Principal Investigator: Prof. Carlos Martinez
Prof. Carlos J. Martinez was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics and Electronics from the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao. He spent a year in Los Alamos National Laboratory before starting his graduate studies. He graduated in 2002 with a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he worked with Prof. Jennifer Lewis in the area of ceramic film formation. During the year following graduation, he worked on a project to study the phase evolution of colloidal gels and crystals prepared from microsphere-nanoparticle suspensions. In 2003, he received a National Research Council Postdoctoral fellowship to work with Steve Semancik in the Process Measurements Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology developing porous nanostructures for chemical sensing. He spent two years as a visiting scientist in Prof. David Weitz’s group at Harvard University. He is currently an Associate Professor at the School of Materials Engineering at Purdue University.
Current Graduate Students
Yue Zheng comes from Shanghai, China, and previously completed a bachelor’s degree in Shanghai Jiaotong University (2015-2018). She joined the group in 2019 working on a bilgewater project, studying the emulsion stability and surfactant properties. Her current work is focusing on the synthesis of phase change materials (PCMs) and surfactants with plant-based materials.
Averyonna Kimery received a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 2019. Since joining the MSE department in the fall of 2019, she has been working on fabricating porous silicon nitride structures for hypersonic RF windows. A goal of the project is to control the amount and alignment of pores to lower the dielectric constant and loss. Extrusion and pore forming agents are used to create aligned porosity. The effect of pore orientation on dielectric and mechanical properties will be studied. DRAPER funds her project. She is co-advised by Prof. Rod Trice. http://triceceramics.com
Abdullah Al Saad received a B.S. in Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) in 2017. He then received an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, in 2020. Since joining the MSE department in the fall of 2020, he has been working on the preparation and investigation of co-stabilized cubic zirconia solid solutions using various rare-earth ions to improve the emissivity of this phase for hypersonic flight applications. This project is being funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR). He is co-advised by Prof. Rod Trice. http://triceceramics.com
Matthew Thompson received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Montana State University in 2022. He started in the MSE department in the fall of 2022 working to develop ceramic-loaded slurries for digital light projection. This project is associated with PARI-HAMTC. He is co-advised by Prof. Rod Trice.
http://triceceramics.com
Liz Malek is from Dayton, Ohio and completed her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Wright State University in April 2022. Since joining the MSE department in summer of 2022, she has been working on a project developing fluorosurfactant-free fire extinguishing foam based on new siloxane-based surfactant formulations and time-released foam additives. Her focus is on encapsulated foam additives with temperature release capabilities with the goal of enhancing foam stability and minimizing degradation. She is co-advised by Prof. Jeff Youngblood.
Ronaldo Franjul was born in Passaic, New Jersey, but was raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he completed his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras. He started in the MSE department in the fall of 2022. His work consists of developing fluorosurfactant-free fire-fighting foam based on siloxane-based surfactants with controlled release of additives. He is co-advised by Prof. Jeffrey Youngblood.
Nicole Franklin received a B.S. in Chemistry and an M.S. in Applied Materials Science from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Since joining the MSE department in the fall of 2022, she has been working with PARI-HAMTC on developing additive manufacturing techniques for high temperature ceramics using digital light projection as well as the joining dissimilar materials. She is co-advised by Prof. Rodney Trice. http://triceceramics.com
Previous Students
- Brandon Wells – M.S. 2022 – Staff member at the Laurence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
- Rina Sabatello – M.S. 2021 – Master’s of Science in Cosmetic Science through the University of Cincinnati
- Dr. Daniela Betancourt – Ph.D. 2021 – Associate Scientist at Impossible Foods
- Dr. Cole Davis – Ph.D. 2021 – Materials Engineer, Munitions Analysis Branch, Specialized Munitions Division Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, (NSWC Crane)
- Dr. Alejandro Alcaraz – Ph.D. 2020 – Birck Nanotechnology Center at Purdue University
- Dr. Colton Steiner – Ph.D. 2017 – Sr. Processes Engineer at Johnson & Johnson
- Dr. Congwang Ye – Ph.D. 2016 – Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Yunze Dai – M.S. 2015
- Dr. Kathryn Shirk – Ph.D. 2012 – Associate Professor of Physiscs ,Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
- Siddharth Tripathi – M.S. 2010
Martinez Research Lab @ Purdue University 