People

Katherine Aidala employs creative techniques with the atomic force microscope to study a wide range of nanoscale devices and materials, with applications in solar energy, data storage, and biotechnology.  Her work has been supported by grants from the NSF and she received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2010.  Beyond the standard physics curriculum, she teaches Gender in Science and Science in the Media, and regularly gives talks on the under-representation of women in science.

Naomi Darling teaches design studio courses with a sustainable lens focusing on climate, culture and materiality at Mount Holyoke College and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Darling’s research and professional practice, Naomi Darling Architecture, LLC, develop projects at all scales in terms of size, time and permanence, and students are often engaged in real sites and programs. Permeating all projects is a dimension of environmental stewardship, social responsibility and the role of architects as agents of change. Current projects include a Performance Bandshell for the Amherst Green, a Kayak Kiosk for the Town of Sunderland, artist studios, net-zero affordable housing prototypes and folding tent structures.

Maria Gomez and her student researchers use the principles of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and quantum mechanics to study how structure affects proton and oxygen vacancy conduction in fuel cell systems. Their work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the MERCURY consortium, the Dreyfus Foundation, and the Research Corporation. Gomez enjoys teaching Chemical Principles in General Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, and electives. She and her students also enjoy getting K-6 parent/child teams to tackle interesting scientific ideas through the Passport to Chemistry Adventure outreach program.

Lidia Mrad’s research focuses on applying analytical and computational techniques to solve problems in materials science, specifically in the area of liquid crystals. She is particularly interested in liquid crystal behavior relevant to creating higher-efficiency optical displays, as well as understanding biological phenomena such as DNA packing. Specific methods she uses fall under calculus of variations, nonlinear partial differential equations, and mathematical modeling. In addition to problems from materials science, she works on problems related to public health applications, such as modeling and simulation of mosquito flight for the purpose of controlling disease spread.

Yun-Hsuan (Melody) Su is highly interested in exploring methods to improve robotic teleoperation experience by integrating computer vision and AI algorithms to provide vision-based haptic feedback. Melody has a background in surgical robotics. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, biking and skin diving. She is passionate about outreach STEM programs and has been closely involved in IEEE TryEngineering, and multiple summer robotics camps. She is always excited to brainstorm and exchange ideas with any interested students or colleagues about robotics and AI.