Principal Investigator

Thomas Kempa

Professor Thomas (Tom) Kempa

Ph.D. in Chemistry: Harvard University, 2012

tkempa@jhu.edu

CV

Bio: Thomas J. Kempa is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and of Materials Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Boston College in 2004, Tom was awarded a Marshall Scholarship and spent 2 years at Imperial College London. Returning to the United States, he began graduate studies under the direction of Prof. Charles Lieber at Harvard University and earned his PhD in 2012. Thereafter, Tom conducted postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Prof. Daniel Nocera, first at MIT and then Harvard. Professor Kempa’s research group develops new methods to prepare and study low-dimensional (low-D) inorganic crystals from nanoparticles (0D) to few-atom thick sheets (2D) whose exceptional properties render them intriguing platforms for optoelectronic, energy conversion, and quantum science studies. Professor Kempa is the recipient of numerous awards including a DARPA Young Faculty Award, an NSF CAREER Award, a Toshiba Distinguished Young Investigator Award, a Dreyfus Foundation Fellowship in Environmental Chemistry, two Hopkins Discovery Awards, and a Hopkins Catalyst Award. He was also named by Matter as one of their 35 PIs under 35 for his leading contributions to materials science, and was recognized by J. Mater. Chem. A as their recipient of the Emerging Investigator Award.

Marta Sliwa

Marta Sliwa

B.Sc. in Chemistry: Boston University, 2017

msliwa1@jhu.edu

Bio: A Dungeons & Dragons fanatic, Marta spends most of her time as the Dungeon Master or making pierogi for her fellow gamers.

Dara Weiss

Dara Weiss

B.Sc. in Chemistry: University of Chicago, 2018

dweiss16@jhu.edu

Bio: Dara enjoys knitting, cooking vegan food, and obsessing over her cat, Edna Mode.

Reynolds Dziobek-Garrett

B.Sc. in Chemical Physics: University of Toronto, 2019

r.d.garrett@jhu.edu

Bio: Reynolds, a proud DC native, enjoys cooking, basketball, and telling people that Reynolds is, in fact, not his last name.

Zhe Zhang

B.Sc. in Chemistry: Peking University, 2019

zhezhang@jhu.edu

Bio: Zhe enjoys movies, tennis, music and dreams about having a cat.

Ona Ambrozaite

B.Sc. in Biochemistry: University of Vermont, 2020

oambroz1@jhu.edu

Bio: Ona loves keeping a positive attitude and a smile, especially when doing CVD reactions! Besides designing low dimensional materials, she also paints with watercolor, using lots of bright colors.

Yifei Zhu

B.Sc. in Chemistry: Union College, 2020

yzhu107@jhu.edu

Bio: Yifei during his leisure picks up all of his Vogues and Rolling Stones.

Kathryn Kingsbury

B.Sc. in Chemistry: Fordham University, 2020

kkingsb5@jhu.edu

Bio: Besides doing chemistry, Kathryn likes to spend her time making and eating soup. Although now that she thinks about it, a good part of doing chemistry is just making very elaborate soup.

Undergraduate Students

Shreya Sriramineni

Shreya Sriramineni

B.A. in Physics: Johns Hopkins University, 2024 (expected)

ssriram5@jh.edu

Bio: In her free time, Shreya enjoys reading, listening to rock, and fueling her crippling addiction to minesweeper.

Graduate Students

Marta Sliwa

Marta Sliwa

B.Sc. in Chemistry: Boston University, 2017

msliwa1 at jhu.edu

Bio: A Dungeons & Dragons fanatic, Marta spends most of her time as the Dungeon Master or making pierogi for her fellow gamers.

Dara Weiss

Dara Weiss

B.Sc. in Chemistry: University of Chicago, 2018

dweiss16 at jhu.edu

Bio: Dara enjoys knitting, cooking vegan food, and obsessing over her cat, Edna Mode.

Reynolds Dziobek-Garrett

B.Sc. in Chemical Physics: University of Toronto, 2019

r.d.garrett@jhu.edu

Bio: Reynolds, a proud DC native, enjoys cooking, basketball, and telling people that no, Reynolds is not his last name.

Zhe Zhang

B.Sc. in Chemistry: Peking University, 2019

zhezhang@jhu.edu

Bio: Zhe enjoys movies, tennis, music and dreams about having a cat.

Zhenya Luo

B.Sc. in Chemistry: University of Science and Technology of China, 2019

zluo12@jhu.edu

Bio: Zhenya is fond of anime and enjoys watching youtube in his spare time.

Ona Ambrozaite

B.Sc. in Biochemistry: University of Vermont, 2020

oambroz1@jhu.edu

Bio: Ona loves keeping a positive attitude and a smile, especially when doing CVD reactions! Besides designing low dimensional materials, she also paints with watercolor, using lots of bright colors.

Yifei Zhu

B.Sc. in Chemistry: Union College, 2020

yzhu107@jhu.edu

Bio: Yifei during his leisure picks up all of his Vogues and Rolling Stones.

Kathryn Kingsbury

B.Sc. in Chemistry: Fordham University, 2020

kkingsb5@jhu.edu

Bio: Besides doing chemistry, Kathryn likes to spend her time making and eating soup. Although now that she thinks about it, a good part of doing chemistry is just making very elaborate soup.

Undergraduate Students

Shreya Sriramineni

Shreya Sriramineni

B.A. in Physics: Johns Hopkins University, 2024 (expected)

ssriram5@jh.edu

Bio: In her free time, Shreya enjoys reading, listening to rock, and fueling her crippling addiction to minesweeper.

Alumni

Minyuan Li

Minyuan (Miller) Li

Currently working at Los Alamos National Laboratory

PhD: MIT, 2015

Bio: A solid-state chemist by training; a solid-state chemist by hobby.

Imogen Weatherhead

Imogen Weatherhead

M.Sc. in Chemistry: University College London, 2017

Bio: Imogen was a visiting exchange student from University College London completing her third year of studies at Johns Hopkins University in Chemistry.

Guillermo Contreras

Guillermo Contreras

Currently in a PhD program at Penn

B.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2017

Bio: A native of Los Angeles, CA, Guillermo enjoys eating out with friends, spending time with family and playing soccer. When he has spare time, he enjoys playing FIFA, bass guitar, and dreaming of sunny California.

Alexander Kossak

Alexander Kossak

Currently in a PhD program at MIT

B.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2018
M.S.E. in Materials Science & Engineering: Johns Hopkins University, 2018
M.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2018

Bio: Alex loves eating anything with buffalo sauce on it. His favorite element is Osmium.

Stephanie Tenney

Stephanie Tenney

Currently in a PhD program at UCLA

B.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2018

Bio: Stephanie loves gardening, baking, and painting. She also enjoys days outdoors at the beach or on a hike.

Irina Chirca

Irina Chirca

Currently in a PhD program at Cambridge

M.Sc. in Chemistry: University College London, 2019

Bio: A native from Romania, but studying in London, Irina is spending her third year of studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Hiro Gangi

Hiro Gangi

B.Sc. in Applied Physics: The University of Tokyo, 2013
M.Sc. in Applied Physics: The University of Tokyo, 2015
Collaborative Researcher from Toshiba Corporation Japan, 2017-2019

hiro1.gangi@toshiba.co.jp

Adam Strickland

Adam Strickland

Currently in a PhD program at Northwestern University

B.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2019
B.Sc. in Physics: Johns Hopkins University, 2019

Bio: His feet have more mileage than your car, assuming you don’t commute very often.

Andrew Patera

Andrew Patera

Currently in a MD-PhD program at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

B.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2018
B.Sc. in Neuroscience: Johns Hopkins University, 2018

Bio: AJ loves visiting his dog at home on Long Island. In his spare time he likes to watch and play baseball.

Jungkil Kim

Jungkil Kim

Currently an assistant professor of physics at Jeju National University

B.Eng. in Radio Comm.: Kyung Hee University, 2009
M.Sc. in Physics: Kyung Hee University, 2011
Ph.D. in Physics: Kyung Hee University, 2016

Bio: Jungkil loves shooting films, and playing an electric guitar.

Cassidy Quiros

Cassidy Quiros

B.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2020 (expected)
B.Sc. in Environmental Science: Johns Hopkins University, 2020 (expected)

Bio: During her free time, you can find Cassidy with a cup of coffee and a good book or watching the latest Marvel movie or TV show. She can bake a mean batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Eric Thompson

Eric Thompson

Currently an engineer at Thermo Fisher Scientific

B.Sc. in Chemistry: Bloomsberg University, 2016
M.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2020

Bio: Eric enjoys video games, board games, and reading. You most likely cannot beat him in a dance-off.

Marina Solomos

Marina Solomos

Currently a senior scientist, engineering at Merck

B.S. in Chemistry: La Salle University, 2013
Ph.D. in Chemistry: Georgetown University, 2018

Bio: Marina enjoys hiking, reading, chasing after puppies, and spending time with her family.

Louie Hoffenberg

Louie Hoffenberg

Currently in a PhD program at Princeton

B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics and Statistics: Johns Hopkins University, 2020
B.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2020
M.S.E. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Johns Hopkins University, 2021

hoffenberglouie@gmail.com

Bio: When he’s not lubricating his Rubik’s cubes, Louie is probably making a bad pun or chugging pre-workout while making aggressive eye contact with a nearby squirrel.

Yuzuka Karube

Yuzuka Karube

Currently in a PhD program at Columbia

B.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2021
B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics and Statistics: Johns Hopkins University, 2021
M.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2021

ykarube1 at jhu.edu

Bio: Yuzuka enjoys watching cooking videos and listening to podcasts in her free time.

Tomojit Chowdhury

Tomojit (Tom) Chowdhury

Currently a Kadanoff-Rice postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago

B.Sc. in Chemistry: University of Calcutta, 2013
M.Sc. in Chemistry: I.I.T. Guwahati, 2015
Ph.D. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2021

tchowdh6@jhu.edu

Bio: Tom enjoys photography, hiking, and listening to his favorite progressive rock music.

Erick Sadler

Erick Sadler

Currently a process integration engineer at Northrop Grumman

B.Sc. in Chemistry: Virginia Tech, 2016
Ph.D. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2021

esadler5@jhu.edu

Bio: Erick dreams about synthesizing cool materials and of the day Joe Flacco wins another Super Bowl.

Jamie Claire

Jamie Claire

Currently a research scientist at Cree LED

B.Sc. in Chemistry: College of Charleston, 2016
B.A. in Physics: College of Charleston, 2016
Ph.D. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2021

fclaire1@jhu.edu

Bio: During the week you can find Jamie in the pores of a MOF; in his free time he enjoys a fine whiskey neat.

Zhenya Luo

B.Sc. in Chemistry: University of Science and Technology of China, 2019
M.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2022

zluo12@jhu.edu

Bio: Zhenya is fond of anime and enjoys watching youtube in his spare time.

Ben Stephens

Currently the science and technology advisor at the Irish Consulate in Boston

B.Sc. in Chemistry: College of Charleston, 2016
Ph. D. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2021

bsteph12@jhu.edu

Bio: When not singing the praises of his native South Carolina, Ben enjoys hanging out with friends, skiing, and the outdoors.

Sachi Hilliard

Currently a semiconductor microelectronics engineer at Northrop Grumman

B.Sc. in Chemistry-Materials Science: University of California Los Angeles, 2020
M.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2023

shillia5@jhu.edu

Bio: Sachi likes to spend her free time jogging, visiting museums, and perfecting her sourdough recipe.