Mentors

Applicants will be asked and required to select their top three preferred mentors/research areas on the online application choices of preferred mentor/areas of research interest on the online aplication.

This table lists our 2026 faculty mentors. This listing will be updated for 2027 on November 15 when the application launches.

Mentor	Department	Research Focus	Prerequisites	More Information
Bassem Allam & Emmanuelle Pales Espinosa	Marine Sciences	The MADL is a dynamic lab and research currently underway includes shellfish ecology, ecological physiology, shellfish adaptation to climate change, and pathology and immunology, and employs a wide range of techniques and approaches (field studies, genomics, cell and molecular biology).	We do not expect/seek for specific skills, except high enthusiasm!	About Prof. Allam
Mohammad Javad Amiri	Computer Science	The student will be engaged in implementing and testing a system that will be used in distributed applications such as blockchains and supply chain management.	None specified.	About Prof. Amiri
Paolo Celli	Civil Engineering	A student working in my lab will design and fabricate shape-morphing structures, and analyze their static and/or dynamic behavior. We have projects that range from fundamental (designing structures that morph in unprecedented ways) to applied (morphing structures for robotics, energy or space applications), that will be assigned depending on the student's interests and our group's needs.	Basic coding skills and exposure to CAD; Interest in arts and crafts and building things.	About Prof. Celli
Brian Colle	Atmospheric Sciences	Machine learning and extreme weather prediction	Interested in Earth Sciences; Some python programming experience	About Prof. Colle
Yuefan Deng	Applied Mathematics & Statistics	Developing algorithms in high-performance computing, machine learning, and multiscale modeling for simulations of biological and medical processes.	Physics AP, Math AP, knowledge of basic calculus, programming experience with C, C++ or Python preferred	About Prof. Deng
Priyadharshini Devarajan	Microbiology & Immunology	We study how our immune system protects us from respiratory infections. We concentrate on the immune activity happening right at the point of attack, the nose and lungs. Our goal is to understand what constitutes an effective 'immune memory' of a past infection, which is crucial for preventing us from getting sick from the same pathogen again.	None specified	About Prof. Devarajan
Michael Ferdman	Computer Science	The COMPAS lab conducts research on Computer Architecture, Embedded Systems, Machine Learning Accelerators, Compilers, Operating Systems	Knowledge of programming and debugging	About Prof. Ferdman
Marine Frouin	Geosciences	This project will focus on determining the age of sediment samples from Mid-Pleistocene to Holocene archaeological sites in Africa. The student will play an active role in preparing and analyzing these samples using advanced luminescence dating techniques. Through this hands-on experience, the student will gain valuable skills in laboratory procedures, enhance their microscopy expertise, and learn to analyze complex datasets using R software.	None specified	About Prof. Frouin
Berhane Ghebrehiwet	Medicine	The role of gC1qR and C1q in infection, cancer and autoimmune diseases including Lupus.	Must be interested in all aspects of immunology	About Dr. Ghrebrehiwet
William Holt	Geosciences	Understanding landscape evolution in the framework of a dynamic orogenic system. The project would include geodynamic modeling of either extensional or collisional plate tectonic settings and address erosion and sedimentation within this system. This work could also be in collaboration with Professor Rasbury (geochronologist/isotope geochemist). The project may bring in actual isotope measurements as a constraint for timing.	None specified	About Prof. Holt
Benjamin Hsiao	Chemistry	Varying projects related to create circular solutions to enhance the nexus of food, water and environment.	None specified	About Prof. Hsiao
David Komatsu	Orthopaedics	Image analysis of bone samples in support of animal studies on skeletal adaption to microgravity.	Familiarity with ImageJ and Excel.	About Prof. Komatsu
Ji Liu	Electrical & Computer Engineering	Projects involve algorithm design, analysis, or simulation for (distributed) control, optimization, or machine learning over large-scale complex networks. Possible topics include: distributed control, distributed optimization, distributed machine learning, distributed quantum computing, epidemic networks, social networks.	Projects require proficiency in mathematics (e.g., linear algebra, calculus, probability, differential equations) and programming experience, with fluency in at least one programming language (e.g., Python, MATLAB).	About Prof. Ji Liu
Mengkun Liu	Physics & Astronomy	Students will explore quantum materials using cutting-edge optical nanoscopy techniques (near-field IR and THz spectroscopy). Projects may involve imaging polaritons, probing superconducting or topological states, and applying AI tools to analyze nanoscale data.	Preferred (Python and circuits knowledge)	About Prof. Mengkun Liu
Zhichen Liu	Civil Engineering	Students in my lab will explore how AI and big data can shape the cities of the future. Students will work on projects tackling real-world challenges in smart infrastructure and mobility systems. We will match students with a topic based on their interests, such as building an AI-enabled sandbox to see how self-driving cars can hurt/benefit different stakeholders, or help mobile robots to coordinate safely and efficiently with human workers on a construction site.	Programming experience (preferably Python)	About Prof. Zhichen Liu
Tengfei Ma	Biomedical Informatics	We aim to build machine learning models to predict future disease risks for a specific patient cohort and develop new causal inference methods to analyze the treatment effect of some drugs using the past history of those patients.	Experience in Python, basic machine learning skills	About Prof. Ma
Benjamin Martin	Biochemistry & Cell Biology	The research project will involve studying the maintenance and cell fate determination of stem cells during zebrafish embryonic development. The student will engage in a combination of experimental manipulations and bioinformatic analyses.	None specified	About Prof. Martin
Klaus Mueller	Computer Science	Research projects are offered in areas including: (1) Making algorithmic decision systems fairer through causal network analysis. (2) Exploring how law and policies can improve public health by analyzing socio-economic risk factors. (3) Synthesizing medical images to train/test AI algorithms for medical image diagnostics.	Knowledge of python and possibly javascript will be a plus	About Prof. Mueller
Anurag Purwar	Mechanical Engineering	Student will work on apply deep generative modeling and machine learning algorithms to design of robotic systems. An ideal student will have background in Python programming and an interest in robotics and artificial intelligence.	Programming background (preferably Python), Machine Learning fundamentals, Pytorch framework	About Prof. Purwar
Amir Rahmati	Computer Science	Web scams and honeypots: You'll get hands-on experience building simple "honeypots" (decoy systems) to attract online scammers, then analyze their behavior to understand how web scams operate. IoT security: You'll explore how everyday smart devices (like cameras or sensors) can be attacked, and try out lightweight defenses to make them safer. ML and control systems: You'll investigate how attackers can trick machine-learning models or control systems, and experiment with ways to make these systems more robust and trustworthy.	None specified	About Prof. Rahmati
Troy Rasbury	Geosciences	Boron is an essential micronutrient for plants yet the reasons for this is far from clear. The lab plant arabidopsis has 7 known boron transport genes. The research will involve growing wild type and genetically modified arabidopsis in isotopically labeled boron to address questions of how these boron trnsport genes control uptake and sequestration in this well-studied lab plant.	None specified	About Prof. Rasbury
Jessica Seeliger	Pharmacological Sciences	Understanding the cell envelope of infectious mycobacteria through the development and application of chemical biological tools	None specified	About Prof. Seeliger
Roger Sher	Neurobiology & Behavior	The project will involved investigating the role of aging and nuclear pore dysfunction on the development of ALS and Alzheimer's Disease, focusing on the role of nuclear import defects driving cell-cycle dysregulation in central nervous system neurons.	None specified	About Prof. Sher
Prerana Shrestha	Neurobiology & Behavior	We use cutting-edge techniques spanning chemogenetics, fiber photometry, pharmacology, biochemistry and behavior testing to study the causal role of protein synthesis dynamics in cortical neuron populations during consolidation of associative emotional behaviors. The Simons SRP student will partake in molecular characterization of cell type-specific alterations in nascent protein synthesis following cued aversive learning and retrieval, and in analyzing behavior data of animals that underwent protein synthesis manipulation in specific neuron types.	None specified	About Prof. Shrestha
Howard Sirotkin	Neurobiology & Behavior	We study proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells and progenitors, develop animal models for human neurological disorders including Autism, and investigate the neurodevelopmental consequences of environmental pollutants including PFAS "forever chemicals".	AP Biology	About Prof. Sirotkin
William Stewart	Mechanical Engineering	Student will push forward the boundaries of understanding in bioinspired underwater robotics. We will focus on either robot body design or controls/intelligence. We will rely heavily on hands-on experimentation as opposed to simulation/calculations.	Participation in FIRST Robotics Competition or similar	About Prof. Stewart
Dongyan Tan	Pharmacological Sciences	Projects are in the area of chromatin biology and epigenetics, with a focus on using in-vitro assays to investigate the function of various chromatin-associated proteins. Interested students will also have the opportunity to participate in data processing and model building related to structural studies of these proteins using cryo-electron microscopy.	None specified	About Prof. Tan
Elizabeth Watson	Ecology & Evolution	Ecosystem Functions in Coastal Restoration and Climate Change Adaptation Projects. Fieldwork in coastal ecosystems, measurement of plant photosynthesis and sediment characteristics, and utilization of remote sensing and bioinformatics pipelines to measure phenology and microbial function of soils.	Interest in climate change and field ecology, interest or experience with data analysis or programming (e.g., R/Python)	About Prof. Watson
Jackie Lee Weissman	Ecology & Evolution	Soil microbial communities play a central role in soil biogeochemical cycling and are key mediators of soil health and ecosystem productivity. We will develop and apply computational tools for understanding the growth characteristics of soil microbes using DNA sequencing datasets sampled from diverse soil environments. We will predict the traits of microbial species directly from their DNA.	HS Bio helps but not required	About Prof. Weissman
Harold Metcalf, Gillian Winters	Physics & Astronomy	Possible projects in the Laser Teaching Center include trapping and manipulating microscopic objects with optical tweezers, studying systems with geometric optics, and using optical interference in holography.	Calculus, programming in Python useful (but can be learned on the way)	About the Laser Teaching Center
Jie Yang	Medicine	Statistical application to biomedical research such as building a statistical model to describe the relationship between climate change and health risk or statistical learning methods to predict health outcome.	AP statistics and basic programming	About Prof. Yang
Nengkun Yu	Computer Science	Quantum Expanders and Quantum Software Analysis	Linear algebra	About Prof. Yu
Alisa Yurovsky	Biomedical Informatics	The students would be involved in exploratory analysis in machine learning with application to precision medicine. This will involve learning to read and present scientific papers and programming.	Experience programming in R or Python, machine learning	About Prof. Yurovsky
Wei Zhu	Applied Mathematics & Statistics	AI for Coastal Flooding Prediction	Interested students should be fluent in statistical learning, R and Python programming, and hopefully experience in building interactive web-apps	About Prof. Zhu