{"id":1966,"date":"2025-06-06T16:36:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T23:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/tongay-two\/?page_id=1966"},"modified":"2025-12-22T15:26:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T22:26:54","slug":"people","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/tongay\/people\/","title":{"rendered":"People"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\"\"
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Trained in Science, Fluent in Acronyms<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n

Team members<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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A whole-page pattern composed of repeatable content sections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Here is our leader<\/span> and principal investigator.<\/h2>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Prof. Dr. Seth Ariel Tongay<\/h3><\/div>

Research Director, SEMTE, Fulton Schools of Engineering<\/span><\/h4>

Powered by coffee, driven by deadlines, and always on the hunt for a missing weekly report.<\/span><\/h4><\/div>View profile<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

He has published over 350 journal articles in top-tier journals and holds an h-index of 86. According to Google Scholar, he is ranked #1 in thin film growth, #3 in epitaxy, and among the top 20 globally in 2D materials. He has been named a Highly Cited Researcher for six consecutive years (2019-2024) and has received numerous prestigious honors, including the Presidential PECASE Award, the NSF CAREER Award, the Ten Outstanding Young Person Award, and the Jewish National Fund Award. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Institute of Physics. Professor Tongay also plays a leading role in large-scale academic-industry partnerships and currently serves as one of the Research Directors at the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. He is deeply involved in the Applied Materials-ASU university engagement, driving collaborative innovation in semiconductor manufacturing and advanced materials research. CV here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experienced<\/span> Scientists in Our Team<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Dr. Yunbo Ou<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Research Director<\/span><\/h4>

Solves atomic problems at work, solves LEGO problems at home<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"Student<\/div><\/div>

Dr. Jan Kopaczek<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Postdoctoral Researcher<\/span><\/h4>

Bends light and expectations<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Dr. Dinushika Vithanage <\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Postdoctoral Researcher<\/span><\/h4>

Turns chaos into crystals, and doubt into curiosity<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Laboratory Manager<\/span> <\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"Missing<\/div><\/div>

Fred Pena<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Laboratory Manager<\/span><\/h4>

The Glue That Holds It All Together<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Ph.D.<\/span> Scholars in Action<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Debarati Dajra<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Ph.D. student<\/span><\/h4>

MXene magician with a thing for surface terminations<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"Student<\/div><\/div>

Rounak Banerjee<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Ph.D. student<\/span><\/h4>

Magnets and transport: Makes low-dimensional systems feel deeply understood<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Alan Wu<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Ph.D. student<\/span><\/h4>

PLD Jedi: strong with the plume, calm with the substrate<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"Ph.D<\/div><\/div>

Patrick Hays<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Ph.D. student<\/span><\/h4>

Microscopy: Sees what others can’t<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Renee Sailus<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Ph.D. student<\/span><\/h4>

CVD of thin film semiconductors and TMDC Janus synthesis <\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Blake Povilus<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Ph.D. student<\/span><\/h4>

Optics: Catches photons like most people cathc typos<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Mukesh Kumar<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Ph.D. student<\/span><\/h4>

Magnetism and alloying expert<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Melike Erdi<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Ph.D. student<\/span><\/h4>

CVD and crystal growth: Atomic architect designing order in the chaos of heat<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Owyn Colwell<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Ph.D. student<\/span><\/h4>

MOFs&sustainability: Makes frameworks scalable, and scalability look easy<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Ethan Swonger<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Ph.D. student<\/span><\/h4>

Stress liners: Stress liner negotiator by day, microscope whisperer by night<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Angela Agra Pinto<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Ph.D. student<\/span><\/h4>

Microscopy and deposition: Lives in the space between 10\u207b\u2076 torr and nanometers<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"Student<\/div><\/div>

Giovanna “G” Campisi<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Ph.D. student<\/span><\/h4>

New student: Training to tame van der Waals forces and coffee cravings<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Masters<\/span> Students Advancing Discovery<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Girish Jagdish<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Master’s student<\/span><\/h4>

Sputter deposition: Plays with plasma like it\u2019s a part-time hobby<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Sushin Dahal<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Master’s student<\/span><\/h4>

CVD: Teaches atoms how to land politely<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Dohee Kim<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Master’s student<\/span><\/h4>

Expert in the making<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Undergrads<\/span> – Rising Stars of the Lab<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Caiti Downs<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Undergraduate student<\/span><\/h4>

Wet chemistry, manufacturing: Undergrad in title, PhD in hustle<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Evie Henry<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Undergraduate student<\/span><\/h4>

Not officially full-time, but it sure feels like it<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Giancarlo Cortes Bugarini<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Undergraduate student<\/span><\/h4>

Exceptionally curious and dangerously smart: Ask him anything<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Blaise Faser<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Undergraduate student<\/span><\/h4>

Entrepreneur at heart, scientist by training<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"Student<\/div><\/div>

Soleil Sanchez<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Undergraduate student<\/span><\/h4>

Creative thinker with the energy to make things real<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Nur Khan<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Undergraduate student<\/span><\/h4>

Smart, focused, and quietly reshaping what\u2019s possible<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"Student<\/div><\/div>

Akshat Lokesh Jain<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Undergraduate student<\/span><\/h4>

Focused on 2D synthesis through Reverse Flow CVD<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Paige Borazanci<\/a><\/h3><\/div>

Undergraduate student<\/span><\/h4>

Emerging talent in synthesis and metrology<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here is our leader and principal investigator. He has published over 350 journal articles in top-tier journals and holds an h-index of 86. According to Google Scholar, he is ranked #1 in thin film growth, #3 in epitaxy, and among the top 20 globally in 2D materials. He has been named a Highly Cited Researcher…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1966","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/tongay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/tongay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/tongay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/tongay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/tongay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/tongay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1966\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/tongay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}