About Us

Officers

Elizabeth "Lisa" Pogue, Chair

Lisa is a graduate student in Dr. Angus Rockett's thin film photovoltaics research group who is interested in materials for energy applications. Currently, she is investigating in the thermodynamics of and defects present in Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4, an absorber layer material for thin-film photovoltaics. In the past, she has studied the defect thermodynamics of tephroite, silicon-based lithium-ion cell anodes, and Ni-based superalloys through undergraduate research and several internships at NASA Glenn Research Center. Lisa also enjoys playing her alto saxophone, reading about foreign policy and the Supreme Court, and playing sports.

Megan Emigh, Vice Chair

Megan Emigh is a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering at UIUC under Professor Krogstad. She does transmission electron microscopy of metallic samples.

Nicole Johnson, Secretary

Nicole received her B.S. in Engineering Physics at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) in May 2013. She is currently a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under Professor Angus Rockett. Her research seeks to understand material defect behavior under illumination in semiconductor materials used in electronic device applications. In addition to research, she enjoys planning outreach events designed to engage and recruit more women into STEM fields. In her free time, she enjoys going hiking and escaping to the beach during winter.

Past Officers

Mohit Tuteja, Chair

Mohit did his undergraduate studies in Engineering Physics and then moved to University of Illinois in 2012 for a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering in Prof. Angus Rockett’s group. He has a keen interest in device fabrication and characterization. Currently, he is working on investigating electroluminescence from CdTe solar cells to observe sub-bandgap defect assisted recombination. In the past he has worked on Pulsed Laser Deposition of ZnO quantum dots and also he has experience with fourier-transform based image processing and shape recognition in SEM and TEM images. When not working he loves listening to Jazz music and cooking.

Antonio Rodolph Bighetti Mei, Chair

Antonio is a graduate student interested in the design and application of novel materials towards sustainable and far-reaching applications. Currently he is studying the growth, physical, electrical, and optical properties of refractory transition metal nitride thin films and alloys. In the past, he has been interested in the growth and characterization of chalcogenide photovoltaics, bioapplications of diamonds and DLCs deposited via CVD, and in the synthesis of nanoparticles for in-vivo tumor imaging. Apart from being a research assistant, he has also held numerous teaching assistantship positions covering topics such as: thermomechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, infrared pyrometry, thermoelectric devices, photovoltaic performance and efficiency, polymer crystallization dynamics, birefringence contrasting, and tensile, fatigue, and impact testing of material response. At his leisure, Antonio enjoys practicing judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, attending classical concerts, and traveling.

Stephen House, Secretary

Stephen is a 4th year graduate student of both the Ian Robertson and Angus Rockett research groups. His current research focus is on the use of complex metal hydrides for mobile hydrogen energy storage. While they boast high densities of potential hydrogen storage, their thermodynamics and kinetics of uptake and release remain significant challenges. The addition of catalytic dopants and/or the confinement of the storage medium in nano-porous scaffolds have been shown to mitigate these hindrances to varying degrees of success. Optimization of system choice and performance requires knowledge of the relationship between processing conditions and performance. Microstructure is the link between these two ends and has, unfortunately, largely been ignored by previous investigations of these systems. The focus of Stephen’s work in this area is on the microstructure produced as a function of synthesis parameters, how the microstructure affects the system performance, and how the microstructure evolves with hydrogen cycling. He uses conventional electron microscopy and spectroscopic techniques paired with electron tomography for true, fully three-dimensional characterization of these complex systems.

Damon Hebert, Treasurer

Damon is a graduate student in Dr. Angus Rockett's thin film photovoltaics research group. He has been the AVS student chapter treasurer since 2007. His research interests include electrical and optical characterization and thin film deposition of photovoltaic and other chalcogenide materials, with a focus on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 and related compounds.

Dan Heinzel, Vice-chair

Dan graduated in 2010 from the University of Illinois: Urbana-Champaign with a BS in electrical engineering and a minor in Material Sciences and Engineering. Since then he started pursuing a PhD in MatSE as a member of Rockett group developing a new stochastic model for photovoltaics in C++. As the model is stochastic, it will have the capability to handle more interesting structures without many additional code adjustments and be (hopefully) simpler to transfer into multiple dimensions. Outside of his research, Dan is the alumni adviser for the alpha chapter of Beta Sigma Psi, the National Lutheran Fraternity. He enjoys playing saxophone, and you may see him playing saxophone TV during Illinois basketball games. At church, he participates in choir and is the woodwind-strings director, arranging all the pieces they play. Additionally, he is a fan of playing a variety of sports, such as tennis, basketball, soccer, ultimate frisbee, and broomball.

Allen Hall

Allen has studied in the department of Materials Science and Engineering since undergraduate with a focus in polymer science / composites, and continued his education as a PhD student in both the synthesis of polymers (thermosetting resins) and the growth of semiconductors for optoelectronic devices. His current research is focused on a single bicrystal in epitaxial CuInSe2 thin films grown on GaAs substrates in a hybrid sputtering/effusion system and applications of ion-assisted physical vapor deposition (iPVD) to the growth of CuInSe2 thin films. His AFM image of “A CuInSe2 Bicrystal” won second place in the AVS Art-Zone competition (53rd AVS conference, WA). His other interests are varied, but include science outreach, amateur radio, motorcycle riding, and photography.

Martin Bettge

Martin Bettge served as vice-chair of the AVS student chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2008 to 2011 while pursuing his PhD. He is currently a postdoctoral associate at Argonne National Laboratory diagnosing degradation of lithium-ion batteries to improve their performance for transportation applications. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2011. He also holds an MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Florida State University and a BS degree in Applied Physics from the University of Applied Sciences in Aachen, Germany.

Marie Mayer

Marie founded the AVS Student Chapter at University of Illinois: Urbana Champaign. Currently she is a Materials Science and Engineering graduate student at University of California: Berkley working on solar energy applications for semiconductor materials. She is exploring the surface behavior of nitride alloys and electrical contact options, as well as working on photoelectrochemical cells. Her undergraduate work included studying Cu(In, Ga)Se2 with STM and photoluminescence, searching for structural relations to electronic properties. When she's not in the lab, Marie enjoys traveling, reading, hiking, ultimate frisbee, and rock climbing.