Nucleation of amyloid aggregates of a small fragment of Aβ.
Different resonant modes in a circularly arranged gold nanosphere structure resulting from plasmon coupling
Evolution of meniscus around a TMV virus on glass surface
Surface crystals on TPD glasses mediated by fast surface mobility
Various angle Ellipsometry measured 180 nm amorphous thin film; angular-dependent polarized photoluminescence setup in Dr. Kikkawa’s group at physics department
Fractal dewetting of thin TPD film on Si substrate
Fakhraai Group
Welcome to our site!
Our studies the effect of size, geometry, and interface interactions on the thermodynamics and optical properties of nanostructured materials. Understanding how interfaces and nanostructures affect material properties is crucial in many technological applications where soft materials are constrained at nanoscales, such as coatings, organic electronics, packaged biopolymers, and molecular catalysts. Understanding the physics at the nanoscale enables the design of novel materials, such as stable vapor-deposited glasses or flame-resistant polymer composites or allows us to harvest light for various energy applications. In biological systems, most reactions and transport occur in the proximity of surfaces and interfaces. As such, understanding the interfacial effects become critical in predicting biological function in vivo and in vitro. We focus our efforts on understanding the thermodynamics of these systems on a fundamental with an eye on applications when novel materials properties are discovered. We develop new experimental methodologies that can be readily employed for the characterization of nanostructures in industrial settings. Get a quick tour of our lab and meet our group here!
Available positions:
Our research is multi-disciplinary. The diversity of the backgrounds of our group members enables us to solve problems at the boundary of multiple fields. We welcome students from a diverse range of experiences, expertise, and backgrounds and strive to make our group a welcoming environment for all individuals, including students from underrepresented minority groups, LGBTQI individuals, FGLI students, as well as students with disabilities. We will do our best to accommodate you and collaborate with you.
- Graduate and Undergraduate Students: Our group members have backgrounds in physical and inorganic chemistry, physics, material science, and chemical engineering. Graduate students are typically selected from the cohort of first-year Penn graduate students from various departments.
- Undergraduate Student Fellowship Opportunities:
Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships (Penn students only)
Our Group’s Available Project at CURF (Penn students only)
Chemistry Department’s REU Program
- Post-doctoral Fellowship Opportunities: Available postdoc positions will be posted.
Penn’s Postdoctoral Fellowship for Academic Diversity program
(US citizens only, two deadlines each year)
PennPort Postdoctoral Fellowship
VIEST Postdoctoral Fellowship (Deadline typically in November)
NSF eFellows (US citizens only, Deadline typically in July) and MPS-Ascend
(US citizens only, Deadline typically in June)