ENCOMM Seminar Series: New Directions in Materials Research

Dr. Youngseok Kim is an Asst. Prof. in the Dept. of Elec. & Comp. Eng. at OSU. He received his B.S. degree in Elec. Eng. from POSTECH, South Korea, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Elec. & Comp. Eng. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on co-optimizing quantum hardware and algorithms to enable practical quantum advantage. His interests include quantum device characterization, noise-aware algorithm design, and scalable error mitigation techniques for noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) processors. Prior to joining OSU, Dr. Kim was a Research Staff Member at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, where he led experimental efforts to benchmark and validate large-scale quantum workloads and contributed to multiple quantum error-correction and mitigation projects. 

Dr. Alexander von Hoegen is an experimental condensed matter physicist and Asst. Prof. in the Dept. of Phys. at OSU. His research develops ultrafast optical and terahertz spectroscopy/microscopy tools to study and control light–matter interactions in quantum materials, with a focus on collective excitations, non-equilibrium states, and cavity-engineered electrodynamics. Before joining Ohio State, he was a Feodor Lynen Postdoctoral Research Fellow at MIT (2022–2025), where he worked on THz spectroscopy and microscopy of quantum materials. He received his Ph.D. in Physics (summa cum laude, 2021) from the University of Hamburg under the supervision of Prof. Andrea Cavalleri, where he developed advanced ultrafast spectroscopy methods, including time-, amplitude-, and phase-resolved second-harmonic generation. He completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. (both cum laude) at RWTH Aachen University

Dr. Yanzhou Ji is an Asst. Prof. in the Dept. of Mater. Sci. & Eng. at OSU. He received his Ph.D. degree from Penn State Univ. in 2018 in mater. sci. & eng. Prior to joining OSU in August 2023, he was a postdoctoral scholar (2019-2021) and then an Assistant Research Professor (2021-2023) at Penn State. Dr. Ji's research focuses on developing and applying new computational models to understand microstructure evolution during chemical reactions and providing direct insights into microstructure control, process optimization, and materials design. He is particularly interested in microstructure evolution at electrode/electrolyte interfaces of advanced batteries, during chemical synthesis of functional materials, and during advanced manufacturing of alloys. Dr. Ji's research expertise is materials microstructure modeling using phase-field and multiscale approaches. He has successfully applied these approaches to understanding solidification, precipitation and oxidation behaviors in metallic alloys, and 2D materials growth during chemical vapor deposition.

Dr. Joseph S. Kwon is the Richard Morrow Endowed Chair and Prof. in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at OSU. Prior to this, he served as Asst. and Assoc. Prof. at Texas A&M Univ, where he held the Kenneth R. Hall Career Development Professorship. He holds degrees in Mathematics and Chemical Engineering (B.S., Univ of Minnesota), Electrical Engineering (M.S., Univ of Pennsylvania), and Chemical Engineering (Ph.D., UCLA). Dr. Kwon's research lies in Process Systems Engineering, with a focus on multiscale and hybrid modeling, model predictive control, and optimization. He has published over 170 papers, delivered numerous invited talks at industry and academic institutions, and secured over $5M in research funding. His work has been recognized with multiple national and institutional awards, including those from NSF, DOE, KIChE, KSEA, and TAMU.

Prof. Chini received his BSc in Physics from McGill Univ. in 2007. He earned a PhD degree in Physics from Univ. of Central Florida in 2012 under the direction of Zenghu Chang, where his work focused on the accurate characterization and spectroscopic application of isolated attosecond light pulses. From 2012-2015, he performed postdoctoral research on attosecond spectroscopy, ultrashort pulse laser source development, and laser filamentation in the groups of Profs. Zenghu Chang and Martin Richardson. He joined the Faculty in Physics at Univ. of Central Florida in 2015, and was promoted to Asso. Prof. in 2020. In Fall 2024, he moved to the Dept. of Phys. at OSU, where he leads the Lightwave Electronics and Attosecond Photonics (LEAP) group, which focuses on the development and application of next-generation laser-based attosecond light sources and field-resolved spectroscopic tools to study electron dynamics in atoms, molecules, and solids. Mike enjoys doing cryptic crossword puzzles with his wife Jackie (Assoc. Prof. in OSU Physics), camping with his son Josiah, making pizza, and listening to punk music. 

Prof. Zadrozny was born in the mountains of Virginia and got his BS in chemistry at Virginia Tech. His PhD studies focused on making transition metals magnetically mimic the highly anisotropic rare-earth elements under the tutelage of Prof. Jeffrey Long at UC Berkeley. His postdoctoral studies with Prof. Danna Freedman (then at Northwestern) investigated magnetic transition metal ions in molecules as candidates for quantum information applications. He started his faculty career at Colorado State University in 2017 and moved to THE Ohio State University in 2023 with tenure. His current research interests span a variety of different applications, but all ultimately boil down to answering the question: what chemical and physical aspects the environment of a spin, whether electronic or nuclear, control its magnetic resonance dynamics?

Dr. Lauren W. Taylor joined the William G. Lowrie Dept of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University as an Assistant. Prof. in 2024. She earned her PhD in Chemical Engineering as an NDSEG Fellow at Rice University under Dr. Matteo Pasquali, where her work on carbon nanotube self-assembly was recognized with the international Carbon Journal Prize for best PhD thesis. Following her doctoral studies, she was awarded a Princeton Center for Complex Materials Postdoctoral Fellowship, working with Drs. Richard Register and Rodney Priestley to advance the understanding of how monomer sequence influences polymer phase behavior and glass transition dynamics. Her expertise lies in the characterization and design of hierarchical soft matter. Dr. Taylor’s research group aims to bridge the gap between molecular-scale architecture and macroscale performance. By leveraging these fundamental insights, her lab engineers next-generation materials including lightweight, low-footprint composites, stimuli-responsive textiles, and associating polymers with enhanced recyclability.