Berkeley Lab

2021 UEC Election

Voting opens on December 6th for 7 new members of the Molecular Foundry UEC (4 PIs, 2 post-docs, and 1 graduate student). Please view the candidate details below by clicking on each candidate’s name and vote using the embedded ballot form at the bottom of the page. Voting will close on December 17th and results will be announced in late December.

Principal Investigator Candidates
Yuan Ping, University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Representing facilities: Theory of Nanostructured Materials
  • Personal statement: I have an active collaboration with Foundry theory facility for past two years and serve on the review panel for user proposals in the past two years. My research at UCSC has strong overlap with Foundry, and being so close in location, I can be more easily to participate in the activities in Foundry in the future. I also have active collaborations with other national labs in LLNL and ANL, which also give me some general ideas how national labs work.
  • Website: yuanping.chemistry.ucsc.edu
Beth Nowadnick, University of California, Merced
  • Representing facilities: Theory of Nanostructured Materials
  • Personal statement: I am a computational materials physicist and an assistant professor at UC Merced. Through a Molecular Foundry User Project, I have been collaborating for the past year and a half with Dr. Sinead Griffin’s group at the Theory Facility to explore electric field control of single spins in ferroelectric oxides. I am interested in serving on the UEC in order to contribute to the user community and the broader scientific activities at the Molecular Foundry.
  • Website: sites.ucmerced.edu/bnowadnick
Katherine Inzani, University of Nottingham
  • Representing facilities: Theory of Nanostructured Materials
  • Personal statement: I have enjoyed three years as a postdoc at the Molecular Foundry, and I’m now moving to start my group at the University of Nottingham whilst continuing as a Foundry User. I have contributed to the vibrant open science atmosphere of the Foundry by participating in multidisciplinary projects, taking part in the Annual User Meetings and hosting the Theory Facility Guest Seminars. I am interested in serving on the UEC to support the important mission of the User Program and to encourage international and interdisciplinary ties between experimentalists and theoreticians.
Shuai Zhang, University of Washington
  • Representing facilities: Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures
  • Personal statement: I am using the Foundry’s AFM to in-situ visualize the performance of a bacterial protein machine at molecular scale. I have solid experience of working at different user facilities, funded by DOE and NSF, and of supervising university students and national lab staffs. I am willing to serve on the UEC.
  • Website: mse.washington.edu/facultyfinder/shuai-zhang
Ngoc Bui, The University of Oklahoma
  • Representing facilities: Inorganic Nanostructures
  • Personal statement: Ngoc Bui was a postdoc in the Urban group at the Molecular Foundry from Dec. 2017 – Dec. 2019. After departing from the Foundry to pursue a career as a faculty at the University of Oklahoma, she has involved closely in user activities supporting the Inorganic Nanostructures Facility. She looks forward to opportunities to represent and serve members of the Molecular Foundry’s User community and to enrich ongoing efforts at the Foundry by joining the User Executive Committee.
  • Website: www.thebuilab.com
Professor Steven Cobb, University of Durham (UK)
  • Representing facilities: Biological Nanostructures, Organic and Macromolecular Synthesis
  • Personal statement: I have had two PhD students from my lab carry out placements via the User Program at the Foundry to work on peptoids with Ron Zuckermann. This was a great experience for them and it was fantastic to have the chance to interact with Ron and his team. I cannot recommend the Foundry User Program highly enough. I feel I have benefited from the User Program and I would welcome the opportunity to give something back to the Foundry.
  • Website: www.cobbgroupdurham.com/publications
Dahyun Oh, San Jose State University
  • Representing facilities: Inorganic Nanostructures, The National Center for Electron Microscopy
  • Personal statement: I am a faculty member at San Jose State University (SJSU), a primarily undergraduate institution as well as federally recognized minority serving institution (hispanic/asian american native american pacific islander). The benefit of being a user was tremendous in teaching next generation undergraduate or master level scholars and I would like to bring a unique perspective from PUI/MSI to build a critical bridge for diverse populations of student users at LBL.
  • Website: sites.google.com/sjsu.edu/energymaterialslab
Steven Spurgeon, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  • Representing facilities: The National Center for Electron Microscopy
  • Personal statement: My research is centered on data-driven approaches to materials design and characterization, with a particular focus on atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy. My work at the Foundry over the past several years has leveraged their advanced microscopy simulation and data processing capabilities, leading to multiple high-impact publications. I am passionate about advancing the state-of-the-art in microscopy and supporting the important role that NCEM plays in providing unique capabilities to the scientific community.
  • Website: www.stevenspurgeon.com
Jesús M. Velázquez, University of California, Davis
  • Representing facilities: Theory of Nanostructured Materials
  • Personal statement: As a UC-system PI in close proximity to LBNL who has had the great fortune of working with the Molecular Foundry through multiple supported research proposals, I have established effective communication pipelines with Foundry staff and users alike, and also have the benefit of direct feedback from undergraduate and graduate students from my group who have had involvement with Foundry activities. As a result, I believe that my participation and perspectives related to the Molecular Foundry can serve as powerful forces for supporting informed decisions on representing and improving user access to Foundry operations. Indeed, I have already served as an invited speaker for the 2021 Foundry user meeting as well as a representative for the Foundry in the recent CQ Roll Call, University of California Office of National Laboratories, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s virtual event titled Building Climate and Energy Solutions One Atom at a Time. I believe these are testaments to my commitment to advancing open dialogues between the Foundry, its users, and the broader scientific community.
  • Website: velazquezlab.ucdavis.edu
Marina Radulaski, University of California, Davis
  • Representing facilities: Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures, Nanofabrication
  • Personal statement: I do experimental research on quantum nanophotonics and have been the PI on two user grants. My student has developed silicon carbide processes in the Foundry. I would like to engage with MF more actively through membership on this committee.
  • Website: rlab.engineering.ucdavis.edu
Sumanjeet Kaur, LBNL
  • Representing facilities: Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures, Inorganic Nanostructures
  • Personal statement: I have a long history with Molecular Foundry. I was a postdoc at Foundry from 2008 to 2011 working on carbon nanotubes. After that, I was a Foundry user while working in a start-up company. During this phase I got to see the critical role Foundry played in the R&D efforts of the company. I came back to the Lab in 2016 and now I am a research scientist and group leader of the Thermal Energy Lab. Since I have applied science background, I believe that as a UEC member, I would be influential in increasing collaboration between Foundry and Industry.
  • Website: thermalenergy.lbl.gov

Post-doc Candidates
Boyce Chang, LBNL
  • Representing facilities: Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures, Nanofabrication, Inorganic Nanostructures, Organic and Macromolecular Synthesis
  • Personal statement: I’ve been a Foundry postdoc based in the Nanofabrication facility for over a year. My project involves bottom-up nanofabrication using soft materials, which is highly interdisciplinary and requires active participation in the Imaging, Inorganic and Organic facilities. This allowed me to engage with a broad range of users and staff, creating fruitful collaborations along the way. I’m very proud of the User Program at the Foundry and I would be more than happy to have the opportunity to contribute and further develop it by joining the UEC.
Whitney Loo, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago
  • Representing facilities: Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures, Nanofabrication
  • Personal statement: My name is Whitney Loo, and I am currently a postdoctoral scholar at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University Chicago and a Molecular Foundry User in the Nanofabrication and Imaging Facilities. I have been an active user of the Molecular Foundry for over five years since the start of graduate school and have thoroughly enjoyed working with the amazing staff and users of six facilities. I hope to be able to serve this rich scientific community as a member of the User Executive Committee and want to ensure that the Molecular Foundry is a welcoming community for all staff and users.
Chaochao Dun, LBNL
  • Representing facilities: Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures, Nanofabrication, Inorganic Nanostructures
  • Personal statement: I am excited to apply for memebership to join the Foundry User Executive Committee. I believe that my interdisciplinary background including experimental physics, advanced nanomaterial design/synthesis and additive manufacturing, will help to provide a channel of communication between TMF users and leadership.
  • Website: Google Scholar
Sarah Gleeson, LBNL
  • Representing facilities: Organic and Macromolecular Synthesis
  • Personal statement: I am a postdoc in Brett Helms’ group in the Organic and Macromolecular Synthesis facility at the Molecular Foundry, where I’m studying polymer assemblies at liquid interfaces. I appreciate the collaborative atmosphere at the Foundry, and am interested in serving on the UEC to foster open communication and programming that benefits a diverse user community.
Xiao Qi, LBNL
  • Representing facilities: Inorganic Nanostructures, The National Center for Electron Microscopy
  • Personal statement: I have been a user at the Molecular Foundry since 2016. My previous work includes in operando characterization of novel anode materials for energy storage application and in situ TEM study of nanoscale galvanic replacement reaction. I will be starting my new journey as a postdoc at the Foundry soon in the early 2022. As a long-term affiliate user and now, a new post-doctoral researcher, I am highly interested in serving on the UEC to give back to our broader user community and build a strong connection between users and staff at the Foundry.
Sandhya Susarla, LBNL
  • Representing facilities: The National Center for Electron Microscopy
  • Personal statement: I am a postdoc working with Dr. Peter Ercius and Prof. Ramesh Ramamoorthy at the Molecular Foundry. My main expertise is using (cryo) analytical electron microscopy techniques to understand quantum correlations. At UEC, I would be involved organizing research seminars at the Foundry. I also want to be involved in outreach activities for early career researchers where students/postdoc can be guided about the academic/non-academic job opportunities.
  • Website: LinkedIn
Katherine Sytwu, LBNL
  • Representing facilities: The National Center for Electron Microscopy
  • Personal statement: I’m a postdoc that started at the Molecular Foundry in February 2021, and I’ve been excited to learn about the wide variety of research that comes from Foundry users. My current research is on customizing and understanding machine learning methods for TEM image analysis, and my research interests include catalysis, plasmonics, and in situ experiments with technical experience in optical microscopy, nanoparticle synthesis, and nanofabrication. I’m interested in serving on the UEC to promote more interactions between Foundry users and providing a perspective on starting new at the Foundry, both remotely and locally.
Hadas Sternlicht, LBNL
  • Representing facilities: The National Center for Electron Microscopy
  • Personal statement: I am a post-doctoral researcher at the Molecular Foundry characterizing structural and chemical transformations in solid-state batteries, using a variety of electron microscopy techniques, such as 4D scanning transmission electron microscopy. I am highly interested in being a member of the Molecular Foundry User Executive Committee in order to promote successful usage of the facilities.
Aidar Kemelbay, LBNL, Nazarbayev University
  • Representing facilities: Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures, Nanofabrication, Inorganic Nanostructures
  • Personal statement: I am an incoming postdoctoral fellow starting in February 2022. In the MF I will be working on the integration of low-dimensional materials into optoelectronic devices. I am an active MF user since 2015 and will be happy to contribute to the development of the user program.
He Li, LBNL
  • Representing facilities: Organic and Macromolecular Synthesis
  • Personal statement: I am currently a second-year postdoc at the Foundry, know the ecosystem very well, and have been working in the areas of organic dielectrics and electronic devices. I would love to participate in serving on the UEC to keep on promoting a harmonious, collaborative, and multidisciplinary research environment within the Molecular Foundry.
  • Website: yiliu.lbl.gov/people/researchers
Xiaojing Xia, Current University of Washington student, future postdoc at the Molecular Foundry (start date: Jan/Feb 2022)
  • Representing facilities: Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures, Nanofabrication, Inorganic Nanostructures
  • Personal statement: I had experience submitting user proposals as an external user and would like to help more people access the Molecular Foundry. In addition, I enjoyed the 2021 Annual User Meeting and want to help organize future meetings and connect the user community.
Beihang Yu, LBNL
  • Representing facilities: Nanofabrication, Biological Nanostructures
  • Personal statement: I am currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Molecular Foundry working with Dr. Ricardo Ruiz and Dr. Ron Zuckermann. I did my PhD in Chemical Engineering at UC Santa Barbara and has been a user of the Foundry since I started my graduate school in 2016. My current research project exploits the nm-scale precision of sequence-defined biomolecular and biomimetic assemblies, and integrates them with directed self-assembly of block copolymers, aiming to achieve single-nm scale patterning over large areas. As a long-time user of the Foundry and now a Foundry postdoc, I am interested in serving on the UEC to interact with and advocate for the broad user community, and support the quality of users’ research experience at the Foundry.
Alex Lin, LBNL
  • Representing facilities: Biological Nanostructures, The National Center for Electron Microscopy
  • Personal statement: I have been a user at NCEM since 2017, and recently became a user at the Biological Nanostructures Facility. As a postdoctoral researcher the Foundry, I have worked with staff and users from different floors as well as external users from materials science and the life sciences, leading to the development of several workflows that can benefit the multidisciplinary user community. I am interested in serving on the UEC because I want to advocate for the scientific needs of current and new users, promote an inclusive environment, and support the MF in its continued leadership in team science.
Hao Chen, LBNL
  • Representing facilities: Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures, Nanofabrication
  • Personal statement: My project in LBNL is to try to resolve the active phase of catalyst: we use the facilities in MF to synthesize well-defined nano-structures and then characterize them using SEM,TEM and STM. I want to learn how to communicate with user and serve for the communities as a member of UEC.
  • Website: stm.lbl.gov/people/hao-chen
Sarah Berlinger, University of California, Berkeley
  • Representing facilities: Biological Nanostructures, The National Center for Electron Microscopy
  • Personal statement: I conducted my PhD research at LBNL studying polymer/nanoparticle interactions in fuel-cell inks. As a critical part of my research, I used the Biological Nanostructures facility and NCEM during the past three years. I recently became a postdoc at UC Berkeley, and given my incredibly positive experience working at the Foundry, I am excited to represent its users.

Graduate Student Candidates
Samra Husremovic, University of California, Berkeley
  • Representing facilities: Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures, The National Center for Electron Microscopy
  • Personal statement: For the past two years, I have been working at the Foundry on imaging two-dimensional magnetic systems using various electron microscopy techniques. Investigating materials at the atomic and nanoscopic scale has been one of the most stimulating experiences of my graduate career. This work was possible due to both the amazing mentorship that I’ve received at the Foundry and access to state-of-the-art equipment. I would like to serve on the User Executive committee to help shape the user experience at the Foundry and foster the collaborative environment that has been instrumental to my growth as a scientist.
Emma Xu, Columbia University
  • Representing facilities: Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures, Inorganic Nanostructures, Biological Nanostructures
  • Personal statement: I am a user at the Foundry and a PhD student at Columbia University. Currently I am engaged in research on the 1st, 4th and 5th floor to synthesize, characterize nanoparticles and using them for bioimaging. Because of the close collaboration and combined expertise, I was able to co-author a Nature publication, and I hope to bring similarly wonderful opportunities to other users by being on the User Executive Committee.
Chengshuang Zhou, Stanford University
  • Representing facilities: The National Center for Electron Microscopy
  • Personal statement: I’m a 4th year PhD student working on heterogeneous catalysis and employ TEM/STEM/EDS imaging heavily to characterize catalyst structure and understand catalytic behaviors. I’ve had 4 proposals at NCEM and have been constantly amazed by the staff and facilities. As I gradually become a more senior user and participant, I wish to give back to the community that has nourished me.
David Raftrey, University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Representing facilities: Nanofabrication
  • Personal statement: I am a graduate student from UC Santa Cruz working in the Molecular Foundry clean room. In my research I use nanofabrication to study the properties of magnetic materials. On the User Executive Committee I hope to apply my experience as a student from an out-of-town campus to be a resource for new users at the Molecular Foundry.
  • Website: LinkedIn
Samuel Gleason, University of California, Berkeley
  • Representing facilities: Inorganic Nanostructures, The National Center for Electron Microscopy
  • Personal statement: I work with Dr. Emory Chan to build automated synthesis and analysis pipelines for high throughout metal nanoparticle synthesis. I will also soon be joining Jim Ciston’s group to use machine learning to automate analysis of EELS spectra. My passion in research is working at the interface of data science and experimental chemistry and fostering collaborations between scientists working in these disciplines. Therefore, I am very excited by the opportunity to be a part of a group that will allow me to be more involved with the foundry leadership, thereby allowing me to further my goals of interdisciplinary research and collaboration.