Team Members

Principal Investigator

Rong Yang, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, 2019-Present
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, MIT
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, China

Email: ryang[at]cornell[dot]edu

Postdoctoral Researchers

Wenjing Tang, Ph.D.

Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics Fudan University, China, 2022
wt245@cornell.edu
Research: Design of drug delivery vehicles to overcome biological barriers; treatment of otitis media
Hobbies: research

Kwang-Won Park, Ph.D.

Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2022
kp526@cornell.edu
Research: Vapor phase polymer chemistry, thin film characterizations
Hobby: Soccer, Tennis, Camping


Graduate Students

Simon Shindler

CBE, PhD Student
University of Idaho, 2019
sgs247@cornell.edu
Research: Nutrient recycling, surface modification of membranes
Hobbies: Running, violin, drawing

Apoorva Jain

CBE, PhD Student
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, 2018
aj645@cornell.edu
Research: Templated polymer deposition at nanoscale
Hobbies: Sports, reading

Pengyu Chen

CBE, PhD Student
Tsinghua University, 2019
pc688@cornell.edu
Research: Polymer interface engineering. Molecular-scale bacteria-surface interactions
Hobbies: Taichi, running, video games, piano

Xiaojing Ma

CBE, PhD Student
Michigan State University, 2019
xm89@cornell.edu
Research: Treatment of otitis media using a synthesized hydrogel
Hobbies: Traveling, drawing

Sophie Liu

BME, PhD Student
University of Toronto, 2020
ssl265@cornell.edu
Research: Local delivery of small molecule therapeutics to treat otitis media
Hobbies: Hiking

Jeremiah James

BME, PhD Student
East Carolina University, 2020
jj447@cornell.edu
Research: Solvent-free nanoparticle synthesis, characterization, and employment.
Hobbies: Reading, eating, entrepreneurship, and hiking

Harry Shu

CBE, PhD Student
The Ohio State University, M.S. 2022
University of Science and Technology of China, B.S., 2019
hs772@cornell.edu
Research: polymer surfaces that program biofilm symbiosis
Hobbies: skiing, traveling, gaming

Christina Yu

MSE, PhD Student
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.S., 2023
chy25@cornell.edu
Research: Initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) polymer thin films
Hobbies: Video games, knitting/crochet, art

Clara Marlowe

BME, PhD Student
Binghamton University, B.S., 2023
cmm552@cornell.edu
Research: Drug delivery for the treatment of otitis media
Hobbies: Reading, painting, sewing

Haobo Xu

MSE, PhD Student
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, B.S., 2023
University of Michigan, B.S., 2023

hx286@cornell.edu
Research: Condensed droplet polymerization (CDP)
Hobbies: Pingpong, gaming, traveling

Shiqi Li

CBE, PhD Student
National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China, M.S., 2021
Tsinghua University, B.S., 2018
sl2869@cornell.edu
Research: Synthesis of nanoparticle in iCVD
Hobbies: Reading, sleeping

Shuxian(Diana) Wen

CBE, Undergraduate Student
Cornell University, B.S., 2024
sw669@cornell.edu
Research: Local delivery of small molecule therapeutics to treat otitis media
Hobbies: Reading, foods

Shuaicheng (Sam) Fu

CBE, MS Student
Purdue University, B.S., 2023
sf629@purdue.edu
Research: Catalyst Surface Engineering for CO2 Electroreduction using Multi-Functional Ionomer Coatings via iCVD
Hobbies: Basketball, powerlifting

Hongye Chen

MSE, MS Student
The Ohio State University, B.S., 2023
Sichuan University, B.S., 2023
hc944@cornell.edu
Research: Condensed droplet polymerization (CDP)
Hobbies: Video games, instruments

Alumni

Postdocs

-Dr. Yifan Cheng, 2019-2022, Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech (https://www.fst.vt.edu/aboutus/faculty/ycheng.html)

-Dr. Jiayan Lang, 2019-2021, Research Scientist at Metis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Beijing, China)

PhD Students

-Trevor Franklin, 2018-2022, Postdoc in CBE at Cornell University

-Alexandra Khlyustova, 2018-2023, Senior Scientist at Merck

Master’s Students

-Deborah Zhang, MEng 2021-2022, PhD student at UIUC (Illinois, United States)

-Zhihao Feng (co-advised with Prof. Varner), MS 2019-2021, PhD student at Georgia Tech (Atlanta, United States)

-Dani Streever, MEng 2022-2023, Starting M.D. study at Case Western Reserve University

Undergraduates

-Samantha Hertle, Class of 2021, Beyond Meat, Inc. (Los Angeles, United States)