Group Members

 

 

Principal Investigator

 

Matteo Pasquali, PhD A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and NanoEngineering

Matteo Pasquali

A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Director of Carbon Hub

Keck Hall 229 

mp@rice.edu  

Matteo Pasquali is the A. J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Chemistry, and Materials Science & NanoEngineering at Rice University, where he also serves as Chair of the Chemistry Department and previously served as Co-Director of the Carbon NanoTechnology Laboratory, as Master of Lovett College and as member of the academic senate. After receiving his Laurea from University of Bologna and PhD from University of Minnesota, Matteo joined Rice University in 2000 to start a laboratory on soft materials, which evolved into a key center for the scalable manufacturing and application of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene materials with enhanced mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. The laboratory houses 11 PhD students and 1 postdoc and targets applications in wearables, energy transmission and harvesting, biomedicine, aerospace, and defense. These CNT materials are already incorporated into prototypes (field emitters, data cables) and high-end products (audio cables). To make these CNT-applied techniques and materials more accessible, Matteo currently focuses on understanding the mechanisms and phenomena of floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) reactors to optimize CNT synthesis. Matteo has advised over 90 graduate students and postdocs, who are now in key positions in industry, academia, national laboratories, startups, and finance. Matteo’s work is funded by wide range of industries ranging from international and national oil companies to automotive, aerospace, electronics, and high tech companies. Matteo founded two companies, DexMat (smart CNT materials) and NanoLinea (medical applications of CNT fibers). Matteo’s work has been recognized by numerous awards, including the NSF CAREER, Goradia innovation prize, Schlack award for man-made fibers, and multiple NASA Tech Brief Awards. Matteo is an elected Fellow of the American Physical Society. Read More

 

 

Associated Research Professor

Glen C. Irvin, Jr.

Research Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Professor, Chair of Carbon Technical Council of Carbon Hub

Keck Hall 130 

glen.c.irvin@rice.edu

Dr. Glen Irvin acquired his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1995. Subsequently, he achieved his doctoral degree at Tulane University in 1999. After working in the industry for several decades, he has since joined the lab in 2018.

 

 

 

 

 

Postdoctoral Researchers

Eldar Khabushev, Ph.D.

Keck Hall 230

ek65@rice.edu

Dr. Eldar Khabushev earned his Master’s degree in Applied Physics and Mathematics from the Moscow Institute of Science and Technology (MIPT, Russia). As part of his Master’s project, he worked on nonlinear optics and noble metal plasmonic nanostructures. Later, Dr. Khabushev became interested in materials science and shifted his focus towards the development of nanomaterials for his doctoral studies carried out at Aalto University (Finland) and SkolTech (Russia). He studied the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes and their applications in electronics, photonics, and energy storage under the supervision of Prof. Tanja Kallio and Prof. Albert Nasibulin. In 2023, he received a Doctoral degree in Chemical Engineering from Aalto University.

Recently, Dr. Khabushev joined Professor Matteo Pasquali’s Research Group in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University to continue his research in the field of sustainable synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes and their applications.

 

Ph.D. Candidates

Aosheen Anand

Keck Hall 231
aa257@rice.edu

Aosheen Anand received her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Delhi, India in 2018. She then pursued her Master’s degree in Chemistry from IIT Bombay, India, and graduated in 2020. During her Master’s thesis research, she worked on synthesizing novel bi-dentate ligands via various cross-coupling reactions. Aosheen joined the Pasquali group in 2023 and her research interests include the purification of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), CNTs and BNNTs foams, and the fabrication of macroscopic materials of BNNT.

 

 

 

AnaVi Benavides-Figueroa

Keck Hall 231
ab152@rice.edu

AnaVi Benavides-Figueroa graduated from Tecnológico de Monterrey at México with a BS in Nanotecnology and Chemical Sciences in 2021. Her undergrad research focused on synthesizing carbon nanoribbons from multiwalled carbon nanotubes. AnaVi joined the Pasquali Lab as a PhD student in the department of Chemistry at the end of 2021. Her research focuses on the synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) and on the effects that synthesis parameters have on the final CNT properties.

 

 

 Davide Cavuto 

Keck Hall 231
dc103@rice.edu

Davide Cavuto completed his BS degree in Chemical Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome in 2021. He then pursued further education at the Polytechnic of Milan, obtaining his Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering. During his Master’s thesis research, he analyzed CFD techniques with the diffusive transport phenomena in Gas Diffusion Layers, related to CO2 electroreduction. In 2023, he continued with the chemical engineering PhD program at Rice University. His ongoing research is about Carbon Nanotubes synthesis through the floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition method.

 

 

 

Alex Dantzler

Keck Hall 127
ard8@rice.edu

Alex Dantzler graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BS in Chemical Engineering in 2019. After a brief stop at a specialty chemicals start-up for printed electronics, he returned to school and joined the Pasquali group as a Ph.D. student in 2021. His interests lie at the intersection of advanced materials research and techno-economics of scale-up. Specifically, he is interested in improving the synthesis and processing of carbon into value-added products capable of displacing high-carbon-intensity materials (e.g., metals, concrete, etc.).

 

 

Michelle Durán-Chaves

Keck Hall 127
md59@rice.edu

Chaves received her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Costa Rica, 2017. Her undergraduate research focused on the study of copper catalyst materials for electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide. Michelle joined the Pasquali Lab as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry in 2019. Her research interests include solution spinning and fiber processing of carbon nanotubes and boron nitride nanotubes as well as chemical functionalization of these nanomaterials.

 

 

 

 

 Mingrui (Lily) Gong

Keck Hall 231
mg111@rice.edu

Lily Gong received her Bachelors of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University in 2021. Her undergraduate research focused on the functionalization of biocompatible block-copolymers as alternative gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents. She also researched incorporating recycled polymers into road mixing materials as additives. She has joined the Pasquali Group as PhD student at the end of 2021. Her current research focus is on the growth parameters and the properties of CNT via floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD).

 

 

 

 Jui Junnarkar

Keck Hall 231
jj88@rice.edu

Jui Junnarkar received her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, K.K Birla Goa campus, India in 2021. Her undergraduate research was on developing methods of forming natural nanoemulsions used for cosmetic research and working on biosurfactants. She joined the graduate program at Rice University under the supervision of Prof. Matteo Pasquali in 2021. Her research focuses on the growth and synthesis of carbon nanotubes using the FCCVD process.

 

 

 

Joe Khoury

Keck Hall 230
jfk10@rice.edu

Joe Khoury received his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering in 2020 from Cleveland State University. He enrolled in the Accelerated Master’s Program at Cleveland State University and received his master’s degree in 2021. His research focused on fabricating boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and poly(vinyl) alcohol composite fibers. Joe joined the Pasquali group at the end of 2021 to continue working on his research interest including purification of BNNTs, dissolution of BNNTs and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in superacid solutions, and fabrication of macroscopic materials of neat BNNTs and CNTs.

 

 

Muxiao Li

Keck Hall 231
ml84@rice.edu

Muxiao Li graduated cum laude from University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 2018. Her undergraduate research focused on sorting carbon nanotubes using density gradient ultracentrifugation methods. She joined the Pasquali group in 2018 and her research has focused on studying parameters of floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) synthesis of carbon nanotubes.

 

 

 

 

Mitchell Trafford

Keck Hall 127  
mtrafford@rice.edu  

Mitchell Trafford graduated from The University of Tulsa with degrees in Chemical Engineering and Mathematics and a minor in Chemistry. His undergraduate research in organic chemistry focused on developing new catalyst materials for sustainable and efficient Suzuki-Miyaura cross couplings. He joined the Pasquali group in 2015 as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. His research interests include CNT-superacid phase behavior and rheology, as well as characterizing and optimizing the physical properties of CNT materials.

 

 

Undergraduate Research Assistants

 

Danielle Hedvig

Keck Hall 127  
dlh7@rice.edu  

Danielle Hedvig completed her education at California Academy of the Canyons High School and College of the Canyons Community College in 2023, earning an associate’s degree in mathematics. She is currently a freshman at Rice University, working towards a BS in Mechanical Engineering, with a focus on Materials Engineering and a minor in Engineering Design. In the spring of 2024, Danielle became a member of the Pasquali Lab and is currently assisting in the investigation of carbon nanotubes (CNT) synthesis characterizations. 

 

 

 

2022 Summer Interns REU/RET

Alma Gallardo Campa

Keck Hall 126
alma.gallar6@gmail.com

Alma Gallardo Campa acquired an Honors Associate of Science Degree from Lone Star College-CyFair in 2022. The same year, she joined the Pasquali Lab as an REU summer intern. In the future, she wishes to continue her studies and obtain a BS in Biomedical Engineering before attending graduate school. Her work at the laboratory focuses on chemically modifying boron nitride nanotubes to improve their dispersibility in organic and inorganic solvents.

 

Maurice Jules

Keck Hall 230
majules84@yahoo.com

Maurice Jules acquired a Bachelors of Science degree in Mathematics with a minor in Biology from Prairie View A&M University in 2007. He is currently in his 3rd year teaching high school math at Windmill Lakes Orem High School. In the summer of 2022, he joined the Pasquali lab as a Nanotechnology RET intern. His work in the laboratory focused on purifying boron nitride nanotubes using magnetically responsive metal nanoparticles.

 

Christopher Connolly

Keck Hall 126
Connolly.academic@gmail.com

After spending six years in the Coast Guard specializing in aircraft avionics and electrical systems maintenance, Christopher began his academic career as a Mechanical Engineering student at Houston Community College in 2021. As an REU Intern, he is spending the summer researching the effects of doping processing conditions on carbon nanotube specific electrical conductivity.

 

 

 

Lab Alumni