We have a group of super-talented young researchers on our team. They are passionate about their work and are dedicated to making a difference. Check out this page to learn more about them and their research.
Post Doctorate Scholars
Astita Dubey
Astita is a postdoctoral scientist in our group. She received her PhD in Chemistry from Universität Duisburg-Essen, Germany in 2023. Her research interests lie in the development of novel photo/electro-catalysts. In our group, she is leveraging advanced high-throughput combinatorial methods and surface studies employing cutting-edge microscopic tools in conjunction with machine learning. This multifaceted approach promises to mitigate environmental challenges stemming from greenhouse gases, notably methane. Astita enjoys playing badminton and chess, and loves biking on new trails and wandering in nature.
Richard (Yu) Liu
Richard received his PhD in physics at Harvard University in 2023. His research focused on studying topological materials and strongly correlated topological materials with scanning tunneling microscope. Currently, Richard is working on developing machine learning-based automated workflows to accelerate the operation of scanning probe microscope and answer scientific questions that normal operations are difficult to answer. Hobbies: Richard likes building home projects based on Arduino and Raspberry Pi. He spent some free time rendering 3D images and animations in Blender. He also plays table tennis in his spare time.
Research Associates
Mani Valleti
Mani Valleti is a former PhD student of the AE-SPM team. He earned his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Gandhinagar, India, and his PhD from the Bredesen Center at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. While pursuing his doctorate, Mani worked on developing machine learning algorithms to solve physics problems. He also contributed extensively to the development of workflows for automated experiments.
PhD Students
Aditya Raghavan
Aditya received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from India. He then went on to earn his master’s degree in materials science and engineering from the University of Florida. His research at Florida focused on compositionally complex cuprate YBCO. Currently, Aditya employs a scanning probe microscope to study combinatorial materials. He then applies physics-based machine learning algorithms to analyze the experimental data.
Kamyar Barakati
Kamyar holds a Master’s degree in Physics from Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran, Iran, where he investigated charge transfer in mixed halide perovskite-based solar cells. Currently, he focuses on developing physics-based workflows for real-time image and data analysis in microscopy. Outside of the lab, Kamyar delights in playing soccer and following the sport as a fan.
Utkarsh Pratiush
Utkarsh Pratiush completed his Masters from the Indian Institute of Science. After that, he worked as an ML research engineer in industry for 2 years. His current work focuses on developing and deploying automated workflows on live instrument. In his free time, he likes to learn about geopolitics and world history.
