Ashwin J. Shahani
Principal investigator
Ashwin is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan. He earned his B.S. from Cornell University and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University, both degrees in the field of Materials Science and Engineering. It is at Northwestern, under the direction of Prof. Peter Voorhees, that Ashwin developed his passion for solidification science. Now as an independent researcher at UM, he hopes to tackle some of the unsolved problems concerning the growth of multicomponent alloys. Recently, Ashwin has won Young Investigator Awards from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (2017), the Army Research Office (2018), and the National Science Foundation (2019), as well as a collaborative grant from the Department of Energy Office of Science (2018). Outside of work, Ashwin enjoys traveling, baking, running, rowing, and playing tennis. Interested in learning more? Ashwin can be reached at shahani [at] umich [dot] edu
Shanmukha Kiran
Postdoctoral fellow
Shanmukha Kiran joined the University of Michigan as a Postdoctoral fellow in January 2022. He earned his M.Tech. (Metallurgical and Materials Engineering) from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and his Ph.D. (Materials Engineering) from the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore. His research interests are in understanding complex phase transformation problems. He is currently investigating multi-phase solidification, specifically eutectic and peritectic solidification. Outside academia, Kiran enjoys reading, watching videos, and playing sports. Reach kiran at askiran [at] umich [dot] edu
Jiwoong Kang
Doctoral candidate
Jiwoong is a graduate student in the department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, since fall 2017. He completed his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering at Georgie Institute of Technology in 2017. His research interests are in understanding the mechanisms of abnormal grain growth through multimodal characterization techniques, including X-ray attenuation and diffraction contrast tomography. In his spare time, Jiwoong enjoys watching and playing soccer, and other outdoor activities. Reach Jiwoong at kangjw [at] umich [dot] edu
Geordie Lindemann
Doctoral candidate
Geordie is a graduate student in the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and joined Prof. Shahani’s group in fall 2018. Geordie earned his B.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Iowa State University in Ames, IA. He is currently working on a project investigating the solidification behaviors in a ternary alloy system that includes a three-phase eutectic. Outside of academia, Geordie enjoys volunteering at materials science outreach events, playing games, watching movies and anime. Reach Geordie at lindemge [at] umich [dot] edu
Paul Chao
Doctoral candidate
Paul is a graduate student in department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and joined Prof. Shahani's group in the summer of 2019. Paul earned his B.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. He is currently working on eutectic solidification and using various data analysis techniques to refine synchrotron measurements. Outside academia, Paul enjoys playing sports, reading and exploring pure Michigan. Reach Paul at pchao [at] umich [dot] edu
Marcel Chlupsa
Doctoral student
Marcel is a graduate student in the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and joined Prof. Shahani’s group in the fall of 2021. Marcel earned his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. His research interests lie in understanding abnormal grain growth via multimodal characterization techniques and developing open source analysis tools. Outside of work, Marcel enjoys practicing guitar and brazilian jiu jitsu. Reach Marcel at mchlupsa [at] umich [dot] edu
Eli Rotman
Undergraduate student
Eli is an undergraduate student in the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and joined Prof. Shahani’s group in fall 2021. He is currently studying the development of recrystallization textures in metals. Outside of academia, Eli enjoys cycling, kayaking, and other outdoor activities. Reach Eli at erotman [at] umich [dot] edu
Xinyi Zhou
Undergraduate student
Xinyi is an undergraduate dual degree student in the Engineering Physics program at the University of Michigan and in the department of Materials Science and Engineering at Shanghai Joao Tong University. She joined Prof. Shahani’s group in Fall 2021 and is currently working on quantifying eutectic structures obtained via rapid solidification. Outside of research, Xinyi enjoys getting outside, dancing and singing. Reach Xinyi at zxylily [at] umich [dot] edu
Konnor Walter
Undergraduate student
Konnor is an undergraduate student in the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and joined Prof. Shahani’s group in winter 2022. He is currently studying the percolative failure susceptibility of polycrystalline materials. Outside of research, he enjoys playing games, spending time outdoors, and traveling. Reach Konnor at konnor [dot] umich [dot] edu
Alumni
Matthew Higgins (masters, 2019-2021)
Dr. Hadi Parsamehr (postdoc, 2019-2021), now at Lam Research
Dr. Ning Lu (postdoc, 2018-2020)
Ms. Yeqing Wang (visiting doctoral student, 2018-2020)
Dr. Insung Han (graduate, 2017-2020), now at Oxford University
Dr. Caleb Reese (graduate, 2018-2020), now at GM
Dr. Saman Moniri (graduate, 2017-2020), now at UCLA
Megan Wiltse (masters, 2018-2019)
Zhucong Xi (masters, 2019)
Ron Keinan (2017-2019), now at Raytheon
Dr. Nancy Senabulya (postdoc, 2017-2018)
Issac Loo (masters, 2018)
Matthew Rodeman (undergraduate, 2017-2018)
Che Chan (undergraduate, 2017)
Mushfequr Rahman (masters, 2016-2017)
The group enjoying a night out. Pictured (left-to-right): Ashwin, Matt, Saman, Nancy, Isaac, Ron, Insung, and Aniket. Taken winter 2018.