Principal Investigator
Andrej Lenert
Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering
Ph.D., MIT, 2014
S.M., MIT, 2010
B.S.Eng., University of Iowa, 2008
alenert@umich.edu
NCRC Building 28, 2046
Bio: Andrej Lenert is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan. His interests lie at the intersection of heat and mass transfer, optics, and nanomaterials. He completed his PhD at MIT in 2014, under the supervision of Evelyn Wang. He was then a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan, working with the Nanoscale Transport Lab and the Center for Photonic and Multiscale Nanomaterials. In 2016, he was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list in Science for his contributions to the field of thermophotovoltaics (TPVs). This work on TPVs was also cited as one of the “10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2017” by the MIT Tech Review. Andrej also received the MIT Energy Initiative Fellowship, the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, the Martin Family Fellowship for Sustainability, and was a session organizer at the 2017 National Academies of Sciences, Medicine and Engineering US-Arab Frontiers Symposium.
Post Doctoral Researchers
Venkata Yarlagadda
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Kansas
M.S.E., Chemical Engineering, University of Kansas
B.Tech., Chemical Engineering, Osmania University
raviteja@umich.edu
Venkata’s research focuses on developing and applying in-situ electrochemical diagnostics to understand the performance of low-Pt electrodes and identify their key limiting factors. This work is done in collaboration with General Motors (GM) Fuel Cell Lab in Pontiac, MI.
Graduate Students
Zachary Berquist
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University
zjber@umich.edu
Zach’s current research is on optimizing the physical and optical properties of silica aerogels for use as an insulator in high-temperature systems.
Tobias Burger
M.S.E., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan
B.S., Chemical Engineering, New Mexico Tech.
tobiasbu@umich.edu
Tobias is currently working to simulate a thin film TPV system in order to predict and optimize theoretical conversion efficiency. He is also working to fabricate thin-film devices.
Alexander Hill
M.S.E., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan
B.S., Chemistry, University of Denver
hillalex@umich.edu
As part of a co-advisement with Dr. Lenert and Dr. Johannes Schwank, Alex is investigating thermal and photo co-catalysts for environmental remediation.
Hannah Kim
M.S.E., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Columbia University + B.A., Chemistry, Colorado College
hanmkim@umich.edu
Hannah’s research aims to develop selectively transparent and thermally resistive materials for application in passive radiative cooling.
Bosun Roy–Layinde
B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Lagos
roybosun@umich.edu
Bosun’s work focuses on developing methods of enhancing the efficiency of thermophotovoltaic devices.
Sean McSherry
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Lafayette College
mcsherry@umich.edu
Sean is currently investigating radiative energy transfer in 2-dimensional hyperbolic metamaterials.
Undergraduate Students
Vinod K. Raman
vkraman@umich.edu
Vinod is a senior studying chemical engineering at the University of Michigan. He is studying multi-junction TPVs.
Kevin Turaczy
kturaczy@umich.edu
Kevin is a senior studying chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, with a concentration in energy systems engineering. He is studying optical and thermal properties of silica aerogels.
Past Members (Alumni)
MASTERS
Ziting Fan, M.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2019.
Krutarth Dhananjay Jhaveri, M.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2018. (Currently at Rocky Mountain Institute – Advanced Technologies)
Yulei Zhang, M.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2017. (Currently a PhD Student at University of Michigan)
UNDERGRADUATE
Brendon Brown, B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2020.
Apoorva Gupta, Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India.
Caroline Sempere, B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2019.
Michael Veksler, B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2019. (Currently a PhD Student at University of Michigan).
Silva Zhang, B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2019.
Brandon Woo, B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2018. (Currently at the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility)
Allison Goss, B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2018.
Alejandro Owen Aquino, Case Western Reserve University. (Currently a PhD Student at Georgia Tech).