Director
Brian L. Wardle
Full Professor, MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics
Joint appointment, MIT Mechanical Engineering
Director, necstlab
Founder and Director, Nano-Engineered Composite aerospace STructures (NECST) Consortium
office: 33-408
email:wardle "at" mit.edu
Profile: http://aeroastro.mit.edu/faculty-research/faculty-list/brian-l-wardle
Professor Wardle is Director of MIT's Nano-Engineered Composite aerospace STructures (NECST) Consortium, and necstlab. He is active in the Materials Processing Center (MPC) ISN, CMSE, and MEMS@MIT (part of the Microsystems Technology Laboratory) communities.
Post Doctoral Associates & Research Staff
Luiz Acauan
Research Scientist (formerly a necstlab Postdoctoral Associate)
lacauan "at" mit.edu
Dr. Luiz Acauan is a Research Scientist in Material Science and a former Postdoctoral Associate with necstlab. His past projects involved hybrid solar cells composed by photovoltaic polymers, inorganic semiconductors and carbon nanotubes as well as carbon nanotubes/graphene 3D nanostructures for a broad range of applications. His current work focuses on multifunction composites and the synthesis of nanostructures. He has double graduation in Material Science Engineering at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS-Brazil) and the Institut National Polytechique de Grenoble (INPG-França) and obtained Masters at the INPG and UFRGS as well. Completed his PhD in 2015 at the UFRGS.
Jingyao Dai
Postdoctoral Associate
jydai "at" mit.edu
Jingyao Dai joined necstlab in Spring 2021 as a postdoctoral associate. He obtained his Master and PhD degrees at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Penn State University where he studied toughening of ceramic materials with nanoporosity and hierarchical microstructure designs. His current research interests include fracture behaviors of materials, microstructure design and characterization, and advanced manufacturing methods. His research at necstlab will focus on nanoporous networks. Outside of the lab, he enjoys soccer, travelling, and movies.
Jen-Hung Fang
Postdoctoral Associate
fangjh "at" mit.edu
Jen-Hung is a Postdoctoral Associate in necstlab since the spring of 2023. He graduated from National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, in 2020 with a Ph.D. in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Science. His doctoral research included polymer-based composite biomaterials via 3D printing technology and chemical delivery system. Recently, he is focusing on electrochemical sensors and beyond lithium energy storage such as direct methanol fuel cells as well as structural supercapacitors. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, sailing, and swimming with friends.
Carina Xiaochen Li
Postdoctoral Associate
carinali "at" mit.edu
Dr. Carina Xiaochen Li joined necstlab in 2022 as a postdoctoral researcher. She received her Ph.D. in M. C. Gill Composite Center at University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California, where she worked on the manufacturing of high performance aerospace composites. During her Ph.D., she was a visiting research scientist at the IMDEA Materials Institute in Madrid, Spain, and worked on the nano-mechanical testing of high-temperature CFRP composites. Her research interests include nanoengineering of aligned-CNT reinforced aerospace composite structures, multifunctionality nanocomposites, advanced Out-of-Oven composites manufacturing techniques, thermoplastic composites manufacturing, and composite material and structural design.
Graduate Students
Aniruddha Ghosh
Graduate Student
ghoshani "at" mit.edu
Aniruddha is a Master’s student in MIT's Media Lab. He completed his Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India. He worked as a Research Intern in the DCS Lab at Hanyang University, South Korea during pre-final year of his under graduate study. He is interested in Electrodynamics, Nanoelectronics and Communication Engineering.
Shaan Anand Jagani
Graduate Student
sjagani "at" mit.edu
Shaan Jagani is a graduate student in the AeroAstro department, who received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Material Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He served as a research assistant in Berkeley’s material science department and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Material Science Division, working to improve the mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites. His current research involves manufacturing and testing carbon nanotube reinforced ceramic matrix composites. Outside of research, he enjoys fencing, baking, music, and engineering passion projects.
Christopher Kwon
Graduate Student
ckwon23 "at" mit.edu
Christopher Kwon is a graduate student in Aerospace Engineering. He received his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia. His research interests include the nanoengineering and manufacturing of advanced composite structures. Outside of academics, he enjoys exploring fashion and photography, playing sports, and watching anime.
Yuying Lin
Graduate Student
yuyingl "at" mit.edu
Yuying is a graduate student in AeroAstro, joining necstlab in Fall 2022. She completed a BSc in chemical engineering at Caltech, where they conducted research in developing ultralight luminescent solar concentrators for the Space Solar Power Project. In necstlab, they will study the bulk nanocomposite laminating process. In her free time she likes to run, do calisthenics workouts, make GarageBand beats, and design jewelry.
Armando Neto
Graduate Student (Shao-Horn Group)
arcneto "at" mit.edu
Armando Rodrigues Carneiro Neto is a graduate student in the Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Before joining Prof. Yang Shao-Horn’s group during the Fall of 2022, he worked as a Product Development Engineer I for Embraer. His research focuses on energy resilience, namely, he is researching on how to expand the electrochemical stability window of aqueous electrolytes to build safer, better-performing, aqueous batteries at EEL. Through a collaboration between necstlab and EEL, he is working on structural super capacitors to turn the structural parts of vehicles into a multifunctional element that can also store energy. Outside the academic environment, he enjoys going for long drives and playing soccer.
Palak Patel
Graduate Student
palak "at" mit.edu
Palak Patel is a graduate student in Mechanical Engineering. While she was pursuing her undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at PDPU, India, she interned at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2019. She joined NECSTLAB in 2020. Her research project involves the life-cycle enhancement via data-driven nanoengineering of advanced composite structures by developing a fused-multifunctional nano-engineered system. Outside of the academic and research environment, she enjoys playing soccer and basketball, reading fiction books, and drawing.
Marianna Rogers
Graduate Student
marogers "at" mit.edu
Marianna Rogers is a graduate student in the Mechanical Engineering department at MIT. She received undergraduate degrees in both Physics and Mathematics at the University of Chicago, and is excited to apply her academic background to the research of multifunctional nanomaterials at necstlab. She previously worked with our group as a 2022 MSRP Summer Research Intern. Outside of the lab, Marianna enjoys outdoor activities such as paddleboarding, kayaking, hiking/backpacking, and sightseeing, and also loves to dance!
Daniel Vuong
EECS MEng
dcvuong "at" mit.edu
Voluptatem quidem, Brute, si ipsa pro se loquatur nec tam pertinaces habeat patronos, concessuram arbitror convictam superiore libro dignitati.
Alisa Webb
Graduate Student
awebb15 "at" mit.edu
Alisa Webb is a graduate student in the AeroAstro department. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University, while researching for the Nanoscale Heat Transfer Laboratory. Her current research includes the investigation of nanoporous materials in composites manufacturing. In her free time, Alisa enjoys playing team sports, exploring new music, and sightseeing.
Undergraduate Students
Hillel Dei
UROP
hdei "at" mit.edu
Hillel Dei is an undergraduate researcher joining necstlab in January 2022. Hillel Dei is a second-year student studying aerospace engineering in addition to mathematics. He works with MIT's Rocket Team by day whilst indulging in video games by night. When free, he enjoys reading comic books and watching soccer.
Nielsen Euvrard
UROP
neuvrard "at" mit.edu
Nielsen Euvrard is a first-year student studying Aerospace Engineering and is interested in Material Science. Outside of academics, he is on the Men’s Heavyweight Crew team. He enjoys spending his free time outdoors with friends and listening to music.
Erick Gonzalez
UROP
egonza "at" mit.edu
Erick Gonzalez is a second-year student studying aerospace engineering and is also interested in material science. He is also a member of MIT's Design-Build-Fly team. Outside of school, he enjoys baking, playing sports, and playing video games.
Norah Miller
UROP
nrmiller "at" mit.edu
Norah Miller is a second-year student in aerospace engineering, with interests in materials science and sustainability. Outside of school, she is a member of the Women’s Open-weight Rowing team, and is a Garden Lead of UA Sustainability. She also enjoys any outdoor activities and taking care of her houseplants.
Grant Oh
UROP
grantoh2 "at" mit.edu
Grant Oh is a third-year student studying Mechanical Engineering and Business Management. Outside of school, he is on the Men’s Volleyball Team. In his free time, he likes to watch soccer, listen to music, and play Geoguessr.
Heine van der Walt
UROP
heinevdw "at" mit.edu
Heine is a new UROP with necstlab (joining mid-Spring 2023) and we're excited to see what he'll cook up in the lab with Dr. Luiz Acauan. In his spare time, he enjoys motorcycles and international travel to learn new things and seek out new ideas.
Darren Hill
UROP
darrenh "at" mit.edu
Darren Hill is a third-year Mechanical Engineering exchange student enrolled in AeroAstro for 2024. He has a passion for aviation and aerospace engineering and holds a South African private pilot license. Outside of studies, he enjoys backyard cricket and gaming.
Visting Scientists & Students
Richard Li
Visiting Scientist
richli "at" mit.edu
Richard Li was a S.M. Student in necstlab who started working with Prof. Wardle as a UROP in 2009. He received his S.B. in Aerospace Engineering from MIT in 2010. His research is focused on multifunctional properties characterization and scale-up of carbon nanotube/ carbon fiber hybrid multiscale composites. Outside of research, Rich was the Co-President of the Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and enjoys bike touring, performing Chinese Yo-Yo to the Greater Boston Area, and windsurfing.
Affiliated Faculty and Researchers
Prof. Hulya Cebeci, Istanbul Technical University, Aerospace Engineering Department Turkey
geyikh "at" itu.edu.tr
John Kane, MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics
Research Specialist
kane "at" mit.edu
Dr. Antonio Miravete
Visiting Scientist
miravete "at" mit.edu
Professor Antonio Miravete was a full time professor at the University of Zaragoza, Spain 1981 - 1997. Since that year he focused his professional activity in the US and kept teaching in Spain until 2020. With over four decades of experience, he has dedicated his career to both teaching and conducting extensive research on composite materials. Professor Miravete's prolific contributions to the academic world include authoring or co-authoring over 300 publications, including books, book chapters, journal articles, conference papers, and technical reports. Currently, he is a research affiliate at MIT in necstlab.
Prof. Desiree Plata
Visiting Professor
dplata "at" mit.edu
Seunghyun Kim, Brown University
Associate Professor
Seunghyun_Kim "at" brown.edu
Administrative Staff
Gabrielle Hoyte
Administrative Assistant
ghoyte "at" mit.edu