Emergent Nanomaterials Lab

Team Members

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Director

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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 assistant professor of mechanical engineering with the ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado in Boulder. 


Professional Associates

 
 
 

Subhankar Mandal Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. Mandal obtained his PhD from Polymer Materials Lab, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, India. His research interests embrace organic chemistry, polymer science, electronics, and material science and engineering in the synthesis and characterization of tough polymeric hydrogels, wearable electronics/sensors, flexible batteries and soft actuators. After receiving his PhD, he spent a short time as a Research Associate at Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati for the development of surface modified composite and hydrogel materials for smart wearable sensors. Here in Boulder he is leading the project on microgel self-assembly. Outside of the lab he has an avocation for painting, photography, 3D art and creative design


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 3rd 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 1st-year PhD Student, ATLAS

Joshua is a first year PhD student in the Emergent Nanomaterials lab where he works on experimental smart tattoos and pigments designed to improve the lives of everyday people. He holds a BS in Environmental Geography from West Point, a Master’s in Creative Technology and Design from the ATLAS Institute, and is a retired US Army Captain. In his free time, he enjoys sailing, hockey, spending time with his family, and exploring.


Undergraduate Students

 
 

Neely Quirk Undergraduate Researcher

Neely is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying biomedical engineering on a biomechanics pre-medical track. Originally from Texas, Neely grew up in Colorado Springs with a love for the outdoors and being active. She enjoys hiking, camping and skiing.  She also enjoys painting, reading and crochet.

 

Zoe Zeidler Undergraduate Researcher

Zoe is a second year undergraduate student studying biomedical engineering on the industry track. She is from Los Angeles, California, where she grew up loving the beach. She also enjoys tennis, trying new foods and restaurants, and spending time with her family and friends (especially her dog). 

 

Caitlin Rogers Undergraduate Researcher

Caitlin is a second-year undergraduate student studying Chemical and Biological Engineering and is excited to discover all the opportunities for the lab’s groundbreaking research, particularly regarding cancer. She is also a member of the Engineering Honors Program as well as Engineering Fellows. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer, baking and decorating cakes, and hiking with friends and family.


Previous Team Members

 

Hyejin Kwon Postdoctoral Researcher 2018–2021

Purnendu, PhD (2018-2024)

Jesse Butterfield, PhD (2017–2022)

Kailey Shara, PhD Candidate (2018-2023)

Karan Dikshit, PhD (2018–2022)

Nicole Leon-Molina Undergraduate Researcher

Nicole Leon-Molina Undergraduate Researcher

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

Julie Clarke BS. Uplift Program

Ian Stokes Undergraduate Researcher

Ian Stokes Summer undergraduate Researcher

Justin Hall Undergraduate Researcher

Jennifer Quigley Discovery Learning Apprentice

Jaime Wickersheim Summer Undergraduate Researcher

Phillip Vo Undergraduate Researcher

Phillip Vo Undergraduate Researcher

Aven Hart Discovery Learning Apprentice

Sean Keyser MS Student

Sean Keyser, MS (2019)

Jackson Pope MS (2022)

Kiley Hartigan Lab Technician