C. Cem Taşan
POSCO Associate Professor of Metallurgy
B.Sc. M.Sc. METU/Turkey, 2005
Ph.D. Eindhoven University of Technology/Netherlands, 2010
Postdoc, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung/Germany, 2010-2012
Group leader, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung/Germany, 2012-2016
Cem started his academic journey in Ankara, in the beautiful campus of METU, moved to rainy Eindhoven for a Ph.D. degree on micro-mechanics of damage, and to classy Dusseldorf for more fun in alloy design. These days he is training to be a professional chess player, while spending his free time at MIT supervising a bunch of amazing researchers.
Kyung-Shik Kim
Postdoctoral Associate
B.Sc. Korea University/South Korea, 2016
Ph.D. Pohang University of Science and Technology/South Korea, 2021
Kyung-Shik works on defining hydrogen behavior in metals. He enjoys listening to music, reading, and jogging.
Julian Rackwitz
Postdoctoral Associate
B.Sc., M.Sc. in Engineering Science, Technical University of Berlin/Germany, 2020
Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2025
Julian works on novel approaches to characterize the damping and fatigue properties of alloys. His goal is to design a high-strength high-damping steel. He centers his day around coffee and loves exploring different cultures.
Minseo Koo
Visiting Researcher
Ph. D. in Material Engineering and Quantum Science, Ibaraki University/Japan
Senior researcher, POSCO Technical Research Laboratory/Korea
I’m studying the effect of microstructural differences on the deformation behavior and hydrogen embrittlement. I enjoy golf, video games, and experiencing various cultures and nature.
Mingwei Xu
Graduate Student
B.Sc. in Engineering Science, Case Western Reserve University/USA, 2022
Mingwei works on hybrid additive manufacturing. He spends his spare time cooking, jogging, and playing video games. Fun fact: he is left-handed, but he uses his right hand for writing.
Parth Khandelwal
Graduate Student
B.Tech. in Materials Science, IIT Kharagput/India, 2021
Parth is focusing on designing better hydrogen impermeable stainless steel and high entropy alloys. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, meditation, and travel for new experiences.
Abhi Sharda
Graduate Student
B.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2023
Abhi is primarily focused on increasing the sustainability of current manufacturing processes and finding new avenues to recycle metals. He is an amateur jeweler/silversmith and loves any DIY project that involves working with his hands (and power tools).
Alex Wang
Graduate Student
B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia/USA, 2023
Alex is studying thermomechanical fatigue of advanced transistor packaging. He loves hiking, video games, climbing, biking, Formula 1, and parkour.
Berk Soykan
Graduate Student
B.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University/USA, 2023
Berk is studying the effect of alloying elements and strain rate on deformation mechanisms in titanium alloys. He is also studying in-space wear and repair mechanisms for pure metals and alloys. When not coming up with silly rhymes, he spends his free time playing double bass, hiking, and making drawings of trees.
Can Okuyucu
Graduate Student
B.Sc. M.Sc. Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, METU/Turkey, 2023
A.A. Philosophy, Anadolu University/Turkey, 2022
Can’s research focuses on electron microscopy-, atom probe tomography-, and synchrotron-based advanced in-situ characterization of metals to reveal the hidden nature of mechanistic mechanisms behind structure-property relationships to develop high-throughput characterization routes for navy hulls, the steel industry, and more. Can likes philosophical and scientific discussions, nature, camping, bushcraft, photography, writing, music and fine arts.
You-Na Lee
Graduate Student
B.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University/South Korea, 2023
You Na is investigating high entropy alloy design for high temperature environments. When she’s not immersed in her scientific pursuits, she travels off on adventures, works out, scribbles drawings, sings, and eagerly picks up new skills!
Minho Yun
Graduate Student
B.Sc. M.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University/South Korea, 2023
Minho is currently focusing on revealing origin of high wear resistance for spinodal copper alloys. When not working or studying, he usually plays boardgames, work out, or just take a nap.
Zhao Liang
Graduate Student
B.Sc., M.Sc. in Materials Science & Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology/Israel, 2024
Liang is working on introducing gradient microstructures into titanium alloys through various processing techniques, and studying their mechanics and plasticity at high temperatures. He enjoys jogging, traveling, photography, and making shapes of clay.
Ekin Senvardarli
Graduate Student
B.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University/USA, 2024
Ekin is designing high-performance steels and alloys with tunable mechanical properties. When she’s not in the lab testing these materials, she takes her cat on adventures, goes backpacking and works on projects that combine metallurgy with art.
Helena Lew-Kiedrowska
Graduate Student
B.Sc. in Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago/USA, 2025
Helena studies hydrogen behavior in metals. Outside of lab, she enjoys water sports, reading, and solving puzzles.
C. Naz Ersoz Okuyucu
Science Outreach Volunteer
B.Sc., M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering, Hacettepe University/Turkey, 2023
Naz focuses on making materials science engaging, accessible and exciting for young minds. She aims to make the group’s ongoing research activities comprehensible for elementary school students and develop activities that spark their curiosity. When she’s not coming up with new ideas, you might find her dancing tango, taking photos in nature, or rewatching Star Wars for the hundredth time.
Sebastian Arevalo
UROP
Sebastian is a 2nd year undergraduate majoring in Materials Science and Physics. His research focuses on the decomposition of carbides and wear mechanisms. He enjoys playing table tennis, coffee, politics, and glassblowing.
Amelia How
UROP
Amelia is a second year undergraduate majoring in materials science. Her research focuses on hydrogen embrittlement of titanium alloys. Outside of the lab, Amelia likes to crochet, eat chocolate, and hang out with her Australian Shepherd.
Roxxie Midyett
UROP
Roxxie is a second year studying in the Material Science department with an interest in metallurgy and semiconductive materials. In the lab they’re working on optimizing heat treating practices for naval steel alloys. At home, Roxxie likes to work on DIY projects and watch old scifi with their friends.
Joy Pan
UROP
Joy is a first year undergraduate majoring in mechanical engineering. Her work is centered on the analysis of a novel titanium alloy. Besides psets and research, Joy loves drawing, gaming, sleeping, and reading.
Intia Ibnah
UROP
Intia is a first-year undergraduate majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Her research focuses on finding ways to better recycle metals. She enjoys creating art in her free time, as well as playing games and reading!
Previous Members
Graduate Students
Megan Cooper
M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, 2025
Thesis: “Uncovering the link between twin-twin interactions and damage nucleation in an (α+β) Ti alloy”
Moved to: RWTH Aachen Institut für Metallkunde und Materialphysik
Shaolou Wei
Sc.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, 2022
Thesis: “Microstructural evolution and phase transformations for advanced complex concentrated alloys”
Moved to: MSE, Max Plank Institute/Germany (post-doc)
Jiyun Kang
Sc.D. in Material Science and Engineering, 2022
Thesis: “Microscopic Strain Localization and Damage in Multi-Phase Alloys”
Moved to: ME/Stanford (post-doc)
Haoxue Yan
Sc.D. in Material Science and Engineering, 2022
Thesis: “Beyond Embrittlement: In Situ Explorations of Hydrogen Effects Near Boundaries”
Moved to: MSE/Stanford (post-doc)
Menglei Jiang
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, 2021
Thesis: “High-strength transformation-induced plasticity steels with reverted interlath austenite”
Moved to: Questek (materials design engineer)
Gianluca Roscioli
Sc.D. in Material Science and Engineering, 2021
Thesis: “Failure of Martensitic Sharp Edges: A Micro-Mechanical Exploration for Design Guidelines”
Moved to: RazorSharp (CEO)
Jackie Cho
Ph.D. in Material Science and Engineering, 2021
Thesis: “Design of Superelastic Secondary Phase Toughened Alloys”
Tim Fountain
M.S. in Material Science and Engineering, 2021
Thesis: “The Effect of Co on the Response of Fe-Mn Alloys”
Moved to: US Navy
Maria Ronchi
M.S. in Material Science and Engineering, 2021
Thesis: “Hydrogen-Induced Transformations in Metastable High Entropy Alloys”
Moved to: Form Energy, Inc. (R&D scientist)
Benjamin Cameron
Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, 2021
Thesis: “Expanding the limits of in-situ mechanical tests using data analytics and continuum mechanics”
Moved to: ME/University of Southampton/UK (lecturer)
Matej Repka
MEng. MIT/Imperial College Joint Program, 2020
Thesis: “Cutting edge research – corrosion effect on shaving blade degradation”
Moved to: Framatome Controls/Slovkia (nuclear instrumentation design engineer)
Rebecca Wang
MEng. MIT/Oxford Joint Program, 2018
Thesis: “Pop-in and op-out behaviour of superelastic TiNi nanoprecipitates”
Moved to: Jane Street/UK (business development specialist)
Postdoctoral Scholars
Sheng Huang
Topic: Mitigation of hydrogen embrittlement via surface treatment
Onur Güvenç
Topic: Sustainable metal processing
Michela Geri
Topic: Chemo-mechanics of solid state batteries and hydrogen embrittlement in alloys
Moved to: Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science/Duke University (assistant professor)
Prafull Pandey
Topic: Design new superplastic-nano-phase toughened steels and resettable high entropy alloys
Moved to: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Gandhinagar (assistant professor)
Felicity Worsnop
Topic: Micromechanics and hydrogen effects in alloys
Moved to: Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung, Germany (Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship)
Hyunseok Oh
Topic: Alloy design and short range order effects
Moved to: MSE/University of Wisconsin Madison (assistant professor)
Jinwoo Kim
Topic: Microstructural change and mechanical behavior of materials in hydrogen environment
Moved to: KIST/South Korea (senior research scientist)
Mohadeseh Taheri-Mousavi
Topic: Hydrogen embrittlement, MD simulations, gradient structures
Moved to: MSE/Carnegie Mellon University (assistant professor)
Atieh Moridi
Topic: Surface engineering, Additive manufacturing, Carbon nanomaterials.
Moved to: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering/Cornell University (assistant professor)
Emeric Plancher
Topic: EBSD, ECCI, DIC, Crystal plasticity, multi-field mapping, in-situ micro-mechanical testing.
Moved to: Constellium C-TEC/France (R&D engineer)
Visiting Scholars
Visiting Scientists
Isao Arai
Visiting Scientist
BSc. Tokyo Institute of Technology/Japan, 2007
MSc. University of Tokyo/Japan, 2009
Daixiu Wei
Visiting Researcher
Assistant professor, Tohoku University/Japan, 2016
PhD. Tohoku University/Japan, 2016 Topic: Cobalt alloys for biomedical applications.
Zhiyuan Liang
Visiting Researcher
Hong Kong University
PhD. The University of Hong Kong/China, 2016
Topic: Deformation mechanisms in advanced high strength steels, small-scale mechanics.
Zhiyong Liu
Visiting Researcher
Associate Professor, USTB/China, 2012
Topic: Corrosion initiation, nano scale corrosion-deformation co-play, EBSD, ECCI, TEM, APT.
Meimei Wang
Visiting Researcher
Max Plank Institute MPIE
PhD. Max-Planck Institut fur Eisenforschung/Germany, 2016
Topic: Metastable steel design, mechanically-induced martensitic transformation, calphad based modelling, EBSD, TEM.
Jiali Zhang
Visiting Researcher
Max Plank Institute MPIE
PhD. Max-Planck Institut fur Eisenforschung/Germany, 2016
Topic: Self-healing alloy design, cracks microstructure interactions, recrystallization, ECCI, EBSD, TEM.
Visiting Graduate Students
Sigurd Bjerkhaug
Visiting Graduate Student
Imperial College London/UK
MEng. MIT/Imperial College Joint Program, 2023
Casper Mornout
Visiting Graduate Student
Eindhoven University of Technology/Netherlands
B.S. and M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology/Netherlands, 2023
Gaoming Zhu
Visiting Graduate Student
Shanghai Jiao Tong University/China
B.S. and M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology/China, 2016
Decheng Kong
Visiting Graduate Student
University of Science and Technology Beijing/China
B.S. and M.S., University of Science and Technology Beijing/China 2017
Ikuho Nakahata
Visiting Graduate Student
Tokyo Institute of Technology/Japan
BE. Tokyo Institute of Technology/Japan 2018
Federico Lucchini
Visiting Graduate Student
Politecnico di Milano/Italy
BSc. Politecnico di Milano/Italy
Topic: SLM multi-material graded samples.
Riccardo Rossi
Politecnico di Milano/Italy
BSc. Politecnico di Milano/Italy
Topic: SLM multi-material graded samples.
Feng He
Visiting Graduate Student
City University of Hong Kong
BSc, MSc, Northwestern Polytechnical University/China, 2016
Topic: High entropy alloys, phase transformation, TEM.
Shao-Shi Rui
Visiting Graduate Student
BSc. University of Science and Technology Beijing/China, 2014
Topic: EBSD misorientation mapping, crystal plasticity characterization, metallic failure analysis, fatigue and creep.
Ke Qu
Visiting Graduate Student
Lanzhou University/China
BSc. Lanzhou University/China, 2013
Topic: Nanomanipulation and nanofabrication, nanowelding, in-situ SEM/TEM.
Tomoki Mizoguchi
Visiting Graduate Student
Kyushu University/Japan
BSc. Kyushu University/Japan, 2016
Topic: Fatigue crack propagation, In-situ SEM, Hydrogen embrittlement, EBSD, FIB.
Teachers
Stacy-Michelle Reid (Weybrant)
Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program at the MIT MRSEC
BSE Arizona State University, Construction, 1999
MEd Northeastern University, Boston, MA 2010
Chemistry & Environmental Science Teacher, Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Boston MA
Topic: Materials testing curriculum for high school students.
UROP/IROP/Interns
Pablo Hu
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Max Xu
UROP
BSc. Mathematics MIT
Rin Desikan
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Felipe Abreu
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Rachel Mohammed
UROP
BSc. MechE MIT
Zoma Tessema
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Vaibhavi Addala
UROP
BSc. AeroAstro MIT
Corinne De La Mora
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Sierra Green
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Kirmina Monir
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Nicole Schmidt
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Sandra Youssef
UROP
BSc. MechE MIT
Gillian Roeder
UROP / CSS Scholar
BSc. MechE MIT
Mario Ibrahim
UROP
BSc. MechE MIT
Maria Aguiar
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Judy Dau
Visiting Undergraduate Student
B.Sc., Chemical Engineering, Drexel University/USA
Nathaniel Glover
Visiting Undergraduate Student
B.Sc., Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona/USA
Keith Horne
Visiting Undergraduate Student
B.Sc., Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona/USA
Rebecca Lizarde
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Dennis Gastel
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Surya Sakhamuri
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Arthur Hu
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Yash Dwivedi
IROP
MEng., Materials Science and Engineering, Imperial College London/UK
Nyssa Miller
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Lauryn Kortman
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Jasmine Yang
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Sergio Arenas
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Raima Mahmud
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Lucas Marden
UROP
BSc. DMSE MIT
Killian Sheriff
Intern Undergraduate Student
BSc. McGill University/Canada
Sabrina Hernandez
UROP
BSc. MIT, DMSE
Topic: Advanced Co-based alloys.
Ella V. Richards
UROP
BSc. MIT, DMSE
Topic: The effect of grain size on hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of nickel.
Nisal Ovitigala
UROP
BSc. MIT, MechE
Topic: Effective shearing of metals.
Maxim Vreeswijk
IROP
MEng. Imperial College London, 2019
Topic: In-situ characterisation of damage mechanisms.
Jacqueline Ahrens
UROP
BSc. MIT
Topic: Resetting pearlitic steel.
Matt Coupin
UROP
BSc. MIT
Topic: Steel forming limit.
Sophia Kioulaphides
UROP
BSc. MIT, DMSE
Topic: Design of self-healing alloys.
Gabriel M Scimeme
UROP
BSc. MIT, DME
Topic: Sheet metal deformations in complex strain path, in-situ micro-mechanical testing.
Anshul Kamboj
Intern Undergraduate Student
BSc.Tech-Indian Institute of Technology
Topic: Coatings to prevent Hydrogen Embrittlement.
Felipe Radovitzky
UROP
BSc. MIT, DME
Topic: Gradient materials.
Marol Escajeda
UROP
BSc. MIT, DME
Topic: Design of self-healing alloys.
Felipe de Quesada
UROP
BSc. MIT, DMSE
Topic: Crack propagation through martensitic boundaries.
Chen Wang
UROP
BSc. MIT, DMSE
Topic: Ag decoration for hydrogen mapping
Robin de Meyere
IROP
MSc. Imperial College London/U.K.
Topic: Mechanical behavior of crumpled Al foils
Qilong Cheng
Intern BSc. Student
BSc. Tsinghua University/China
Topic: Design of in-situ micro-deformation stages.
High School Interns
Jaehoon Kim
High School Student
Topic: reformability of Ti alloys
Jessica Lin
High School Student
Topic: surface wear of metals
Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Each member of our team had different personal journeys that led them here, but, most of us experienced the feeling of being “the other” along the way, at some point. Being different can be tough. But we believe that it is also a gift, one that can, in a healthy environment, create opportunities for growth in numerous ways. We all work hard here to design and run beautiful and meaningful experiments and simulations. But we also do our best to create such a healthy work and social atmosphere, where all feel welcome and valued (regardless of any differences in race, ethnicity, ability, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and skin color), while being challenged to tackle the world’s most challenging scientific and engineering problems.
We understand that such statements may read well but not tell much. Curious? Just stop by in our offices for a cup of coffee, or attend a group meeting, and see for yourself 🙂