summer Scholar, 2015)
Current position: Cornell undergraduate

Jia Ji Lin (Amgen Summer Scholar, 2014)
Current position: NYU undergraduate