Principal Investigator
Jane Howe
Jane Howe is an Associate Professor jointly appointed in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. Prior to her new position at UofT, Jane worked as a Senior Applications Scientist with Hitachi High-Technologies group in US and Canada for the past five years. Jane received her Ph.D. in Ceramic Science from Alfred University in 2001. After a postdoc at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Jane stayed at ORNL as a Staff Scientist and Principal Investigator until 2012. She has over 100 publications on peer-reviewed journals and holds nine US patents on electron microscopy and materials characterization and development. She won two R&D 100 Awards in research and development of the lithium battery technology and nano-structured carbon materials. Jane’s current research interest is in situ and correlative microscopy techniques.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Maryam Golozar
Maryam Golozar completed her PhD from McGill University, specializing in in-situ electron microscopy analysis of Li dendrites for Li-ion battery applications. In 2024, she joined the in situ and correlative microscopy group at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Professor Howe. She also works at the Open Centre for the Characterization of Advanced Materials where she provides service work for clients and trains students.
PhD Student
Liyang Zheng
Liyang Zheng grew up in Beijing, China and graduated from Tsinghua University in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Materials Science & Engineering. Afterwards, she obtained a master’s degree from Northwestern University, IL. She begins her PhD studies at University of Toronto in 2019, working with Professor Howe and Professor Erb to study the corrosion of metals and alloys. Besides materials science, she is very interested in biology and enjoy visiting museums. During her spare time, she also likes listening to music and swimming.
Contact: liyang.zheng@mail.utoronto.ca
Ehsan Nikbin
Ehsan Nikbin has started his PhD in Fall 2019. He was double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Physics at the Sharif University of Technology in Iran for his B.Sc. and he has completed his M.Sc. in Physics at the same university. He also has 4.5 years of work experience in the construction of a TEM in Iran. He works in joint with Prof. Dwayne Miller from the Department of Chemistry of the UofT. His main hobby is Visual Arts, and he is an expert in Persian Calligraphy.
Contact: ehsan.nikbin@mail.utoronto.ca
Dian (Jack) Yu
Dian Yu (Jack) is a PhD candidate co-supervised by Professor Jane Howe and Professor Keryn Lian in the department of materials science and engineering of University of Toronto, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree. His research focuses on new methods in SEM imaging and quantitative analyses of nanoporous and insulating materials. When not in the lab, Jack is an avid photographer, supporting various organizations in the engineering community.
Contact: dianjack.yu@mail.utoronto.ca
Mia San Gabriel
Mia San Gabriel is a PhD candidate supervised by Professor Jane Howe. Prior to joining UofT, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Nanotechnology Engineering at the University of Waterloo in 2021. Her research interests include developments in liquid-phase electron microscopy and microfabrication. Outside of academia, Mia has a background in dance and enjoys watching musical theatre.
Contact: mia.sangabriel@mail.utoronto.ca
Raunaq Bagchi
Raunaq Bagchi
Terry Li
Terry Li
Masha Stanko
Masha is pursuing a PhD to bridge her interests in materials and microstructures, with the study of history. Supervised by professors Jane Howe and Doug Perovic, her research revolves around materials characterization and forensics applied to the oldest objects on earth and beyond–both natural and man-made. Objects such as archaeological artifacts and meteorites. Through collaborations with researchers and scientists at the Royal Ontario Museum, Masha hopes to apply her research towards museum collections.
Contact: masha.stanko@mail.utoronto.ca
Janny Wang
Master Student
Michelle Lin
Michelle Lin
Laura Battista
Laura Battista graduated from the University of Toronto in 2024 with a B.A.Sc in Materials Science & Engineering. She began her M.A.Sc studies in the same year, working with Professor Howe and Professor Perovic. Her research interests are in the field of archaeometry, which involves the study of archaeological materials. In addition to graduate studies, Laura also works part-time as a Junior Metallurgist for a forensic engineering company. During her spare time, she enjoys reading and visiting museums.
Contact: laura.battista@mail.utoronto.ca
Alumni
2026
- Dr. Raunaq Bagchi, Ph.D. student
2025
- Laura Battista, M.A.Sc (2024-2025): Archaeometry (fill out here)
- Dr. Ehsan Nikbin, Ph.D. student
- Dr. Liyang Zheng, Ph.D. student and PostDoc
2024
- Yasuchika Suzuki, Research Associate (2023-2024): Low-voltage serial electron diffraction with a high-brightness electron emitter.
- Dr. Bin Shi, Ph.D. student (2019-2024): Computer vision and 3D reconstruction in EM.
- Hongran (Harrison) Wang, M.A.Sc. (2022-2024): Investigation of wired glass mechanical properties.
- Dr. Chenyue (Yucy) Qiu, PostDoc (2023-2024): In situ liquid-phase electron microscopy; Ph.D. student (2019-2023): In-situ study of election metal oxides using environmental TEM.
- Dr. Jonathan Kong, PostDoc (2023-2024): In situ microscopy of nanocrystalline alloys; Ph.D. student (2019-2023): Thermal stability and mechanical properties of mass-produced electroformed nanocrystalline Ni-Co sheet metal.
2023
- Sang Bum Yi, M.A.Sc. (2021-2023): Microstructure of native copper.
- Mikaella Brillantes, M.A.Sc. (2021-2023): Understanding the evolution of Bentonite. microstructure during hydration-dehydration cycles for nuclear waste containment.
- Dr. Mengsha Li, PostDoc (2021-2023): In situ electron microscopy analysis of catalysts and electronic materials.
- Masum Billah, M.A.Sc. (2021-2023): In situ scanning electron microscopy study of corrosion of metals.
2022
- Dr. Jason Tam, PostDoc (2020-2022): Electron microscopy of grain boundary engineered materials.
- Dr. Chiwon Lee, PostDoc (2021-2022): Liquid phase electron microscopy for dynamic study of biomolecules.
- Medhavi Patel, M.A.Sc. (2020-2022): Scanning electron microscopy analysis of microplastics and other plastics.
2021 and earlier
- Guotao Pang, M.A.Sc. (2019-2021): Liquid TEM using a graphene liquid cell.
- Marco Montoya, M.A.Sc. (2020-2021): Wired glass failures: investigation on the mechanical properties of wired glass.
- Po-Han (Benson) Wang: M.Eng. (2019-2020): Microstructural analysis of biomass derived carbon for supercapacitor applications.
Summer/Visiting Students
2026: Melanie Liu, Advay Rao, Yu Chee Tan
2025: Melanie Liu, Claire Gong-Miniere, Roshan Yan, Sam Zanbilowicz
2024: David Sanjaya, Eyton Chin Pang, Grigory Elkin, Jonathan Choi
2023: Frank Kim, Kevin Gan, Mako Darra, Mahrad Nemati, Savannah Byrne
2022: Isabella Gallicchio, Kevin Zhang, Nicholas Price, Ray Ju, Dana Murdoch, Alex Zhang
2021: Brittny Eileen Carter, David Petriw, Julia Nightingale, Mireille Parsons, Siegfried Gautama, Thomas Pruyn
2020: Jihui (Leo) Yan, Peihua Wang, Karelle Guiao, Medhavi Patel
2019: Harrison Wang, Jack Yu, Lauren Paquette, Zhengyu (Brian) Li