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Faculty
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Position at ASU: Professor & MotU Director
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Research Interests:
Relating microscopic features of structure and bonding to macroscopic thermodynamic behavior in minerals, ceramics, and other complex materials.
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Contact Email: Alexandra.Navrotsky@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: USA
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Fun Fact: I like to take in rescue-dogs and I have a mineral named after me, Navrotskyite
Position at ASU: Assistant Research Professor
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Research Interest(s): Thermodynamics of bulk and nano non oxides (chalcogenides, alloys, arsenides, etc...)
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Contact Email: klilova@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: Bulgaria
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Fun Fact: I have been a gamer for over 30 years and playing is still an important part of my life.
Position at ASU: Associate Research Professor
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Research Interest(s): Structure and thermodynamics of refractory oxides, carbides and nitrides above 1500 °C using levitation techniques and high temperature diffraction.
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Contact Email: sushakov@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: Russia
Position at ASU: Assistant Research Scientist
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Research Interests: Synthesis, stability, and order-disorder energetics of oxide materials with fluorite, spinel, perovskite, and rock salt-related structures using high-temperature oxide melt drop solution calorimetry.
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Contact Email: tsubram2@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: India
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Fun Fact: Cooking and sharing food, tea enthusiast
BENJAMIN BRUGMAN
Position at ASU: Assistant Research Professor
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Research Interest(s): Strength and deformation behavior of solids, high pressure crystallography, materials at extreme conditions, mineralogy and mineral physics.
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Contact Email: bbrugman@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: United States
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Fun Fact: I am an amateur confectioner!
Postdocs
Manuel SCHARRER
Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Scholar
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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.
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Contact Email: mscharre@asu.edu
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Country of origin: Germany
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Fun fact: I lived two thirds of my life in Taiwan and Thailand
JARED MATTEUCCI
Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Research Scholar
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Research Interests: Experimental petrology, mineralogy, crystal chemistry, fluid-rock interactions. My current research involves using high temperature calorimetry to determine thermodynamic properties of molten salt solutions for use in nuclear reactors.
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Contact Email: jmatteuc@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: United States
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Fun Fact: I am an amateur guitar player.
Ismail Agcasulu
Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Visiting Scholar
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Research Interests: Hydrometallurgy, Leaching, Bioleaching, Rare Earth Elements, Critical Metals , Recovery & Recycling
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Contact Email: iagcasul@asu.edu, ismailagcasulu@sdu.edu.tr
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Country of Origin: Turkey
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Fun Fact: I like cycling, running and camping.
Hong Yang
Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Research Scholar
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Research Interests: Earth Materials at atomic scales and high pressure; Mineralogy in the absence of O2; Materials under dynamic shock conditions; Materials for sustainability applications; Magnetic mineralogy and Paleomagnetism
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Contact Email: hyang777@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: China
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Fun Fact: I have been to 38 states in the USA. See more at link.
Mohit
Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Research Scholar
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Research Interests: He has worked extensively in the synthesis, characterization, and electronic applications of novel nanomaterials. His current research interests are aligned in the direction of understanding the intricate relationship between the structure and stability of inorganic-organic hybrid materials, focusing on the optimization of synthesis through in-situ diffraction measurements and thermodynamic stability using gas adsorption calorimetry, high-temperature solution calorimetry.
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Contact Email: mnola230@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: India
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Fun Fact: Highly selective, I indulge only in the best tunes.
PhD Students
LAURA BONATTI
Position at ASU: Ph.D. Students
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Research Interests: Transition metal nitrides and fast-scanning calorimetry for small amounts of samples.​
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Contact Email: laura.bonatti@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: Brazil
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Fun Fact: I enjoy sports (especially rowing, tennis, and team handball).
MICHAEL BUSTAMANTE
Position at ASU: Ph.D. Students
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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.
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Contact Email: mebusta3@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: I am originally from South America (Venezuela, been here in the United States for about 16 years)
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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. Students
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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.
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Contact Email: tgeraci@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: USA
MEGAN HOUSEHOLDER
Position at ASU: Ph.D. Students
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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.
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Contact Email: mhouseho@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: USA
GODWIN AGBANGA
Position at ASU: Ph.D. Students
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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.
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Contact Email: gagbanga@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: Ghana
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Fun Fact: The oceans produce the majority of the oxygen on Earth.
KATHARINE ROSE
Position at ASU: Ph.D. Students
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Research Interests: At MotU I am working with Dr. Hongwu Xu, Dr. Alexandra Navrotsky, and the Navrotsky Group to develop and characterize refractory ceramics for aerospace applications. My overarching research interests take on two paths, (1) crystallization processes (e.g., nucleation, thermodynamic stability of intermediate phases, domain size controls), and (2) how to apply these to material synthesis problems or geologic processes.
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Contact Email: kgrose2@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: USA
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Fun Fact: I am a potter and previously taught pottery.
LUTFUN NAHAR
Position at ASU: Ph.D. Students
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Research Interests: Synthesis, structure, and thermodynamics of materials (e.g. semiconductors and magnetic materials, rare earth compounds, etc…)
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Contact Email: lnahar@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: Bangladesh
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Fun Fact: I like traveling and exploring nature.
Evans Avoka
Position at ASU: Ph.D. Students
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Research Interests: I am interested in enhancing the performance of Energy Storage units by optimizing energy density, thermal stability, and other factors that affect battery performance using thermodynamic studies
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Contact Email: eavoka@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: Ghana
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Fun Fact: The true victory of science and technology is to add life to research
Ved Dhola
Position at ASU: Website and computer assistant
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Contact Email: vdhola@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: India
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Fun Fact: I like to play basketball and soccer. I read a lot of books as well.
Masters Students and Undergraduates
Blaine Aberra
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Position at ASU: Graduate Researcher
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Research Interests: Failure engineering
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Contact Email: baberra1@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: USA
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Fun Fact: I enjoy rock climbing!
IVAN MATYUSHOV
Position at ASU: Undergraduate Researcher
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Research Interests: Acoustic Levitation and Pirani furnace
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Contact Email: imatyush@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: USA
Isabella Montini
Position at ASU: Undergraduate Researcher Assistant
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Research Interests: Biochemistry
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Contact Email: imontini@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: USA
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Fun Fact: I like to participate in many sports including rock climbing, yoga, volleyball, and running!
Logan Leinbach
Position at ASU: Research Technician in the High Pressure Facility and FORCE, Chemistry Masters student
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Research Interests: High-pressure solid-state chemistry, geochemistry, and planetary science
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Contact Email: ljleinba@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: USA
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Fun Fact: I play the Irish bodhrán and clawhammer style 5-string banjo.
Anne Harrison
Position at ASU: Undergraduate research associate
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Research Interests: Nanoparticles, material science, environmental science, and technology.
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Contact Email: aharr112@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: USA
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Fun Fact: I run my own blog and I mentor troubled youth in the Phoenix area
PAST MEMBERS OF MOTU
KJ MEISNER
JAYANTHI KUMAR
Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Scholar
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Research Interests: Inorganic material synthesis, Layered battery materials, Layered double hydroxides, Solid-state Chemistry, Crystal structure refinement, Room temperature and high-temperature calorimetry
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Country of Origin: India
LANGSTON TILLMAN
Position at ASU: Undergraduate Researcher
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Research Interests: Heterogeneous catalysts
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Country of Origin: Taiwan
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Fun Fact: I am the president of Chess Club @ ASU
GERSON LEONEL
Position at ASU: PhD Candidate
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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)
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Country of Origin: Mozambique
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Fun Fact: I can eat an entire pint of ben and jerry's ice cream in 4 minutes and 52 seconds.
SHUHAO YANG
Position at ASU: Visiting researcher (Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis)
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Research Interests: Thermodynamics of non-oxide rare earth materials
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Country of Origin: China
Meghan Guild
Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Scholar
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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.
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Country of Origin: USA
Jiahong Li
Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Research Scholar
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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.
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Contact Email: jiahong.li.2@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: China
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Fun Fact: I am a detective-fiction enthusiast!
ALBERT VOSKANYAN
KEVIN MEISNER
Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Scholar
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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.
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Country of Origin: USA
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Fun Fact: In his spare time he enjoys nature photography and reading science fiction novels.
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NICHOLAS TO
Position at ASU: Undergraduate Researcher
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Research Interests: Acoustic Levitation
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KHUSHI PANDEY
Position at ASU: Undergraduate Researcher
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Research Interests: Heterogeneous catalysts
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Country of Origin: Taiwan
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Fun Fact: I am a student leader at Fulton Ambassadors
Sourish Murthy
Position at ASU: Web Developer
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Country of Origin: India
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William Kanitz
Position at ASU: Masters student in Materials Science and Engineering
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Research Interests: Thermodynamics of cathode materials (this is what my thesis is on), Materials of the Universe, and Space
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Country of Origin: United States. and to be more specific if you'd like, you can put Cincinnati, Ohio
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Fun Fact: I am SCUBA certified!
Vitaliy Goncharov
Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Research Scholar
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Contact Email: Vitaliy.Goncharov@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: Belarus
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Fun Fact: I enjoy 19th-century Russian literature.
Yifeng Han
Position at ASU: Postdoctoral Scholar
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Research Interest(s): Han's research is focused on the study of new inorganic multifunctional materials under high pressure.
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Contact Email: YifengHan@asu.edu
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Country of Origin: China
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