Post Doctoral Reserachers
Haitao Yu
Post Doctoral Researcher
haitaoy1@uci.edu
Dr. Haitao Yu is a postdoctoral scholar who is working on ultrastructural analyses of beetle and chitin templated iron oxide growth. He received his Ph.D. at the School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University and his research topics were molecular design of heterogeneous catalyst with varied morphology, polymer synthesis, and supramolecular self-assembly of organic molecular cage.
He enjoys reading papers and cooking.
Valentina Perricone
Post Doctoral Researcher
vperrico@uci.edu
Valentina Perricone is a marine biologist and postdoctoral scholar in Biomimetics and Nanostructured Materials Lab. Her research topics regard marine ecology, functional morphology and biomimetics. She recieved her Master’s degree in “Marine Biology” at the Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy, and a PhD in “Environment, Design and Innovation” at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Aversa, Italy.
Her personal interests include nature, technology, scuba diving, snorkeling, kickboxing, and oil painting.
Graduate Reserachers
Taige Hao
5th Year Graduate Researcher
taigeh3@uci.edu
Taige is a 5rd year PhD student in the Materials and Manufacturing Technology program. He graduated in 2020 from the UCSD with a degree in Nanoengineering. During his undergraduate, he worked in the Xu Lab on stretchable and flexible electronics for biosensing devices. Currently, he is focused on bio-inspired impact resistant coatings inspired by the nanocomposite coating found on the dactyl club of the peacock mantis shrimp.
His hobbies include working on electronics, cars, audio devices. He aspires to install a working claw machine in the lab one day.
Derek Lublin
4th Year Graduate Researcher
dlublin@uci.edu
Derek is a 4th year PhD student in the Materials and Manufacturing Technology program. He has industry and research experience in developing novel photopolymers for additive manufacturing applications. Currently, he is working on a collaborative project with a medical device manufacturer to formulate naturally derived resins and to investigate their multiscale structure-property relationships.
He very much enjoys taking care of his cats at home.
Ezra Sarmiento
3rd Year Graduate Researcher
eosarmie@uci.edu
Ezra is currently a 3rd year Ph.D. student in the Materials Science and Engineering program. He currently investigates the biomineralization of iron oxide and calcium phosphate in the teeth of C. articulatus. He has a degree in MSE from the University of California, Irvine and worked in the BNM lab fabricating helicoidal composites inspired by the architecture found in mantis shrimp dactyl clubs. Currently, he is also the Outreach Coordinator for the MSE Graduate Student Association at UCI.
He has seen over 300 anime series and his go-to karaoke song is “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls
Andrew Nguyen
3rd Year Graduate Researcher
andren16@uci.edu
Andrew is a 3rd year student in the Materials and Manufacturing program. He specializes in composites fabrication and structural materials and is now involved in investigating how the peacock mantis shrimp can biologically inspire the implementation of helicoidal architectures in carbon fiber-reinforced composites, capable of outperforming current military mortar baseplate technology.
Aside from being in the lab, his favorite pastimes include playing tennis and grilling. He aspires to be a “grill master” following the footsteps of his childhood hero, Hank Hill.
Chao Hsuan (Joseph) Sung
3rd Year Graduate Researcher
chaohsus@uci.edu
Chao Hsuan (Joseph) Sung is a 3rd year Ph.D. student. He is currently working on the CFIRE project which involves understanding the extraction of transition metals using biofilms. He has been working in Dr. David Kisailus’ lab since senior year of his undergraduate career.
He is an avid fitness enthusiast and aspiring bodybuilder. When he isn’t working out his brain in the lab or working out his body in the weight room, Joseph enjoys going on drives, watching tv shows/movies, and trying new activities with his friends (new restaurants, bowling, golfing…etc.).
Adrian Ornelias
2nd Year Graduate Researcher
afornela@uci.edu
Adrian Ornelas is a 2nd year PhD Student in the Materials Science and Engineering program. He currently investigates the Diabolical Ironclad beetle’s mechanical properties and their nano and micro architectures. He received his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from UCI in 2023 and worked in the BNM lab designing lightweight drones during his undergrad. Currently, he is also the Outreach Coordinator for the MSE GSA at UCI.
He is interested in developing photographic film, molecular biology techniques, and vintage camera repair.
Herry Fang
1st Year Graduate Researcher
herryf@uci.edu
Herry is currently a 1st year Ph.D. student in the Materials Science and Engineering Program. He worked on carbon-transition-metal composite nanomaterial synthesis for use in photocatalysis and water filtration during his undergraduate degree. He is currently investigating the architecture of the Asian giant hornet stinger and the various structures that aid in its stinging process.
During the Winter months, he can be found on the mountains snowboarding. He is considering getting a cat.
Undergraduate Students
Brendan Cregan
4th Year Materials Scientist and Engineer
Bryan Yuji Gong
4th Year Materials Scientist and Engineer
Bryan is currently an undergraduate researcher working with Joseph Sung on the gas sensing project. He has experience across the aerospace and defense industry. Bryan enjoys playing video games, cooking and has recently taken up the hobby of rock climbing.
Samantha Victoria Apodaca
4th Year Ecologist and Evolutionary Biologist
Scott Duy Kiehn
4th Year Materials Scientist and Engineer
Joelene Velasco
4th Year Materials Scientist and Engineer
Timothy Dang
4th Year Materials Scientist and Engineer
Anton Penaherrera
4th Year Materials Scientist and Engineer
Nathan Cheung
3rd Year Materials Scientist and Engineer
Andy Chen
3rd Year Materials Scientist and Engineer
Faith Herlimtan
3rd Year Materials Scientist and Engineer
Jessica Lee
3rd Year Materials Scientist and Engineer
Jessica is a 3rd Materials Science & Engineering student. She is working on research with Joseph to understand the synthesis of metal oxides and the mechanisms bacteria use to extract them from gypsum rock. In her free time, she enjoys practicing the guitar, baking, and spending time with her friends.
Mark Richta
1st Year Materials Scientist and Engineer
Mark is a 1st Year MSE
Former Members
Sivasankara Rao Ede
Post Doctoral Researcher
sede@uci.edu
Dr. Sivasankara Rao Ede was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Biomimetics and Nanostructured Materials Lab that worked on Fuel Cell and Water Purification project. Previously, he worked as Postdoctoral Fellow at Fayetteville State University on One dimensional Perovskite oxides and hydroxides for electrocatalytic applications (April 2019 to January 2021). Siva received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Electrochemistry from the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (2018), M.Sc. from the Andhra University Organic Chemistry and B.Sc. in Chemistry & Biology from Acharya Nagarjuna University.
He also enjoys biking around the city and hiking.
Jung-Eun Lee
Post Doctoral Researcher
jungeul4@uci.edu
Dr. Jung-Eun Lee was a postdoctoral scholar who workedvahidih on chiton projects for high-resistant abrasion materials and plant projects for fire-resistant materials. Previously, she worked at the Carbon Composite Materials Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) on development of high-strength carbon fibers (July 2021 to January 2022). She received her Ph.D. at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) (August 2021) and her research topics were (1) polymer nanocomposite fibers and smart-textiles, (2) development of carbon from novel precursors (including biomaterials) and their energy storage applications, (3) high-performance carbon fibers/films.
She enjoys playing the game League of Legends, but is unable to leave the silver tier.
Taifeng Wang
Ph.D. Graduate
taifengw@uci.edu
Taifeng was a graduate student in the lab that obtained his Ph.D. in 2022. His research focused on the study of mineral formation in biological organisms and synthesis of functionalized nanoparticles inspired by nature. He now works in semiconductor manufacturing and research at Intel.
In his free time, he spends time playing with his pets.
Dr. Devis Montroni
Post-Doctoral Researcher
dmontron@uci.edu
Devis was a Post-Doc in the lab in 2021. His research focused on the study of the structure-function relationship of biogenic polysaccharide-based matrices with a successive reapplication of this knowledge on bioinspired materials. Specifically, he was interested in the biomineralization of chiton teeth (C. articulatus) and in thermal-resistant systems in plants.
Aside from science, he loved traveling, hiking, and rock climbing. Some people would say his passion for gardening leads to an excessive number of plants in his house.
Naresh Kakur
Post Doctoral Researcher
nkakur@uci.edu
Dr. Naresh Kakur was a Postdoctoral Scholar that worked on observing impact properties of bio-inspired glass/epoxy composites for wind turbine blade applications. He completed a dual degree (M.S. + Ph.D.) course in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, “Machine Design” stream at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India. This research focused on the “high strain rate studies of fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites,” which ties in nicely with the work done in the lab. He has also been a keynote speaker in conferences and has published over 40 articles in reputed peer reviewed journals.
He enjoys spending time with his wife and newborn son.
Dr. Wei Huang
Post-Doctoral Researcher
huangw16@uci.edu
Dr. Wei Huang was a Post-Doctoral researcher in Prof. David Kisailus Biomimetic and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory at the University of California, Irvine from 2019-2021. He got his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering program in University of California San Diego in 2018. His research focused on impact-resistant and structural biological materials as well as bioinspired designs of advanced materials.
He liked hiking and playing basketball
Luz Cruz
Ph.D. Candidate
luzc1@uci.edu
Luz was a Ph.D. Candidate in the lab from 2017-2021. Her research focused on the synthesis-structure-function relations of metal/metal oxide nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix for gas sensing, batteries, and water purifying membranes.
Her hobbies included hiking, eating, and petting dogs.
Additional Former Members:
- Dr. Wen Yang
- Dr. Qiurong Shi
- Dr. Suparna Das
- Dr. Robin James
- Paige Romero
- Roberto Rivera
Former Undergraduates:
- Ezra Sarmiento, current graduate student.
- Andrew Nguyen, current graduate student.
- Kyran Buggy, graduate student at UCLA.
- Jesus Vegara, works at Northrup Grumman.
- Joseph Chao, current graduate student.
- Matthew Moordian
- Taylor Tran
- Maximillian Stark
- Allen Yong Hsing
- Shivam Tiwari