Faculty

	Jun Allard Professor of Biophysics Mathematical modeling of cell mechanics and cell biophysics
	Ioan Andricioaei Professor of Chemistry Theoretical Chemistry and Biophysics
	V. Ara Apkarian Professor of Chemistry Ultrafast dynamics in condensed matter
	Shane Ardo Professor of Chemistry Solar Energy Conversion and Electrochemistry
	Herdeline Ann M. Ardoña Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Biomaterials, self-assembly, optoelectronics, stimuli-responsive materials, in vitro tissue models, biosensors
	Maxx Q. Arguilla Assistant Professor of Chemistry Solid-state chemistry, materials chemistry and physics, and nanoscience
	Plamen Atanassov Chancellor’s Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering Electrocatalysis and electrocatalysts for energy conversion
	Chris Barty Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy Optics and Plasma physics
	Michael W. Berns Professor of Biomedical Engineering/Beckman Laser Institute The study of basic cellular problems from a functional and structural point of view
	Donald Blake Professor of Chemistry Atmospheric Chemistry
	Suzanne Blum Professor of Chemistry Optics, Nano & Quantum
	William Bowman Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Nanomaterials and Characterization for Energy Conversion and Storage
	Ozdal Boyraz Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Optics, Nano & Quantum
	Kieron Burke Professor of Chemistry Heretical chemistry and condensed matter physics
	Peter Burke Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Quantum electronics and high-speed semiconductor devices
	Carter T. Butts Professor of Sociology, Statistics, and EECS Network Models, Computational and Statistical Methods
	Ty Christoff-Tempesta Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Molecular design of soft matter, bio-inspired materials, and self-assembly processes
	Philip Collins Professor of Physics Nano-electronics and Novel Materials
	Stacy Copp Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Nanocluster chemistry and photonics, DNA nanotechnology, atomically precise materials, self-assembling nanoscale materials, machine learning for materials design
	Robert Corn Professor of Chemistry Analytical and Physical Chemistry
	Michael Dennin Professor of Physics Nonlinear Condensed Matter Physics and Biological Physics
	Michelle Digman Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering Spatial and temporal dynamics of proteins, metabolism in cells and tissues, and novel imaging
	Fangyuan Ding Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Quantitative single molecule biology and engineering, systems biology, nucleic-acid based therapies, single cell research tool developments
	Franklin Dollar Professor of Physics Interaction of light at extremely high intensities with the fourth state of matter, plasma
	Sarah Finkeldei Professor of Chemistry, Materials Chemistry for Nuclear Energy Systems Materials Chemistry in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
	Zachary Fisk Professor of Physics Experimental Condensed Matter
	Filipp Furche Professor of Chemistry Random phase approximation, non-adiabatic molecular dynamics, theoretical and computational chemistry
	Nien-Hui Ge Professor of Chemistry. Ultrafast dynamics and chemical imaging of condensed matter
	Alon Gorodetsky Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Cephalopod-Inspired Materials, Adaptive Infrared Systems, Camouflage, Reflectin Proteins
	Steven P. Gross Professor of Developmental and Cell Biology Developmental & Cell Biology and Physics
	Zhibin Guan Professor of Chemistry Single Molecule Studies of Materials
	Ryan Hayes Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Computational protein engineering, therapeutics, biocatalysis, drug design, molecular simulation
	Kai He Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Transmission electron microscopy, spectroscopy, and holography, nanostructured multifunctional materials, energy conversion and storage, quantum materials and devices
	Wilson Ho Professor of Physics Nanoscience with Scanning Tunneling Microscopes
	Allon Hochbaum Professor of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Nanoscale materials and hybrid bio-inorganic devices for applications in clean energy
	Herbert Hopster Professor of Physics Magnetic Properties of Surfaces and Interfaces
	Luis Jauregui Professor of Physics Quantum Materials and Devices
	Ilya Krivorotov Professor of Physics Spintronics and Nanomagnetism
	Matt Law Professor of Chemistry Materials chemistry, nanoscience, solar energy conversion
	Elizabeth Lee Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Computational materials and chemistry; quantum, electronic and energy materials
	Howard (Ho Wai) Lee Professor of Physics and Astronomy Nano-optics, nano-engineering, nano-optical materials/metasurfaces
	Ray Luo Professor of Biophysics Biochemistry, Molecular Biophysics, and Biomedical Engineering
	Marc Madou Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Miniaturization science
	Vladimir Mandelshtam Professor of Chemistry Theoretical and Computational Chemistry
	Craig Martens Professor of Chemistry Theoretical Physical Chemistry
	Rachel Martin Professor of Chemistry / ChaMP Co-Director Joint appointment, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Biophysical Chemistry and NMR Methods Development, protein structure, cataract, membrane proteins
	Ali Mohraz Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Colloidal and Granular Materials
	Sabee Molloi Professor & Vice Chairman of Research, Radiological Sciences Quantitative Aspects of Medical X-Ray Imaging
	Shaul Mukamel Professor of Chemistry Theory and Simulation (Chemistry)
	Craig Murray Professor of Chemistry Atmospheric and Environmental, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics
	SungWoo Nam Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Materials, Mechanics and Multifunctionality
	Robert Nielsen Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Electronic structure, thermodynamics, catalysis, solar fuels
	Sergey Nizkorodov Professor of Chemistry Atmospheric Aerosol Particle Chemistry
	Xiaoqing Pan Professor and Henry Samueli Endowed Chair in Engineering Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
	Joe Patterson Assistant Professor of Chemistry Soft matter, self-assembly, nanomaterials
	Eric Potma Professor of Chemistry Chemical imaging of biological samples
	Regina Ragan Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
	Thorsten Ritz Professor of Physics Biophysics
	Javier Sanchez-Yamagishi Assistant Professor of Physics & Astronomy Condensed matter physics
	Maxim Shcherbakov Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Nanotechnology, nonlinear and quantum optics, optics-based telecommunications and computing, laser physics
	Kenneth Shea Professor of Chemistry Synthetic Organic, Polymer and Materials Chemistry
	Matthew Sheldon Associate Professor of Chemistry Nanophotonics, Chemistry, and Solar Energy
	Manabu Shiraiwa Professor of Chemistry Atmospheric and Environmental, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics, Theoretical and Computational
	Seunghyun Sim Assistant Professor of Chemistry Macromolecular Chemistry, Bioengineering, and Materials Science
	A lbert Siryaporn Professor of Physics Bacterial Pathogenesis at the intersection of Biophysics and Molecular Biology, bacterial mechanosensation, virulence regulation, mechano-genetics, microfluidics
	Zuzanna Siwy Professor of Physics / ChaMP Co-Director Biophysics, pore gating, ionic circuits, virus detection
	Jim Smith Professor of Chemistry Analytical, Atmospheric and Environmental, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics, ultrafine aerosol, mass spectrometry
	Qi Song Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Low-dimensional quantum materials, atomic-scale synthesis, spectroscopy characterization, and device development
	Toshiki Tajima Professor of Physics and Astronomy Accelerator physics, plasma physics, fusion, laser physics, astrophysics, and medical applications of physics
	Chen Tsai Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Photonics, Ultrasonic Nozzles for Biomedical Applications, Magnonic Crystals
	Lorenzo Valdevit Professor and Chair of Materials Science and Engineering Mechanics of materials and structures
	Vasan Venugopalan Professor of Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, & Surgery Analytical, Atmospheric and Environmental, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics
	Szu-Wen Wang Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Biomolecular Engineering, Interfacial Engineering, Drug Delivery, Biomaterials, Nanobiotechnology
	Gregory Weiss Professor of Chemistry Analytical, Chemical Biology, Organic and Synthetic, Polymer, Materials, Nanoscience
	Steven White Professor of Physics Statistical Mechanics & Superconductivity
	Ruqian Wu Professor of Physics Physics of Magnetic Films
	Jing Xia Professor of Physics Nano & Quantum Physics
	Huolin Xin Professor of Physics & Astronomy Electron microscopy, deep learning, in situ and autonomous TEM, lithium ion battery, fuel cells, electro- and thermal catalysts
	Alvin Yu Assistant Professor of Physiology & Biophysics Molecular biophysics, statistical mechanics, theory and computation, biological macromolecules
	Clare Yu Professor of Physics Theory of Disordered Systems, Biophysics, Quantum Computing
	Jin Yu Assistant Professor of Physics & Astronomy Computational biophysics, biomolecular machinery, molecular allostery, cooperativity, protein search and recognition
	Iryna Zenyuk Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Renewable energy, fuel cells, electrolyzers, batteries, X-ray imaging techniques, multi-scale modeling, transport phenomena.

Prof. Qi Song joins the ChAMP Program

Spring 2025

Qi Song is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

Song’s research interests lie within the discovery of low-dimensional quantum materials through atomic-scale synthesis, spectroscopy characterization, and device development leveraging interface states and emergent quantum effects.

https://engineering.uci.edu/users/qi-song

Prof. Ty Christoff-Tempesta joins the ChAMP Program

Fall 2024

Ty Christoff-Tempesta is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

Prof. Christoff-Tempesta specializes in molecular design to engineer hierarchical properties in soft matter systems, combining organic chemistry, molecular self-assembly, and polymer science to create innovative materials. His group focuses on advancing sustainable materials with circular life cycles, derived from renewable resources, and designed for recyclability or upcyclability.

Current research activities include (1) developing new molecular design principles for sustainable materials, (2) using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to study nanoscale dynamics and establish design rules for material behavior, and (3) designing functional supramolecular materials that self-organize and scale from nanoscale to macroscale. The lab’s research aims to address critical global challenges, such as providing sustainable alternatives to plastics, improving environmental remediation, and advancing technologies for energy and healthcare applications.

https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/tctlab/

Welcome 2024 ChAMP students!

Prof. Lorenzo Valdevit joins the ChAMP Program

Summer 2024

Lorenzo Valdevit is a Professor and Chair of Materials Science and Engineering

Prof. Valdevit works in the general areas of mechanics of materials, structural materials science and advanced manufacturing, developing analytical, numerical and experimental techniques across multiple length scales. Among his primary research goals are the optimal design, modeling, fabrication and experimental characterization of metamaterials and structures with unprecedented combinations of properties. Current areas of interest are the investigation and exploitation of beneficial size effects in nano-architected materials, the non-linear design of periodic and disordered mechanical metamaterials, and the understanding of the processing / microstructure / properties relations in additive manufacturing (in particular, two-photon polymerization Direct Laser Writing, Direct Ink Writing, Laser Powder Bed Fusion and Cold Spray Deposition).

https://valdevit.eng.uci.edu

Prof. Alvin Yu join the ChAMP Program

Summer 2024

Alvin Yu is an Assistant Professor of Physiology & Biophysics

Many cellular processes that are considered the hallmarks of living systems undergo physical and chemical processes ranging from atomic-scale phenomena, including the quantum chemistry of bond cleavage, to micrometer-sized processes such as the self-assembly of proteins. These processes are innately multiscale and span time and length scales from the molecular to mesoscopic. Alvin Yu’s research group investigates the mechanisms by which biological processes function and elucidates them using theory, computational modeling, and simulations.

https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=7131

Prof. Matthew Sheldon joins the ChAMP Program

Fall 2023

Matthew Sheldon is an Associate Professor of Chemistry

Sheldon’s research group studies fundamental questions about optical energy conversion relating to plasmonic and inorganic nanoscale materials. Experiments are principally designed to identify and optimize unique nanoscale phenomena that are useful for solar energy, as well as related opportunities at the intersection of nanophotonics and chemistry, for broad application beyond the scope of solar energy. Current research activities explore how nanofabricated materials can provide systematic control over the thermodynamic parameters governing optical power conversion. By controllably shaping, confining, and interconverting the energy and entropy of a radiation field, several different classes of light-powered heat engines become possible.

Prof. Robert Nielsen joins the ChAMP Program

Fall 2023
Robert Nielsen is an Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
Nielson’s research interests include quantum mechanical, microkinetic, and data modeling to understand and control chemical reactivity. His group has recently begun a general effort to replace screening in computational materials design problems with optimization. The process combines some representation of Schrodinger’s equation, stat mech, kinetic modeling, traditional chemistry ideas and data science.
https://engineering.uci.edu/users/robert-nielsen

Prof. Sabee Molloi joins the ChAMP Program

Summer 2023

Sabee Molloi is a Professor & Vice Chairman of Research, Radiological Sciences

Molloi’s research interests include quantitative aspects of medical x-ray imaging and its applications to cardiac and breast imaging.

Some of his current projects include:

Spectral breast CT
Myocardial blood flow measurement using CT and its applications to coronary artery disease
Pulmonary blood flow measurement using CT and its applications to lung disease
Quantification of myocardial mass at risk
Detection of ischemic stroke using dual energy CT

https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=3212

2023 Summer BBQ

ChAMP ushered in the new class at our annual summer BBQ on July 14th. Welcome students!

Prof. Elizabeth Lee joins the ChAMP program

Fall 2022

Elizabeth lee is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering.

Lee’s research interests lie within the broad field of computational materials and chemistry, particularly electronic and chemical processes in solid-state and nanostructured semiconductors. Her research aims to bring fundamental understanding of how the dynamical arrangement of atoms and their electronic structure impact the material-wide properties during their synthesis, processing, and device operating conditions.

Current research activities focus on three areas: (1) quantum point defects in semiconductors, (2) solid-state interfaces in materials for energy applications, and (3) methodological developments for materials modeling using machine learning approaches.

(https://engineering.uci.edu/users/elizabeth-my-lee)