PhD Students Alumni
Principal investigator
Charles M. Schroeder
James Economy Professor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
email: cms.at.illinois.edu
Coordinator of research programs
Mary Power
Mary received her BS in Family and Consumer Sciences from Illinois State University in 2002. Following several years in the non-profit sector, she came to the University of Illinois in 2013. Mary joined the Beckman Institute in March 2021 as Coordinator of Research Programs. Outside of the office, she enjoys traveling, crafting, baking, playing the piano, and spending time on the family farm.
email: mpower.at.illinois.edu
PhD Students
Jonathan Deutsch
Jonathan is studying the dynamics of GPCR proteins using single molecule techniques. His work includes the development of new methods to trap and study single molecules using the Stokes trap.
email: jcd5.at.illinois.edu
Hao (Alvin) Yang
Hao (Alvin) Yang is studying charge transport at the single molecule level. His work focuses on understanding the mechanisms behing long-range charge transport in heme-containing peptide polymers using the STM break junction method. Outside of the lab, Alvin is a coffee enthusiast who dedicated to extract the most flavorful and aromatic compound out of coffee bean.
email: haoy7.at.illinois.edu
Hung Nguyen
Hung Nguyen is studying the dynamics of polymers in flow, including the transient dynamics of linear and ring polymers under highly non-equilibrium conditions. He also works on developing new methods to trap and study single molecules in 3-dimensional flows. Outside of the lab, Hung enjoys traveling, painting, and drawing.
email: hvn2.at.illinois.edu
Seungjoo Yi
Seungjoo Yi is interested in automated chemical synthesis of organic small molecules and functional polymers. He is designing and building new libraries of organic molecules using a custom Molecule Maker instrument that enables automated synthesis of diverse compounds. Outside of the lab, he enjoys playing and watching tennis.
email: yi22.at.illinois.edu
Seongon Jang
Seongon Jang is co-advised with Prof. Christopher Evans in Materials Science and Engineering. He is interested in the design, synthesis, and characterization of mixed ion/electron conductors. His work includes the material synthesis of oligomers and polymers using automated iterative methods, in addition to materials characterization. Outside of the lab, he enjoys traveling and watching documentaries.
email: seongon2.at.illinois.edu
Sagar Chaudhary
Sagar Chaudhary’s work focuses on understanding the dynamics of colloidal particle clusters in flow using automated flow control methods. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur. For fun, he likes to play music, make videos, and occasionally play basketball or table tennis.
email: sagarc2.at.illinois.edu
Seonghwan Kim
Seonghwan Kim is interested in molecular charge transport and computational modeling of soft materials. In the Schroeder group, he is focused on design and discovery of new organic and polymeric materials using AI and molecular simulations. He received his B.S. in Physics from Seoul National University and worked at Samsung Electronics applying Bayesian optimization to semiconductor processes. He enjoys working out at the gym and likes to watch penguin pictures and videos.
email: sk77.at.illinois.edu
Rajarshi (Reeju) Samajdar
Rajarshi (Reeju) Samajdar is working on understanding single molecule charge transport in peptides, proteins, and redox-active biological molecules that could be useful for next-generation energy storage or energy transport applications. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT, formerly known as UDCT), Mumbai in 2021. Outside of lab, Reeju is a big sports fan (he supports Real Madrid in Soccer and the Indian Cricket team) and he likes to travel and explore new places.
email: rs38.at.illinois.edu
Brittany Prempin
Brittany Prempin is a PhD student in the Department of Chemistry co-advised with Prof. Jeff Moore. She received her B.S. in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry from Duke University in 2021. She is a recipient of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Outside of lab, she enjoys crafting and making Spotify playlists.
email: prempin2.at.illinois.edu
Elli Williamson
Elli is a PhD student in Biophysics and Quantitative Biology. She received her Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Biochemistry & Biophysics from Northwestern University. She is interested in the design and characterization of biomaterials. Outside of the lab, she enjoys digital painting and photographing insects.
email: efw4.at.illinois.edu
Tiara Torres-Flores
Tiara is a PhD student in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department co-advised by Prof. Ying Diao. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering with a curricular sequence in Visual Arts from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. Tiara’s work is centered around automated synthesis of small molecules and oligomers for materials discovery. Her hobbies are painting, running, and playing the ukulele.
email: tiaract2.at.illinois.edu
Jitong Ren
Jitong Ren is studying biohybrid electronics and electroactive compounds. He received his B.E. in Macromolecular Materials and Engineering from Zhejiang University in 2022. As an undergrad, Jitong had research experience in polymer synthesis and synthetic biology. Outside of the lab, Jitong is a soccer fan supporting AS Roma, Arsenal FC, and Atletico Madrid, and he also enjoys various types of music.
email: jitongr2.at.illinois.edu
Eden Li
Eden Li is working on understanding the dynamics of mixed-composition lipid vesicles in non-equilibrium conditions. He received his bachelor’s degree also from UIUC in 2023. As an undergraduate, Eden had research experience in recovery rheology. Outside of the lab, he enjoys baking, reading, arranging flowers, and playing badminton.
email: yidingl3.at.illinois.edu
Group Pictures
