Group Members

Zach Sherman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Washington. He has broad research interests in colloidal soft materials, particularly in controlling the stucture and motion of nanoparticles to influence the macroscopic behavior of materials. Zach's work utilizes efficient numerical techniques that incorporate fluid mechanics and electromagnetic phenomena into large-scale colloidal simulations, providing an accurate modeling platform that is faithful to the fundamental physics governing real soft materials. Zach aims to uses these computational tools to rationally design soft materials for optical metamaterials, sustainable energy devices, and biomedical technologies.

Zach received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University, where he was a Merrill Presidential Scholar, awarded to the top 1% of Cornell seniors. Zach then received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 2019, working with Prof. Jim Swan on the assembly and transport of colloidal dispersions in electric and magnetic fields. While at MIT, Zach received the MIT School of Engineering Graduate Student Award for Extraordinary Teaching and Mentoring and the MIT Department of Chemical Engineering Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award. From 2019-2023, Zach was a postdoctoral fellow at UT Austin, working with Prof. Tom Truskett and Prof. Delia Milliron on the self-assembly and optical properties of functional nanoparticle materials. In 2020, Zach was awarded an Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship in Chemical Sciences. In Fall 2023, Zach joined the faculty of University of Washington as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

Outside of the lab, Zach loves to swim, solve (and construct!) crossword puzzles, and play video games.

Zach's CV

Ayça received her B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Bogazici University. She did her masters research on molecular simulations for exploring protein dynamics, allostery and conformational landscapes. She is now working on simulations of nanoparticles with magnetic properties. She enjoys climbing, anything outdoors, and crocheting.

Rishabh received his B.S. in chemical engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2020.  He is working on designing optical metamaterials using colloidal simulations. Outside of the lab, Rishabh likes to bike, run and solve puzzles.

Haoqing Zhang is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Washington. She received her B.S. in Chemistry from South China University of Technology, then her M.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University.

Haoqing has a wide range of research experience, both experimental and computational. Her research interests mainly focus on clean energy and sustainability. Outside of the lab, she is a movie nerd, enjoys traveling and going to concerts, and she has a cross-eyed cat named Squinty.

Kenny Lam is a Ph.D. student in the department of chemical engineering at University of Washington. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from University of Minnesota in May 2023. His research focuses on developing new numerical methods to simulate light-matter interactions and optical phenomena in colloidal systems. In his free time, he enjoys playing badminton, watching anime, and playing video games.

Bella Hoyer is a senior in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington. She is working on departmental honors research focused on simulating the magnetophoretic separation of paramagnetic ions. In her free time,  she enjoys skiing, hiking, and mountain biking.

Hanson graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a bachelors degree in Chemistry in 2023. In his undergrad, he focused on understanding the effect of thermal stress on the performance of organic photodetectors. Here at UW,  Hanson is working on hierarchical assembly of soft matter mediated by biomolecules using laboratory automation and simulation.

In his spare time, Hanson enjoys playing music, video games, and solving Rubik’s Cubes.

Kyla Yamamoto is a senior in the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Washington. She is working on simulating nanoparticle clusters and their magnetic properties. In her free time, she enjoys rock hounding, cosplaying, and hanging out with her pet axolotl.

Yu-Fang Hsieh is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Washington. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University, then her M.S. degree in Biomechatronics Engineering from National Taiwan University.

Her research is focused on quantification of transport dynamics in nanoemulsions via integrated TR-SANS and Multi-Scale Simulation. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and cooking.

Varad Mudvikar is a junior in the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Washington. He is working on simulating nanoparticle clusters and their magnetic properties. During his free time, Varad enjoys taking long walks, cycling and watching TV.

Christopher Combs is a senior in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington. He is working on departmental research focused on the assembly of paramagnetic ions under electrostatic and magnetic interactions. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time outdoors, watching movies, and traveling.

Adam Nixon is a senior in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington. He is working on departmental honors research on the design of magnetically controlled color-tunable materials built from paramagnetic and plasmonic nanoparticles. Outside of lab, he enjoys running and reading science fiction.

Emi is a first-year M.S. chemistry student at UW. They received their B.S. in chemical engineering at Montana State University Bozeman in May 2025. She is now working on simulating the assembly of paramagnetic ions into asymmetric salts. In their spare time she enjoys playing games, riding her motorcycle, and finding scenic views.

Gracie Rogers is a PhD student at the University of Washington with an interest in biomimetics. Her research combines computational modeling and laboratory experimentation. She began her academic path at Texas A&M University, earning a BS in Chemical Engineering, and expanded her expertise at Villanova University with an MS in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering.

Sabrina Boczek is a Chemical Engineering and Applied Mathematics. Undergraduate student here at the University of Washington, Seattle. She is working with Rishabh on inverse design of nanoparticle films with spectral properties independent of the incident angle of the light source, specifically working on incident-angle agnostic transmission/reflection. Outside of academics, Sabrina likes to sew, run, and design in CAD.