Team Members

Director

Carson J. Bruns Assistant Professor

I grew up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Loveland, Colorado before attending Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where I concentrated on chemistry, religion, and mathematics. After receiving a BA in 2008, I attended graduate school at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and got my PhD in Organic Chemistry in 2013 under the supervision of Professors J. Fraser Stoddart and Samuel I. Stupp. I spent three years as a Miller Research Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, where I was hosted by Matt Francis in the College of Chemistry. Currently, I am an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering with the ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Personal Website

Google Scholar

Graduate Students

Diane Jung 5th Year PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering

Diane earned her BA in physics at Willamette University in 2020 before moving to Boulder to pursue a PhD in mechanical engineering. Her past research projects include an experimental analysis and computational modeling of motor protein motility and designing and testing a prototype of a miniature microscope for three-dimensional imaging. Her current research is on designing human-robot collaboration systems in synthetic chemistry labs.

Aseem Visal 4th Year PhD Student, Materials Science & Engineering

Aseem is a graduate student in the Materials Science & Engineering program. He is from India, where he received a Bachelor of Polymer Engineering from the University of Pune in 2014. He is currently researching different applications of polyrotaxane slide-ring materials.

Joshua Coffie 2nd Year PhD Student, ATLAS Institute

Joshua is a second-year PhD student in the Emergent Nanomaterials Lab, where he works on experimental smart tattoos and pigments designed to improve everyday life. He holds a BS in Environmental Geography from West Point and a Master’s in Creative Technology and Design from the ATLAS Institute at CU Boulder. He is also a retired US Army Captain. In his free time, Joshua enjoys sailing, hockey, spending time with his family, and exploring our vast, exciting World.

Meenakshi Skandarajan 1st Year PhD Student, Biomedical Engineering

Meena graduated from CU Boulder’s Biomedical Engineering BS program and joined the Emergent Nanomaterials Lab as an undergraduate through the Discovery Learning Apprentice Program before staying on as a PhD student in 2025. She enjoys dancing in her free time and is currently developing conductive smart inks.

Undergraduate Students

Colin Watkins Undergraduate Researcher

Colin is a first-year undergraduate student majoring in Chemical Engineering. He’s a self-described fan of sci-fi and philosophy, and enjoys researching polymer and battery chemistry.

Roan Gerrald Undergraduate Researcher

Roan is a a fourth-year undergraduate studying Chemical Engineering. He is interested in the integration of technology and business, particularly in areas with a large environmental impact. He is from Seattle, and in his free time he enjoys skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and live music.

Group Alumni

**Hyejin Kwon** *Postdoctoral Researcher 2018–2021*

**Purnendu**, PhD (2018-2024) Creative Technology & Design

**Subhankar Mandal** *Postdoctoral Researcher 2023–2025*

**Jesse Butterfield**, PhD (2017–2022) Mechanical Engineering

**Karan Dikshit**, PhD (2018–2022), Materials Science & Engineering

**Kailey Shara**, PhD Candidate (2018-2023) Creative Technology & Design

Aya Ishikawa Discovery Learning Apprentice — **Aya Ishikawa** Discovery Learning Apprentice

Emily Powis Undergraduate Researcher — **Emily Powis** *Undergraduate Researcher*

Rita Kamenetskiy Undergraduate Researcher — **Rita Kamenetskiy** *Undergraduate Researcher*

Ian Stokes Undergraduate Researcher — **Ian Stokes** *Summer Undergraduate Researche*r

**Justin Hall** *Undergraduate Researcher*

**Jennifer Quigley** *Discovery Learning Apprentice*

**Neely Quirk** *Discovery Learning Apprentice*

**Jaime Wickersheim** *Summer Undergraduate Researcher*

Phillip Vo Undergraduate Researcher — **Phillip Vo** *Undergraduate Researcher*

**Aven Hart** *Discovery Learning Apprentice*

**Zoe Zeidler** *Undergraduate Researcher*

**Emma Thomure** Undergraduate Researcher

Sean Keyser MS Student — **Sean Keyser,** MS (2019)

**Caitlin Rogers** Undergraduate Researcher

Nicole Leon-Molina Undergraduate Researcher — **Nicole Leon-Molina** *Undergraduate Researcher*