ND Energy at the University of Notre Dame is pleased to announce the recipients of its student research fellowships for 2025. The 18 recipients listed below will pursue their research and educational goals while advancing sustainable energy research at Notre Dame.

Ed Maginn, associate vice president for research and the Keough-Hesburgh Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Notre Dame, said, "This cohort of fellowship recipients is representative of the many students at Notre Dame who combine high academic achievement and a strong desire to be a powerful force for doing good in the world. We would like to thank each student who applied and congratulate this year’s awardees. We look forward to the contributions each of you will make to ND Energy as we work to address global energy and sustainability challenges."

The Vincent P. Slatt Fellowship for Undergraduate Research in Energy Systems and Processes provides awards of $2,500 per student per semester to support their stipend and research supplies while gaining a deeper understanding of sustainable energy through research and discovery.

Ryan Bencivengo ’25, Aerospace Engineering major
Project Title: Characterization of Coated C-C Composite Destruction under Various Environmental Scenarios
Advisor: Sergey Leonov, Research Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

Katie Bowsher ’27, Chemical Engineering major; Engineering Corporate Practice minor
Project Title: Fabrication of Pentiptycene Polybenzoxazole (PPBO) Asymmetric Membranes for Gas Separation
Advisor: Ruilan Guo, Frank M. Freimann Collegiate Professor of Engineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Luke Brown ’25, Science Pre-Professional Studies major; Compassionate Care in Medicine minor; History minor
Project Title: The Role of Graphene Oxide Coatings in Heat Resistance and Dissipation and Conductance in Electrical Wires and its Scope in Sustainable Energy
Advisor: Ian Lightcap, Research and Facilities Program Director, Materials Characterization Facility, Notre Dame Research

Nevis Dickson ’27, Chemical Engineering major; Energy Studies minor
Project Title: Significance of Metal Ion Reactivity in Nuclear Reactor Cooling Water
Advisor: Aliaksandra Lisouskaya, Associate Research Professor of the Radiation Laboratory

Batradz Djikkaity ’26, Chemical Engineering major
Project Title: Improving Models for Hydraulic Permeability in Complex Membrane Structures Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations
Advisor: William Phillip, Rooney Family Collegiate Chair of Engineering and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Mae Fischer ’25, Environmental Engineering major; Energy Studies minor
Project Title: Effects of Anionic Species on Hydrogen Peroxide Production and Uranyl Peroxide Formation in Uranyl Salt Solutions Exposed to Nonthermal Plasma
Advisor: Peter C. Burns, Dorini Family Professor of Energy Studies, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, and Concurrent Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Aaviskar Khatiwada ’26, Chemical Engineering major; Energy Studies minor
Project Title: Unraveling the Role of Extra-Framework Aluminum in Hydrocarbon Cracking Reactions
Advisor: William Schneider, Keating-Crawford Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Sara Murray ’25, Chemistry major with Honors Computing; Energy Studies minor
Project Title: Upconversion of solar energy: triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion from FAMAPbI3 to TiO2
Advisor: Prashant Kamat, Rev. John A. Zahm Professor of Science, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Radiation Laboratory

Brynn O'Donnell ’25, Chemical Engineering major; Energy Studies minor
Project Title: Impact of Ozone on Alteration of U3O8
Advisor: Peter C. Burns, Dorini Family Professor of Energy Studies, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, and Concurrent Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Sarah Oliva ’26, Environmental Engineering major; Earth Science minor; Energy Studies minor
Project Title: Improving the Sustainability of Uranium Mining Using a Gliding Arc Plasma
Advisor: Peter C. Burns, Dorini Family Professor of Energy Studies, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, and Concurrent Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

The Patrick and Jana Eilers Graduate Student Fellowship for Energy-Related Research provides awards of $11,350 to each graduate student to support their stipend.

Damian Agi, fourth-year PhD Candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Project Title: Physics-Informed Machine Learning Surrogate Kinetic Modeling for the Design and Optimization of Oligomerization Reactors for Sustainable Shale Gas Processing
Advisor: Alexander Dowling, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Noah Cabanas, third-year PhD Candidate in Chemistry
Project Title: Irradiation-Induced Changes of (Th1-xUx)O2 Materials towards Improved Nuclear Energy Safety
Advisor: Ani Aprahamian, The Frank M. Freimann Professor of Physics and Concurrent Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Mawuli Degbevi, fourth-year PhD Candidate in Chemistry and Biochemistry
Project Title: Surface Radical Reactions at Quantum Dots for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution and CO2 Reduction
Advisor: Emily Tsui, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Jizhou Jiang, fourth-year PhD Candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Project Title: Electrochemical Validation of Donnan Exclusion Mechanisms in Molecular Layer-by-Layer Membranes
Advisor: Jennifer Schaefer, Sheehan Family Collegiate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Jose Rebolledo-Oyarce, third-year PhD Candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Project Title: Understanding Copper Sites in Cu-Zeolites through Mechanistic Insights from H₂-TPR
Advisor: William Schneider, Keating-Crawford Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Alba Scotto d'Apollonia, third-year PhD Candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Project Title: Single Ni2+ Active Sites Isolated on Polyoxometalates for Light Olefin Oligomerization
Advisor: Jason Hicks, Tony and Sarah Earley Collegiate Professor of Energy and the Environment, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Associate Dean for Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, College of Engineering

The John ’00 and Karla Forgash Graduate Student Fellowship for Solar Energy Research provides an award of $6,000 to a graduate student to support their stipend, research supplies, and travel to present their research at a national conference.

Akshaya Chemmangat, third-year PhD Candidate in Chemistry and Biochemistry
Project Title: Electron Extraction from Upconverted Photons for Enhanced Solar Energy Conversion
Advisor: Prashant Kamat, Rev. John A. Zahm Professor of Science, Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Radiation Laboratory

The John ’00 and Karla Forgash Graduate Student Fellowship for Energy Storage Research provides an award of $5,000 to a graduate student to support their stipend, research supplies, and travel to present their research at a national conference.

Grace Robertson, third-year PhD Candidate in Chemistry and Biochemistry
Project Title: Atom Transfer in Solid-state Materials: A Molecular Approach to Solid-state Synthesis
Advisor: Adam Jaffe, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry