Lab Members

PI/Group Leader

Dr. Bihter Padak

Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Associate Director, UCI Combustion Laboratory

bpadak@uci.edu

Ph.D. (2011), Stanford University, Energy Resources Engineering
M.S. (2007), Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Chemical Engineering
B.S. (2005), Istanbul Technical University, Chemical Engineering

Dr. Bihter Padak joined the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department at UCI in 2018 as an assistant professor. She also serves as the associate director of the UC Irvine Combustion Laboratory (UCICL) under the Advanced Power and Energy Program. Her research focuses on combustion and emission control technologies and aims to reduce the environmental impacts of combustion processes. Prior to joining UCI, she was on the Chemical Engineering faculty at University of South Carolina, associated with the SmartState Center for the Strategic Approaches to the Generation of Electricity (SAGE). She has received the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ (AIChE) 35Under35 Award in the Energy area for her contributions to the Institute and the chemical engineering profession.

Postdoctoral Researchers

Dr. Sogand Aghamohammadi
saghamoh@uci.edu
Ph.D. (2019), Sahand University of Technology, Chemical Engineering
M.S. (2013), Sahand University of Technology, Chemical Engineering
B.S. (2011), Sahand University of Technology, Chemical Engineering

Dr. Sogand Aghamohammadi is from Tabriz, Iran. She earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in Chemical Engineering from Sahand University of Technology. She was a research scholar at Columbia University in 2018, where she conducted CO oxidation experiments with gold catalysts, gaining expertise in catalyst performance. Dr. Ghandilou served as an academic staff member at Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University in 2023. She completed a postdoctoral position at Penn State University in 2024, focusing on developing liquid-phase reactors for polymer upcycling to promote sustainability. Currently, her research at UC Irvine involves fabricating and evaluating core-shell catalysts for the Chemical Looping with Oxygen Uncoupling (CLOU) process to improve environmental efficiency. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and cooking.

Graduate Students

Zoey (Ferman) Baskerville-Bridges
Ph.D. Candidate
zferman@uci.edu
M.S. (2023), University of California Irvine, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
B.S. (2020), California State University Long Beach, Aerospace Engineering

Zoey (Ferman) Baskerville-Bridges earned her bachelor of science degree in Aerospace Engineering from California State University Long Beach. She then came to UCI where she earned her master of science degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. with Dr. Padak. She has a background in thermal and transport systems and is currently conducting research on catalytic combustion of fuel blends.

Kaan Simsek
Ph.D. Student
ksimsek@uci.edu
M.S. (2024), Koç University, Materials Science & Engineering
B.S. (2022), Koç University, Chemical & Biological Engineering

Kaan Şimşek completed his bachelor of science degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering and master of science degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Koç University. He pursues his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in UCI with Dr. Padak. He previously worked on electrochemistry and electrochemical energy conversions and his current research in UCI Combustion Laboratory is about chemical looping combustion of fuels.

Rongxiang Fu
M.S. Student
rongxiaf@uci.edu
B.S. (2023), Southeast University, Energy & Power Engineering

Rongxiang Fu earned his bachelor of science degree in Energy and Power Engineering from Southeast University, China. He is currently pursuing his master of science degree in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Irvine under the guidance of Professor Padak.