Ashwin J. Shahani
Principal investigator
Ashwin is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan. He earned his B.S. from Cornell University and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University, both degrees in the field of Materials Science and Engineering. It is at Northwestern, under the direction of Prof. Peter Voorhees, that Ashwin developed his passion for solidification and processing science. Now as an independent researcher at UM, he hopes to tackle some of the unsolved problems in the field. In support of his research pursuits, Shahani has won the AFOSR YIP award in 2017, ARO YIP in 2018, and NSF CAREER in 2019. Recently, in 2025, he won PECASE, the highest honor bestowed by the federal government to young scientists beginning their academic careers. His citation reads: “for his development of state-of-the-art characterization tools for capturing materials evolution during processing in situ, his tenacious outreach efforts to underrepresented students in the state of Michigan, and his leadership in the materials science community.” Outside of work, Ashwin enjoys traveling, baking, running, rowing, and playing tennis. Interested in learning more? Ashwin can be reached at shahani [at] umich [dot] edu
Cheolmin Ahn
Postdoctoral research fellow (co-advised with Alan Taub)
Cheolmin Ahn is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, having joined Prof. Shahani’s group in January 2026. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering in 2025 from the University of California, Irvine, where he worked at the Advanced Casting Research Center (ACRC). His current research focuses on developing high-iron-tolerant 6xxx wrought aluminum alloys for a circular economy, in collaboration with Norsk Hydro. In his free time, Cheolmin enjoys running, as well as playing and watching soccer. You can reach him at cheolmin [at] umich [dot] edu
Emile Hazemann
Postdoctoral research fellow
Emile is a postdoc in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and joined Prof. Shahani’s group in November 2024. He earned his engineering degree in Material Science and Engineering from Polytech Grenoble (France), his M.S. in Advanced Materials in Cranfield University (UK) and his Ph.D. in Computational Mechanics and Materials from Mines Paris, PSL University (France). His research focuses on the melting and solidification behaviors of eutectics and the interaction between grain boundaries and second-phase particles during grain growth in metallic alloys. Outside academia, Emile enjoys nature and wildlife photography, fishing, visiting national parks and cooking. Reach Emile at emilehaz [at] umich [dot] edu
Marcel Chlupsa
Doctoral candidate
Marcel is a graduate student in the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and joined Prof. Shahani’s group in the fall of 2021. Marcel earned his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. His research interests lie in understanding abnormal grain growth via multimodal characterization techniques and developing open source analysis tools. Outside of work, Marcel enjoys practicing guitar and brazilian jiu jitsu. Reach Marcel at mchlupsa [at] umich [dot] edu
Jaime Perez Coronado
Doctoral candidate (co-advised with Alan Taub)
Jaime is a graduate student in the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and joined Professor Shahani’s group in the fall of 2022. Jaime earned his B.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Industrial Engineering, from Tecnológico de Monterrey (Monterrey Campus). His research focuses on the formation of banded microstructures in Al-based composites and off-monotectic alloys under directional solidification. In his free time, Jaime enjoys playing and watching soccer, as well as playing videogames. Reach Jaime at jaimepc [at] umich [dot] edu
Varun Srinivas Venkatesh
Doctoral candidate
Varun is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and joined the Shahani group in the fall of 2022. He earned a B.Tech. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and an M.Tech. in Computational Engineering through an interdisciplinary dual-degree program from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. His research focuses on studying grain growth using multimodal characterization and graph neural networks, and on developing algorithms for efficient analysis of large-scale 4D microstructural datasets. Outside academia, Varun enjoys cooking, writing, and contributing to open-source game development projects. Reach him at varunsv [at] umich [dot] edu
Soumyadeep Dasgupta
Doctoral candidate
Soumyadeep is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and joined Prof. Shahani’s group in the fall of 2022. He earned his B.Tech. degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur and his M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He develops and applies high-speed synchrotron X-ray tomography techniques, coupled with 3D image processing and crystallographic analysis, to quantify interface dynamics and phase selection mechanisms during multi-phase solidification in complex alloys. Outside academia, Soumyadeep enjoys cooking, traveling, and playing badminton. Reach Soumyadeep at soumyadg [at] umich [dot] edu
Simone Lang
Doctoral student
Simone is a graduate student in the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and joined Professor Shahani’s group in the fall of 2026. In 2026, she received the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Simone earned her B.S. degree in Chemistry with a minor in Computer Science from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX. Her research explores defect engineering and physical properties in solid-state materials, with an emphasis on how atomic-level imperfections impact bulk material functionality. Outside academia, Simone enjoys biking, traveling and film photography. Reach Simone at sslang [at] umich [dot] edu
Nic-Alexander Strutz
Undergraduate researcher
Nic-Alexander is an undergraduate student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and joined Prof. Shahani’s group in the fall of 2025. Although currently a junior, he holds senior academic standing and is on track to complete his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering in three years. Following his undergraduate studies, he plans to pursue the Sequential Undergraduate/Graduate Studies (SUGS) program at Michigan and earn an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering within an additional year. His research interests include solidification science, crystal growth, 3D image processing, and crystallographic characterization of materials. Outside of research, Nic is an active member of the Michigan Blacksmithing Club and the University Skate Collective. Reach Nic at nastrutz [at] umich [dot] edu
Jade Rattanamongkhoun
Visiting researcher (through IREP)
Jade is a third-year undergraduate student in Physics at Université Marie & Louis Pasteur in Besançon, France, where she is enrolled in the CMI PICS program focused on Photonics, Micro-Nanotechnologies, and Time & Frequency. She joined Prof. Shahani’s group at the University of Michigan in May 2026 as part of the BTAA International Research Experience Program (IREP). Her research focuses on computational and machine learning workflows for the quantitative analysis of 3D X-ray imaging data in materials science, including image processing, segmentation, and statistical analysis of microstructural data. After completing her Bachelor’s degree, Jade will continue her studies in France in the E-Phot Master’s program, focused on engineering physics and advanced photonics technologies. Outside of research, Jade enjoys playing piano and reading. Reach Jade at jaderat [at] umich [dot] edu
Alumni
Dr. Shanmukha Kiran Aramanda (postdoc, 2022-2025)
Dr. Rijie Zhao (visiting scholar, 2024-2025), now at Dongguan University of Technology
Dr. Geordie Lindemann (graduate, 2018-2024), now at Exponent
Dr. Paul Chao (graduate, 2019-2023), now at Sandia National Laboratories
Eli Rotman (undergraduate, 2021-2023), now at Nucor Corporation
Xinyi Zhou (undergraduate, 2021-2023), now at Princeton
Konnor Walter (undergraduate, 2022-2023)
Dr. Jiwoong Kang (graduate, 2018-2022), now at Apple
Matthew Higgins (masters, 2019-2021), now at Boeing
Dr. Hadi Parsamehr (postdoc, 2019-2021), now at Lam Research
Dr. Ning Lu (postdoc, 2018-2020)
Dr. Yeqing Wang (visiting doctoral student, 2018-2020), now at China University of Mining and Technology
Dr. Insung Han (graduate, 2017-2020), now at Kyungpook National University
Dr. Caleb Reese (graduate, 2018-2020), now at GM
Dr. Saman Moniri (graduate, 2017-2020), now at QuantumScape
Megan Wiltse (masters, 2018-2019)
Dr. Zhucong Xi (masters, 2019)
Ron Keinan (2017-2019), now at Raytheon
Dr. Nancy Senabulya (postdoc, 2017-2018), now at the Michigan Center for Materials Characterization
Issac Loo (masters, 2018)
Matthew Rodeman (undergraduate, 2017-2018)
Che Chan (undergraduate, 2017)
Mushfequr Rahman (masters, 2016-2017)
The group (plus partners) enjoying a night out. Taken fall 2023.