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Faculty

Navrotsky Group: TherMotU: Team Members
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Position at ASU: Professor & MotU Director

Research Interests:

Relating microscopic features of structure and bonding to macroscopic thermodynamic behavior in minerals, ceramics, and other complex materials.

Contact Email: Alexandra.Navrotsky@asu.edu

Country of Origin: USA

Fun Fact: I like to take in rescue-dogs and I have a mineral named after me, Navrotskyite

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Position at ASU: Assistant Research Professor

Research Interest(s): Thermodynamics of bulk and nano non oxides (chalcogenides, alloys, arsenides, etc...)

Contact Email: klilova@asu.edu

Country of Origin: Bulgaria

Fun Fact: I have been a gamer for over 30 years and playing is still an important part of my life.  

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Position at ASU: Associate Research Professor

Research Interest(s): Structure and thermodynamics of refractory oxides, carbides and nitrides above 1500 °C using levitation techniques and high temperature diffraction.

Contact Email: sushakov@asu.edu

Country of Origin: Russia

Postdocs

This is your Team section introductory paragraph. Utilize this space to introduce your team and what makes it so special, such as your culture and work philosophy. Don’t be afraid to illustrate personality and character to help users connect with your team.

Navrotsky Group: TherMotU: Team Members
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BENJAMIN BRUGMAN

Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Scholar

Research Interest(s): Strength and deformation behavior of solids, high pressure crystallography, materials at extreme conditions, mineralogy and mineral physics.

Contact Email: bbrugman@asu.edu

Country of Origin: United States

Fun Fact: I am an amateur confectioner!

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Meghan Guild

Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Scholar

Research Interest(s): I am a geochemist, experimentalist, petrologist, and thermodynamicist. I use a variety of analytical and modeling tools to learn more about the chemistry of planetary bodies.

Contact Email: meghan.guild@asu.edu

Country of Origin: USA

Fun Fact

Yifeng Han

Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Scholar

Research Interest(s): Han's research is focused on the study of new inorganic multifunctional materials under high pressure.

Contact Email: YifengHan@asu.edu

Country of Origin: China

 

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Manuel SCHARRER

Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Scholar

Research Interest(s): Using petrography, geochemistry, synthesis, thermodynamic data acquisition and extensive thermodynamic modeling to develop/refine formation models of ore deposits while considering both, physical and temporal aspects.

Contact Email: mscharre@asu.edu

Country of origin: Germany

Fun fact: I lived two thirds of my life in Taiwan and Thailand

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Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Scholar

Research Interests: Synthesis, stability, and order-disorder energetics of oxide materials with fluorite, spinel, perovskite, rock salt related structures using high temperature oxide melt drop solution calorimetry.

Contact Email: tsubram2@asu.edu

Country of Origin: India

Fun Fact: Cooking and sharing food, tea enthusiast

School LIbrary

PhD Candidates

Navrotsky Group: TherMotU: Team Members
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GERSON LEONEL

Position at ASU: PhD Candidate

Research Interests: Development of predictive framework for structure-stability relations and thermodynamic stabilization in carbon-containing hybrid materials: Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) and Polymer-Derived Ceramics (PDCs)

Contact Email: gleonel@asu.edu

Country of Origin: Mozambique

Fun Fact: I can eat an entire pint of ben and jerry's ice cream in 4 minutes and 52 seconds.

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LAURA BONATTI

Position at ASU: Ph.D. Candidate

Research Interests: Transition metal nitrides and fast-scanning calorimetry for small amounts of samples.

Contact Email: laura.bonatti@asu.edu

Country of Origin: Brazil 

Fun Fact: I enjoy sports (especially rowing, tennis, and team handball).

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MICHAEL BUSTAMANTE

Position at ASU: PhD Candidate

Research Interests: Studying the energetics of silicon-based polymer-derived ceramics, phase stability, and the thermodynamics of organic/inorganic polymer blends and their relation to smart material properties and development.

Contact Email: mebusta3@asu.edu

Country of Origin: I am originally from South America (Venezuela, been here in the United States for about 16 years)

Fun Fact: I paint and draw in my free time. (I am not very good, but it is entertaining lol)

TULLIO GERACI

Position at ASU: Ph.D. Candidate

Research Interests: Tullio has conducted research in the past on plant-based polymers, high energy chemical-based radiation detectors, inorganic phosphors, and sulfur isotope fractionation. He is currently working with Alexandra Navrotsky on sodium battery materials.

Contact Email: tgeraci@asu.edu

Country of Origin: USA 

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MEGAN HOUSEHOLDER

Position at ASU: PhD Candidate 

Research Interests: Megan got her B.S. in Physics and her Master's in Nanoscience, and is now pursuing her Astrophysics PhD at SESE (School of Earth and Space Exploration). Her research interests include the first condensates of the solar nebula as well as exoplanet atmospheres, with an emphasis on surface energies and nucleation, and the need for more experimental work in the field of cosmochemistry.

Contact Email: mhouseho@asu.edu

Country of Origin: USA

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GODWIN ABANGA

Position at ASU: Grad Research Assistant

Research Interests: I'm interested in applying high-temperature reaction calorimetry to investigate the thermochemical effects of metal ions in high-temperature oxides for energy storage applications.

Contact Email: gagbanga@asu.edu

Country of Origin: Ghana

Fun Fact: The oceans produce the majority of the oxygen on Earth.

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Master Students 

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William Kanitz

Position at ASU: Masters student in Materials Science and Engineering

Research Interests: Thermodynamics of cathode materials (this is what my thesis is on), Materials of the Universe, and Space

Contact Email:  wkanitz@asu.edu or kanitzbill@gmail.com

Country of Origin: United States. and to be more specific if you'd like, you can put Cincinnati, Ohio

Fun Fact: I am SCUBA certified!

Undergraduates

KHUSHI PANDEY

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Position at ASU: Undergraduate Researcher

Research Interests: Heterogeneous catalysts

Contact Email: lttillma@asu.edu

Country of Origin: Taiwan

Fun Fact: I am a student leader at Fulton Ambassadors

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Ved Dhola

Position at ASU: Website and computer assistant

Contact Email: vdhola@asu.edu

Country of Origin: India

Fun Fact: I like to play basketball and soccer. I read a lot of books as well.

Navrotsky Group: TherMotU: Team Members

PAST MEMBERS

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Sourish Murthy

JAYANTHI KUMAR

Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Scholar

Research Interests: Inorganic material synthesis, Layered battery materials, Layered double hydroxides, Solid-state Chemistry, Crystal structure refinement, Room temperature and high-temperature calorimetry

Contact Email: jkumar14@asu.edu

Country of Origin: India

Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Scholar

Research Interests: K.J. received his B.S. degree in Corrosion Engineering at the University of Akron in Akron, OH. He then completed his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia with a thesis on the hot corrosion of Ni- and Co-base alloys by mixed sulfate deposits. His interests include thermochemistry, high temperature corrosion/material-environment interactions, and the use of CALPHAD tools to understand high temperature chemical processes.

Contact Email: kmeisne1@asu.edu

Country of Origin: USA

Fun Fact: In his spare time he enjoys nature photography and reading science fiction novels.

LANGSTON TILLMAN

Position at ASU: Undergraduate Researcher

Research Interests: Heterogeneous catalysts

Contact Email: lttillma@asu.edu

Country of Origin: Taiwan

Fun Fact: I am the president of Chess Club @ ASU

IVAN MATYUSHOV

Position at ASU: Undergraduate Researcher

Research Interests: Acoustic Levitation and Pirani furnace

Contact Email: imatyush@asu.edu

Country of Origin: USA

SHUHAO YANG

Position at ASU: Visiting researcher (Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis)

Research Interests: Thermodynamics of non-oxide rare earth materials

Contact Email: syang210@asu.edu

Country of Origin: China

ALBERT VOSKANYAN

Sourish Murthy

Position at ASU: Web Developer

Contact Email: vmurthy2@asu.edu

Country of Origin: India

KJ MEISNER

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NICHOLAS TO

Position at ASU: Undergraduate Researcher

Research Interests: Acoustic Levitation

Contact Email: nichola3@asu.edu

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