B. A. Physics, Cambridge University
Ph.D. Materials Science and Metallurgy, Cambridge University

In situ microscopy as a tool to study the mechanisms of dynamic processes. Structure, dynamics, epitaxy, self assembly and phase stability at surfaces, interfaces and in nanoscale systems. Structural control in low dimensional materials. Nucleation and growth in the liquid phase, in particular electrochemical processes.

Frances M. Ross is the TDK Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, USA. She received her B.A. in Physics and Ph.D. in Materials Science from Cambridge University, UK, where she became captivated by electron microscopy. She continued this interest during her postdoc at A.T.&T. Bell Laboratories, as a Staff Scientist at the National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and as a Research Staff Member at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center. Her research is based around the development of in situ electron microscopy techniques to help understand crystal growth, epitaxy, self-assembly and electrochemical and other liquid phase processes. She spends her time outside the lab with family, cats and sailboats.

B. Sc. Physics, Technical University of Munich (TUM)
M. Sc. Physics, Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Ph.D. Physics, Technical University of Munich (TUM)

Primary Area: Combining electron microscopy and cryogenic optical spectroscopy
Material Focus: Van der Waals materials
Specialization: Quantum matter engineering, Photonics
Application: Scalable quantum technologies

Julian Klein is a group leader at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, USA. He received his doctorate in experimental physics at the Technical University of Munich studying layered materials using cryogenic optical spectroscopy, particularly focusing on engineered quantum defects using helium ion beam irradiation. As part of his doctorate, he conducted a 3-month research stay at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, studying defects using scanning tunneling microscopy. He was awarded a Feodor-Lynen postdoctoral fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Since 2020, he has been researching at MIT focusing on advanced electron microscopy for atomic-scale quantum matter engineering as a platform for scaling quantum technologies. Outside the lab, he enjoys playing drums and going out with friends.

B.Sc. Physics, Ben Gurion University
M.Sc. Physics, Ben Gurion University
Ph.D. Physics, Ben Gurion University

Primary Area: Scanning probe microscopy (STM, AFM)

B. Eng. Mechanical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology
M. Sc. Mechanical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology
Ph.D. Mechanics, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology
D.Sc. Material Science, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology

Primary Area: In-situ electron microscopy with special interests in light-induced phenomena
Material Focus: Anything which fits TEM specimen holders – from metal alloys, through nanomaterials, to soft matter and cells
Specialization: Light-induced experiments in liquid, designing new tools to be mount in TEM
Application: Hope to find some!

Andrzej received his PhD in 2019 and habilitation in 2023 at his home institution, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. He is also leading the electron microscopy group there. Throughout his career, he has focused on the use and development of scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy techniques, with particular sympathy for in situ TEM techniques. He greatly appreciates complex observational experiments that require the creation of an unconventional configuration inside the electron microscope. He visited Frances Ross group in 2022 for the Kosciuszko Foundation scholarship, and in 2024 he visited us back as a Fulbright scholar. Outside the lab, he enjoys mountain sports, running, and DIY projects.

B.S. Wuhan University of Science and Technology
M.S. Zhejiang University
Ph.D. Eindhoven University of Technology

Primary Area: Liquid-Phase Electron Microscopy
Material Focus: Battery Materials and Soft Matter
Specialization: Liquid-Phase EM, Cryo-TEM, and Electrochemistry
Application: Battery technologies

Hanglong Wu is currently a Postdoctoral Associate working with Prof. Frances Ross. His main research interests focus on the development of new in-situ electron microscopy methods for battery materials and soft matter. He received his Ph.D in liquid-phase electron microscopy from the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), the Netherlands, in 2020. Before joining the Ross lab, he was a postdoc at TU/e with Prof. Jan van Hest, studying polymeric materials processes using liquid-phase TEM and cryo-TEM. Outside the lab, Wu enjoys cooking, badminton, and photography.

B.S. Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
M.Phil. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Ph.D. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

2D materials synthesis; metal oxidation; metal
sulfurization.

Zhenjing Liu got her Master and Ph.D. degree from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. During that period, her research focused on the controlled synthesis of 2D materials via chemical vapor deposition method towards energy application, and she was the scholar of Asian Future leadership Program and awarded for the HKJEBN Scholarship for Talent. Now she is working on the study of oxidation and sulfurization process of 3D metal on 2D materials, aiming at developing a scalable method to fabricate high-quality dielectric layers and heterostructures. Outside the lab, Zhenjing enjoys watching movies, cooking, and playing computer games.

B.S. Materials Science & Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Primary Area: Ultra High Vacuum Transmission Electron Microscopy
Material Focus: 3D material growth on 2D materials
Specialization: Ultra-High Vacuum and high throughput techniques
Application: Heterogenous integration of 2D materials

Paul Miller obtained his bachelors in Materials Science and Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he researched oxide glasses. Afterwards he led materials characterization in the Advanced Materials and Microsystems group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Paul’s research involves the intersection of electron microscopy, ultra-high vacuum science and thin film deposition to investigate epitaxy on 2D materials. Outside of the lab he enjoys tinkering with old equipment and hobby machining.

B.S. Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Primary Area: In-situ Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy
Material Focus: 2D vdW Materials and their heterostructures
Specialization: Atomistic engineering of 2D vdW materials using electron microscopy

Eugene (Jane) Park received her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) characterization of 2D vdW materials and heterostructures. She also studies in-situ STEM characterization of structural responses of 2D materials. Outside the lab, Jane enjoys baking financiers, cake, and croissants.

B.S. Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan

Primary Area: Electrical characterization of devices
Material Focus: 2D materials and their heterostructures
Specialization: TMD – oxide interfaces
Application: 2D-semiconductor based transistors

Rishabh Kothari graduated from the University of Michigan in 2022, studying Materials Science and Engineering with minors in Physics and Electrical Engineering. At Michigan, he worked under Professor Steven Yalisove to produce surface structures on semiconductors through ultrafast laser – material interaction. After his B.S., he briefly worked at Sandia National Labs on simulating the fabrication of thin films by physical vapor deposition. At MIT, Rishabh is an NSF-GRFP recipient and studies the oxidation of hafnium on 2D materials. Outside of the lab, he enjoys running on the Charles, biking, and taking board
games a little too seriously.

B.A. Materials Science, University of Cambridge
M.Sci. Materials Science, University of Cambridge

Primary area: Ultra-High Vacuum TEM
Materials Focus: 2D Materials and their Heterostructures
Specialisation: In-situ studies of nanoisland reactions
Application: Next-generation electronic devices

Pip Knight graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2023, where she studied Natural Sciences, specialising in Materials Science. During her time at Cambridge, she worked in the Optical Nanomaterials Group under Professor Emilie Ringe, where she developed an interest in nanoparticle reaction kinetics and plasmonic behaviour. Her Master’s project involved studying the kinetics of galvanic replacement reactions on nanoparticles using in-situ hyperspectral dark field optical microscopy. She was awarded the highest mark in her cohort for her BA and MSci, and received the Goldsmiths Prize and Medal, Winifred Georgina Holgate Pollard Memorial Prize, and Armourers and Brasiers Prize for her studies. At MIT, Pip is an Ida M. Green fellow and studies metallic nanoislands on 2D materials, including how they form silicides using in-situ UHV TEM. Outside of the lab, she loves to play the organ, paint, and go hiking.

B.S. Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University
M.S. Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University

Primary area: Semiconductor Epitaxy
Materials Focus: III-V materials
Specialisation: In situ Transmission Electron Microscopy
Application: Transistor Technologies

Chen Chang received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from National Taiwan University, where his research centered on the synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials, igniting his passion for epitaxy. At MIT, he studies the growth of III-V semiconductor materials on various substrates, with an emphasis on dislocation analysis using transmission electron microscopy. Outside the lab, Chen enjoys basketball, skiing, and chilling with his Chihuahua, Bean.

B.S. Materials Science and Engineering
B.A. Physics, University of Pennsylvania

Primary Area: Optical characterization in electron microscopy
Materials Focus: 2D vdW Materials, CrSBr
Specialization: Optical properties of CrSBr defects
Application: Quantum Technologies

Kaiyuan Chen received his B.S.E. in Materials Science and Engineering and B.A. in Physics with minors in Electrical Engineering and Math from University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, he worked under Professor Liang Feng to investigate the beam steering effect and coherent lasing of coupled micro-ring resonators. At MIT, he studies optical characterizations of various 2D materials. Specifically, he aims to construct a cryogenic optical testing setup in the microscope to measure defect centers in CrSBr. Outside the lab, Kai enjoys dancing traditional Chinese dances and playing the board game, the Betrayal at House on the Hill. He also takes care of two cute cats, Kiwi and Pudding.

 B.S. Materials Science and Engineering, MIT (Expected 2027); B.A. Physics, Wellesley College (Expected 2027)

Primary area: Conductive AFM, image processing workflows 
Materials Focus: 2D layered van der waals materials, Chromium Sulfur Bromide (CrSBr)
Specialization: Varied experimental and computational characterization of doped CrSBr
Application: Quantum Technologies and Spintronics

Sara Tulchinsky is an undergraduate student participating in a 5-year dual bachelor’s degree program at Wellesley College (where she studies physics) and MIT (where she studies materials science and engineering). Her work in Ross Group revolves around atomic force microscopy but she enjoys learning about all types of microscopy. She has had previous research experience in different areas of materials science and physics; for example, she did a summer research internship at the University of Michigan where she worked on thin film ferroelectric materials under Professor John Heron. Outside of the lab she is a bad dancer and an even worse singer (sometimes at the same time).

B.S. Physics, University of Munster