student awards 2024

Marisol Valdez is an SRC Research scholar and was one of 32 students awarded a grant to attend the conference. She presented her research entitled “Low-energy electron beam conversion and patterning of indium nitrate hydrate resist.”

Marisol was also one of three SRC Research Scholars invited to SEMI’s Industry Strategy Symposium—ISS 2024 and had the unique opportunity to present a 2-minute pitch and discuss their posters, showcasing their cutting-edge research to the esteemed audience of industry executives.

David Martinez is from Dallas, TX and is a Senior at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. As a chemical engineering major, he is interested in advanced energy technologies. As a part of the EMERGE REU David worked with Dr. Kyle McCall’s group and is the recipient of the Provost’s Award.

Joshua Cheng is from Northborough, Massachusetts and is a senior at Washington University in St. Louis, MO where he majors in Chemical Engineering. Joshua’s research experience involves using density functional theory (DFT) to determine the stability of properties of high-entropy alloys, as well as their effectiveness in catalysis reactions. As a part of the EMERGE REU Joshua worked with Dr. KJ Cho’s group. He is the recipient of the Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science award.

Aaron Merrit is from San Antonio, TX and is a Junior at the University of Texas San Antonio where he majors in Physics. Aarons current research focuses on metallic materials and their properties at microscale. He has recently started exploring crystalline structures.  Aaron worked with Dr. Laisuo Su’s group as a part of the EMERGE REU this summer and won the Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science award.

Shaan Sidhwani  is from Argyle TX and is a Junior at the University of Texas at Austin where is majors in Physics. Shaan has participated in development of an operational amplifier and transistor-based voltage regulator and gaming console circuit. Shaan was a part of Dr. Rashaunda Henderson’s research group during his participation in the EMERGE REU. He is the winner of the Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science award.

Leigh Preimesberger was a researcher with Dr. Julia Hsu’s group this summer. She won the computer science poster award as a part of the Summer Platform for Undergraduate Research (SPUR). Preimesberger’s research was “Incorporating a Multiplexer to Facilitate Fast Testing of Solar Cells.” Her mentor was Hsu team member Justin Bonner

Jessica Fink was a MSE/EE REU SPUR Poster award winner. Fink, a physics major at Missouri State University, did research involving radiation exposure to thin film transistors. Her poster was chosen as a winner by the Office of Graduate Education. She was part of the Quevedo/Young group, and her mentors were Dr. Chadwin Young, Dr. Leunam Fernandez-Izquierdo and Dr. Rodolfo Rodriguez Davila.

Aman Rahman was an MSE/EE REU SPUR Poster award winner. Rahman won the award sponsored by The Naveen Jindal School of Management. He says the award was especially meaningful to him because it was his first experience with research, and it confirmed his desire to pursue all opportunities to do research as an undergraduate and a graduate student. Rahman gives special thanks to his mentors, Dr. KJ Cho, Matthew Bergschneider and Austen Adams.

UTD student Andrew Gruber worked with the McCall group this summer on unique research. He won the Department of Computer Science SPUR award, during the poster competition. According to Gruber, Cs7Cd3Br13 is a unique luminescent material in which there are two cadmium coordination centers, one being a zero-dimensional tetrahedra and the other being a one-dimensional octahedra. This material emits orange photoluminescence under UV light at room temperature and this emission blueshifts as temperature decreases. However, it remains unclear which cadmium center is responsible for these emissions.

UT Dallas student Connor Hoy worked with the McCall group during summer of 2023 to refine the growth of organic-inorganic metal-halide hybrid scintillators for the simultaneous (mixed-field) detection of fast-neutrons and X-rays. As part of the SPUR program, Connor won one of the Naveen Jindal School of Management’s awards.