George received his education at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana (BSc. Chemistry 2009), North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro (M.S. Chemistry 2015), Purdue University, and West Lafayette (PhD in Inorganic and Material Chemistry, 2020). The focus of his research is on the design, synthesis, and characterization of metastable materials with electronic and magnetic properties as well as electrochemical energy storage. When not in the lab, he enjoys playing tennis, soccer and board games as well as watching movies.
Francis Alcorn
Dr. Francis Alcorn is a postdoc in the Materials Physics group at Sandia National Labs working on novel scanning electron microscopy (SEM) instrumentation to augment understanding of semiconductor surfaces and interfaces, such as recent work on studying MoS2-LaCoO3 interfaces. These include ultrafast electron microscopy to measure fundamental speed limits for semiconductor measurements and secondary electron ‘plume’ imaging for measuring interfacial electric fields that underpin function of semiconductor devices. Dr. Alcorn did his PhD at the University of Illinois, studying atomic scale dynamics in light-absorbing materials with transmission electron microscopy for understanding light-matter interactions
Raymundo Arróyave
Texas A&M University; Chemistry Dept.
(Co-Lead, Thrust X)
Arróyave is Presidential Impact Fellow, Chancellor EDGES Fellow, and Professor of Materials Science at Texas A&M. He is Director of an NSF Research Traineeship program that provides a template for interdisciplinary doctoral training that we will further expand under reMIND.
Kenna Ashen
Kenna received their Bachelors in Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&M. They are now a graduate researcher in Prof. Qian’s materials theory group at Texas A&M focusing on first-principles calculation of functional and electronic materials, especially exploring the intersection between structural and electronic changes in 2D materials and machine learning-enabled materials discovery. In their free time, they enjoy making art, reading, writing, and historical recreation.
Vahid Attari
Vahid is a Research Assistant Professor of Materials Science at Texas A&M University. He is also Director of Operations at BIRDSHOT center, an HTMDEC Research Center that constitutes a consortium of researchers spanning diverse disciplines across multiple universities aiming for accelerated materials design.
Perla Balbuena
Texas A&M University; Chemical Engineering Dept.
(Co-Lead Thrust 2)
Balbuena is TEES Eminent Professor in Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M. She leads DOE-sponsored projects in the field of battery materials and catalysis.
Victor Balcorta
Victor earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at El Paso. In Fall 2021 he joined Dr. Pharr’s group. His research interests focus on using different nanoindentation techniques to understand the chemo-mechanics of energy storage materials. He also contributes to the development of 3D-printed electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries.
Sarbajit Banerjee
Texas A&M University; Chemistry Dept.
(Associate Director)
Banerjee is the Davidson Chair in Science and Chancellor EDGES Fellow at Texas A&M University, and is a faculty member in the Chemistry and the Materials Science and Engineering Departments. As founding Co-Director of the New York State Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics, he directed more than 50 researchers.