Group – Kempa Group

Principal Investigator

Professor Thomas (Tom) Kempa

Ph.D. in Chemistry: Harvard University, 2012

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. In 2023, Tom was appointed a member of the Nano Letters Editorial Advisory Board.

Graduate Students

	Dara Weiss B.Sc. in Chemistry: University of Chicago, 2018 [email protected] Bio: Dara enjoys knitting, cooking vegan food, and obsessing over her cat, Edna Mode.
	Zhe Zhang B.Sc. in Chemistry: Peking University, 2019 [email protected] Bio: Zhe enjoys movies, tennis, music and dreams about having a cat.
	Ona Ambrozaite B.Sc. in Biochemistry: University of Vermont, 2020 [email protected] 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 [email protected] Bio: Yifei during his leisure picks up all of his Vogues and Rolling Stones.
	Kathryn Kingsbury B.Sc. in Chemistry: Fordham University, 2020 [email protected] 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.
	Ámbar Escobar B.Sc. in Chemistry: University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, 2023 [email protected] Bio: Ámbar is a proud puertorrican who enjoys cooking, going out with friends, reading, and exercising.
	Paul Hanrahan B.Sc. in Chemistry: University of Minnesota, 2023 [email protected] Bio: Paul enjoys racquet sports, the food from 7/11, and reminding everyone that Baltimore doesn’t actually get cold.

Undergraduates

Shreya Sriramineni

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

[email protected]

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

Abbie Gibson

B.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2025 (expected)
B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics and Statistics: Johns Hopkins University, 2025 (expected)

[email protected]

Bio: Outside of creating cool materials, Abbie enjoys fire flow arts and bothering her friends with XKCD comics

Fanuel Mammo

B.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2024 (expected)
B.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering: Johns Hopkins University, 2024 (expected)

[email protected]

Bio: Besides thinking about manufacturing 2D metamaterials, Fanuel enjoys hiking, biking, and maniacal plotting

Group Alumni

Former Graduates and Postdocs

	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.
	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 [email protected]
	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.
	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 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.
	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 [email protected] Bio: Tom enjoys photography, hiking, and listening to his favorite progressive rock music.
	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 [email protected] Bio: Erick dreams about synthesizing cool materials and of the day Joe Flacco wins another Super Bowl.
	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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] Bio: Sachi likes to spend her free time jogging, visiting museums, and perfecting her sourdough recipe.
	Marta Sliwa Currently a life sciences consultant at EY Parthenon B.Sc. in Chemistry: Boston University, 2017 Ph.D. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2023 [email protected] Bio: A Dungeons & Dragons fanatic, Marta spends most of her time as the Dungeon Master or making pierogi for her fellow gamers.
	Reynolds Dziobek-Garrett Currently a postdoc at the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography, AMOLF, and the van der Waals Zeeman Institute at the University of Amsterdam B.Sc. in Chemical Physics: University of Toronto, 2019 Ph.D. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2023 [email protected] Bio: Reynolds, a proud DC native, enjoys cooking, basketball, and telling people that Reynolds is, in fact, not his last name.

Former Undergraduates

	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 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 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 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 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.
	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 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.
	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.
	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 [email protected] 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 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.