Principle Investigator
Hanyu Zhu, Ph. D.
William Marsh Rice Trustee Chair Assistant Professor, Materials Science and NanoEngineering
B.S. Mathematics and Physics, Tsinghua University
Ph.D. Applied Science and Technology, University of California at Berkeley
Research interest: Lattice dynamics in quantum materials; Ultrafast opto-electronics and electro-mechanics; Low-dimensional structures and interfaces; NanoElectroMechanical sensors and actuators.
Current Group Members
Postdoctoral Fellows
Mengqian Che
mc270@rice.edu
Mengqian completed her Ph.D. in Physics from Tsinghua University, China, in 2024. She joined EQUAL as a postdoctoral researcher in 2025 and is co-advised by Dr. Hanyu Zhu and Dr. Junichiro Kono. Her research focuses on utilizing spin noise spectroscopy to explore quantum squeezed systems.
Chuankun Huang
ch206@rice.edu
Chuankun earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Xiamen University and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University. His previous research focused on ultrafast THz nonlinear spectroscopy of emergent quantum materials, including superconducting and magnetic materials. In 2025, he joined EQUAL, where he continues his research on collective mode coupling and interaction in low-dimensional materials using advanced THz-NIR spectroscopy.
Graduate Students
Tong Lin
Ph.D. student in MSNE
tlin@rice.edu
Tong graduated from Peking University in 2020 and with a bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering, and joined EQUAL to study ultrafast phonon-engineered quantum materials.
Jiaming Luo
Ph.D. student in Applied Physics
Jiaming is a native Shanghainese with Bs in Fudan Physics. He is a big fan of Dragon Ball and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, an individual investor, and lover of sports, cooking, violin and travelling.
William Smith
Ph.D. student in MSNE(co-advised by Dr. Junichiro Kono)
fresh.prince@rice.edu
Will is a Houston local who has returned for PhD studies after completing an undergraduate degree at Duke University. where he was first introduced to the study of quantum materials. He joins the team in collaboration with the development of RAMBO-II, and hopes to apply his skills to industry or public sector research after completion of his studies.
aj81@rice.edu
Aparna came to Rice after graduating from UT Austin with a BS in Physics, and works jointly with Dr. Morosan’s group to synthesize novel materials and explore their optical and electronic properties. Outside of research, Aparna enjoys playing violin and viola, making art and various DIY projects, gardening, cooking, and spending time out in nature.
Shung-An Koh
Ph.D. student in Applied Physics
sk231@rice.edu
Shung-An Koh is a Materials Science and Engineering enthusiast from Taiwan. He has a BS and an MS from National Tsing Hua University, with a focus on perovskite quantum dots photophysics. He spent six months at the Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica, working on quantum computer apparatus setup. He explores photonics and light-matter interaction. Outside of academic pursuits, Shung-An is passionate about photography, travel, fitness, and cooking.
Selin Sayiner
Ph.D. student in MSNE
sls17@rice.edu
Selin graduated from Rice University in 2022, as a joint Masters/ Undergraduate student in MSNE and returned to join the EQUAL Group in 2024. She is currently studying light matter interactions in 2D materials with specific work in photonic cavity enhanced phonon interactions, Selin also enjoys being in nature, skateboarding and basketball.
T.A.M Ragib Shahriar
Ph.D. student in Applied Physics
ts88@rice.edu
Ragib earned a B.S. in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), Bangladesh, with a focus on photonics simulation. He started studying light-matter interaction for his Ph.D. in Rice University’s EQUAL lab in the fall of 2023, with a specialization in terahertz spectroscopy. In addition to working on his PhD, Ragib likes to travel, cook, read books, and watch movies.
Bharadwaj Peela
Ph.D. student in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
bp32@rice.edu
Bharadwaj graduated from Indian Institute of Technology in Hyderabad with a Bachelor’s in Materials Science and Engineering, after which he joined the ECE department at Rice for his PhD. His current project involves studying Optical characterization techniques of 2D Ferromagnets. Outside of research, he enjoys playing badminton, watching a variety of sports, playing video games, reading One Piece, and cooking.
Frank Ran
Master’s Student in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
jr151@rice.edu
Frank graduated from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in ECE, with research interests in computing systems and machine learning. Outside of research, he enjoys cooking, watching movies, and traveling.
Sanjna Sukumaran
Ph.D. Student in MSNE
ss300@rice.edu
Sanjna earned a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Rutgers University in 2022. She is interested in the cross-section of non-linear spectroscopy and surface science. In her free time she enjoys reading, journaling, and exploring Houston’s coffee scene.
Group Pictures
Group picture, Aug 2022
Group picture, Sept 2021
Group picture, Sept 2019
Group picture, Oct 2018
Previous Group Members
Yi Zheng, 2018 Master of Engineering in MSNE
Ali Khater, 2018 Ph.D. rotation, current Ph.D. student in MSNE, Current senior technical project manager at NASA
Alex Ho, 2018-2019 undergraduate researcher, current product engineer at Boeing
Yuxuan Guan, 2018-2019 Master of Engineering in MSNE, senior researcher at Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation
Xiangyi Cheng, 2018-2019 Master of Engineering in MSNE, sales engineer at Huawei
Liu Liu, 2018-2019 Master of Engineering in MSNE, product engineer at Huawei
Yijie Xu, 2019 visiting undergraduate student from Tsinghua University, current PhD student at Yale University
Yanzhen Li, 2019 visiting undergraduate student from Nanjing University, current PhD student at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Mingxing Yao, 2019 visiting undergraduate student from Peking University, current PhD student at the University of Chicago
Junhao Zhang, 2019-2020 visiting undergraduate student from Nanjing University, current Master student at Max Planck School of Photonics, Germany
Kaijun Shen, 2019-2020 Master of Engineering in MSNE, current PhD student at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Mochong Tian, 2019-2020 Master of Engineering in MSNE, researcher at Huatai Securities, China
Sijie Ma, 2020-2021 Master student in MSNE, current PhD student in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China
Yidian Liu, 2020-2021 Master student in MSNE, sales manager in BYD Company, China
Alyssa Moon, 2021 summer undergraduate researcher, current undergraduate student at Texas A&M
Phoebe Scaccia, 2020-2021 undergraduate researcher, current undergraduate student in Computer Science and Astronomy
Khalil JeBailey, 2021-2022 undergraduate researcher, current undergraduate student in MSNE
Ariel Delos Reyes, 2022 participant of research experience for teachers (video of the Terahertz Materials project), science teacher in Pasadena Independent School District
Edwin Lebrón, 2022 undergraduate researcher, current PhD student in Carnegie Mellon University
Zifan Lu, 2021-2022 Master student in MSNE
Xiaotong Chen, Ph.D., 2020-2023, Postdoctoral Fellow, current postdoc fellow in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Elizabeth Blackert, Ph.D., 2019-2024, Doctoral student, Technical Specialist at the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership
Rui Xu, Ph.D. 2020-2024, Doctoral Student, Process Engineer at Micron, Boise, Idaho