School of Engineering


Showing 11-17 of 17 Results

  • Jennifer Dionne

    Jennifer Dionne

    Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Radiology (Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford)

    BioJennifer (Jen) Dionne is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and, by courtesy, of Radiology at Stanford. She is also a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator, deputy director of Q-NEXT (a DOE National Quantum Initiative), and co-founder of Pumpkinseed, a company developing quantum sensors to understand and optimize the immune system. From 2020-2023, Jen served as Stanford’s Inaugural Vice Provost of Shared Facilities, raising capital to modernize instrumentation, fund experiential education, foster staff development, and support new and existing users of the shared facilities. Jen received her B.S. degrees in Physics and Systems Science and Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis, her Ph. D. in Applied Physics at the California Institute of Technology in 2009, and her postdoctoral training in Chemistry at Berkeley. As a pioneer of nanophotonics, she is passionate about developing methods to observe and control chemical and biological processes as they unfold with nanometer scale resolution, emphasizing critical challenges in global health and sustainability. Her research has developed culture-free methods to detect pathogens and their antibiotic susceptibility; amplification-free methods to detect and sequence nucleic acids and proteins; and new methods to image light-driven chemical reactions with atomic-scale resolution. Jen’s work has been featured in NPR, the Economist, Science, and Nature, and recognized with the NSF Alan T. Waterman Award, a NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, a Moore Inventor Fellowship, and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. She was also featured on Oprah’s list of “50 Things that will make you say ‘Wow’!”. She also perceives outreach as a critical component of her role and frequently collaborates with visual and performing artists to convey the beauty of science to the broader public.

  • Varun Dolia

    Varun Dolia

    Ph.D. Student in Materials Science and Engineering, admitted Autumn 2021

    BioVarun Dolia is a Benchmark Fellow and a Ph.D. candidate in Prof. Jen Dionne's lab. He is excited about developing nanophotonic platforms for health and environmental monitoring.

  • Changxin Lyla Dong

    Changxin Lyla Dong

    Ph.D. Student in Materials Science and Engineering, admitted Autumn 2022

    BioLyla Dong is committed to advancing innovative materials solutions that address critical challenges in health and environmental sustainability. Her research spans multiple fields, including hydrogel development, materials characterization, and electrochemistry. As a PhD candidate at Stanford University advised by Professor Eric A. Appel, she focuses on creating cutting-edge materials to protect against wildfires and improve therapeutic delivery systems.

    Prior to her studies at Stanford, Lyla conducted research under the mentorship of Professors Pulickel M. Ajayan and Haotian Wang at Rice University. She developed functional materials for batteries and explored technologies for carbon capture, discovering her passion for sustainable materials science.

    Through her interdisciplinary approach, Lyla strives to bridge the critical intersections between health and environmental sustainability, creating solutions that have a real-world impact.

  • Siddharth Doshi

    Siddharth Doshi

    Ph.D. Student in Materials Science and Engineering, admitted Autumn 2019
    Masters Student in Materials Science and Engineering, admitted Winter 2025

    BioSiddharth is a PhD student in Materials Science at Stanford University, where he is a Meta PhD Fellow working with Mark Brongersma and Nicholas Melosh. His research is focused on developing electrically tunable active optical metasurfaces using soft polymers, enabling applications ranging from on-the-fly reconfigurable optical computing devices to wearable photonics. Previously, he received his Bachelor's degree in Engineering from the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia) and spent time in industry designing award-winning consumer products.

  • Persis Drell

    Persis Drell

    Provost, Emerita, James and Anna Marie Spilker Professor, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and of Physics

    BioPersis Drell is the James and Anna Marie Spilker Professor in the School of Engineering, a professor of materials science and engineering, and a professor of physics. From Feb 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 2023, Drell was the provost of Stanford University.

    Prior to her appointment as provost in February 2017, she was dean of the Stanford School of Engineering from 2014 to 2017 and director of U.S. Department of Energy SLAC National Acceleratory Laboratory from 2007 to 2012.

    She earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from Wellesley College and her PhD in atomic physics from UC Berkeley. Before joining the faculty at Stanford in 2002, she was a faculty member in the physics department at Cornell University for 14 years.

  • Leora Dresselhaus-Marais

    Leora Dresselhaus-Marais

    Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, of Photon Science and, by courtesy, of Mechanical Engineering

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy group develops new methods to update old processes in metals manufacturing