Dhong Lab 2026, “Wes Anderson Edition”
Front Row: Juliette, Nic, Zoe
Middle Row: Ashika, Kayla
Back Row: Charles, Maryanne, Abi, Tianzheng, Abby, Nishtha, Qurat
See older photos here: https://charlesdhong.com/group-photo-archives/
Graduate Students
Kayla Hepler
Materials Science and Engineering
2021: B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University
Kayla’s research interests include developing computational approaches to classifying mesoscale friction traces and creating next generation tactile aids.
Nishtha Pant
Materials Science and Engineering
2019: M.S. in Polymer Science, University of Akron, Ohio
2017: B.Tech in Chemical Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, India
Nishtha’s work involves identifying and quantifying fundamental tactile sensations.
Maryanne Derkaloustian
Materials Science and Engineering
2022: B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Maryanne’s research works at using frictional instabilities to design novel mechanochemical transduction methods.
Qurat-Ul-Ain Bhatti
Materials Science and Engineering
2022: B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad
Qurat’s work involves extracting mechanical biomarkers for fibrosis and osteoarthritis.
Truc Ngo
Biomedical Engineering
2022: M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
2020: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Oklahoma State University
Joint-Advised with Dr. Joshua Cashaback (UD BME)
Truc’s research interests include understanding the interplay of human movement and decision-making to improve healthcare paradigms such as in neurorehabilitation and tactile designs for visual impairment aids.
Lauren McCaskey
Chemistry and Biochemistry
2022: B.S. in Chemistry, Rockhurst University
Joint-Advised with Dr. Laure Kayser (UD MSEG, Chemistry)
Lauren’s research involves synthesizing and optimizing polymer tags for tactile immunoassay development.
Ashika Singh
Biomedical Engineering
2024: M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware
2019-2020: NanoBios Lab – IIT Bombay
2019: M.S. in Biotechnology, St. Xavier’s College
2017: B.S. in Biotechnology, Jai Hind College, Mumbai University
Ashika’s research interests are in developing tactile medical diagnostics.
Zoe Fields
Biomedical Engineering
2023: B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida
Zoe’s research involves identifying biological mechanisms on a tissue and cellular level that drive progression of osteoarthritis and cartilage degradation in order to better understand and treat the disease.
Nicholas Christ
Materials Science and Engineering
2025: M.S. in Materials Engineering, Purdue University
2024: B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, Purdue University
Nic’s research interests include high-fidelity experimental design, biological parameterization of external stimuli, and inverse design rooted in fundamental knowledge.
Abigail Sicher
Materials Science and Engineering
2025: B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware
Joint-Advised with Dr. Laure Kayser (UD MSEG, Chemistry)
Abby’s research interests are in electrochemical materials for dynamic tactile actuators.
Maria Pantazidou
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
2024: Integrated M.S. in Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens
Maria’s research interests include understanding the multiscale behavior of polymer thin films and their influence on tactile perception.
Undergraduate Students
Amelia Maring
2027: B.S. in Biomedical Engineering
Amelia’s research interests are in how mechanical and environmental signals are sensed, and how they contribute to tissue adaptation, function, and disease.
Sarah Graveline
2029: B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering
Sarah’s research investigates material microstructure changes arising from frequency response, and their impact on tactile perception.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Nolan Miller
Materials Science and Engineering
2026: Visiting Researcher, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
2026: Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst
2022: M.S. in Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst
2020: B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, Purdue University
Nolan is a polymer engineer with a background in soft matter mechanics and reversible adhesion. His current research uses soft robotics for texture identification through mechanical instabilities.
P.I.
Charles Dhong
Assistant Professor in Materials Science and Engineering
Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering
Affiliated Faculty in Mechanical Engineering
2018: Postdoc, UC San Diego
(with Prof. Darren Lipomi)
2016: Ph.D., Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
(with Prof. Joelle Frechette)
2012: B.S., Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley
(with Prof. Roya Maboudian & Prof. Danielle Tullman-Ercek)
Ph.D. Alumni
Dr. Abigail Nolin (2024, Materials Science and Engineering) – Merck
Dr. Zachary Swain (2024, Materials Science and Engineering) – TA Instruments
Dr. Shalini Sundar (2025, Biomedical Engineering)
Dr. Tianzheng Guo (2026, Materials Science and Engineering)
Alumni
Rainer Hlibok (2022 B.S, Optimeos Life Sciences)
Irene Mesa (2022 B.S, Stryker)
Kelly Pierson (2022 B.S, L’Oréal)
Amanda Licht (2022 B.S, MilliporeSigma)
Dr. Ghodeejah Higgins
Avery Boyer (2022 M.S, Chemours)
Lisa Ta (2022)
Sindhu Narayan (2025 B.S, M.S. at UD)
Lily Walton (2025 B.S, Charles River Laboratories)
Bhargav Gorti (2025)
Leanne Ton (2025 B.S, Siemens)
Alven Huang (2025 B.S, Corrpro)
Simone Meyers (2025 B.S, M.S. at UD)
Emma Gutleber (2025 B.S, M.S. at UD)
Connor Coyne (2026 B.S)
Sidney Brutscher (2027 B.S)
Jenna Averill (2026 B.S)
Juliette Tzitzis (2028 B.S)
Dhong Lab 