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People in our Team

Please reach out to us if you have any questions about our research!

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

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MARINA S. LEITE

Associate Professor  
Materials Science and Engineering

POST-DOCTORAL SCHOLARS

Tao's research interest includes characterization and modeling of novel plasmonic, nanophotonic and photovoltaic materials and devices. He likes reading, music and sports in his spare time.

TAO GONG

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PHD STUDENTS

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ECE DENIZ

4th Year PhD Student - Materials Science & Engineering

B.S. in Materials Science and Nanoengineering, Sabancı University (2019)

 

Ece's research interests include nanoscale characterization and imaging of perovskite solar cells. She enjoys playing the accordion.

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PEIFEN LYU

4th Year PhD Student - Materials Science & Engineering

B.S. in Materials Science & Engineering, UC Davis (2019)

 

Peifen's research interests include functional properties and solid-state physics of a variety of materials in nanoscale. Primarily focus on photonics, plasmonic and optoelectronic devices.

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MARGARET DUNCAN

3rd Year PhD Student - Materials Science & Engineering

B.S. in Physics, University of Texas at Austin (2019)

 

Margaret joined the Leite group in December of 2020: her research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of materials for photonics, specifically using composition as a knob to tune the optical properties of alloys. In her free time Margaret loves hiking, baking, and spending time with her friends in her weekly D&D game.

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ABIGAIL HERING

2nd Year PhD Student - Materials Science & Engineering

B.S. in Physics, UC Santa Barbara

B.A. in Environmental Studies, UC Santa Barbara (2019)

 

Abigail’s research is on the characterization of perovskite solar cells. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, yoga, and exploring Davis.

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MANSHA DUBEY

2nd Year PhD Student - Materials Science and Engineering
B.E. in Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Auckland (2019)
 

Mansha has recently joined the Leite group. Her research interests include photovoltaic properties of perovskite solar cells. Outside of research, she enjoys running and reading mystery novels.

FORMER GROUP MEMBERS

VISITING SCHOLARS

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  • Mariama Rebello de Sousa Dias, Ph.D.

PHD STUDENTS

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  • Richa Lahoti (MSE,UMD), Sept 2018 - May 2022

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  • John Howard (MSE, UMD), Jan 2016 –Sept 2020

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  • Chen Gong (MSE, UMD), Oct 2013 – March 2018

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  • Elizabeth Tennyson (MSE, UMD), Oct 2013 – Feb 2018

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  • Zack Benson (Physics, UMD), Jan 2017–

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  • Alexander Yulaev (MSE, UMD), Jan 2014 – Sept 2017: all-solid-state batteries, graphene. Now post-doc at CNST/NIST

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  • Griffin Godbey (MSE, UMD), June 2015 – May 2016: energy storage

   Now graduate student at UMD, MSE

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MASTERS STUDENTS

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  • Meghna Srivastava (MSE, UCD), Sep 2019-Jan 2022: ML on perovskite solar cells

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

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  • David (Jiadiao) Zhou

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  • Zinab Jadidi (MSE, UMD), Jan 2016 – June 2017: all-solid-state batteries

   Now graduate student at UC Berkeley (NSF fellow)

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  • Brady Gunnarsson (ECE, UMD), Jan 2016 – Aug 2017: photovoltaics

   Now graduate student at Princeton University

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  • Garrett Wessler (MSE, UMD), May 2015 – May 2016: plasmonics

   Now graduate student at Duke Univ, MSE (NSF fellow)

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  • Cynthia Yu (ECE, CalPoly), Summer 2015: all-solid-state batteries

   Now undergraduate student at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo

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  • Clayton Blythe (Physics, Central College), Summer 2015: all-solid-state batteries

   Now undergraduate student at Central College

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  • Lucas Wilian (Physics, Univ. Uberlandia), Summer 2015: photovoltaics

   Now undergraduate student at University of Uberlandia, MG, Brazil

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  • Sadia Naseem (MSE, UMD), Sept – Dec 2015: photovoltaics

   Now engineer at Texas Instrument

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  • Allen Chang (MSE, UMD), Jan 2014 – July 2015: plasmonics

   Now graduate student at UMass, Amherst, Polymer Science program (NSF fellow)

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  • Eric Bailey (Undergrad, MSE, UMD), Jan 2014 – May 2015: photovoltaics

   Now graduate student at UPenn, MSE (NSF fellow)

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  • Ellen Cesewski (Undergrad, MSE, UMD), June 2014 – May 2015: plasmonics

   Now graduate student at Virginia Tech

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  • Mariana Rico (Undergrad, ECE, UMD), Jan – May 2015: photovoltaics

   Now undergraduate student at ECE, UMD

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  • Christopher Yeager (Undergrad, Physics & Math, UMD), June – Dec 2014: photovoltaics

   Now Business Technology Analyst at Deloitte, UMD

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HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

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  • Amida Koroma (Eleanor Roosevelt High School), summer 2017: plasmonics

   Now high-school student at ERHS

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  • Anna Park (Eleanor Roosevelt High School), Sept 2016 – May 2017: perovskites

   Now undergraduate student at Carnegie Mellon University (MSE)

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  • Anusha Dixit (Poolesville High School), summer 2016: photovoltaics

   Now undergraduate student at UMD (Aerospace Eng.)

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