Group Leader

Prof. Victor M. Zavala

Postdoctoral Researcher, Argonne National Laboratory 

Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

B.Sc. Chemical Engineering, Universidad Iberoamericana

Areas of Expertise: Computational Mathematics

Email: victor.zavala@wisc.edu

Personal Webpage: [link]

CV: [link]

Graduate Researchers

David Cole

B.S., Chemical Engineering, Brigham Young University

Areas of Expertise: Graph Theory, Optimization

Project: Graph-Based Optimization

Email: dlcole3@wisc.edu

Bo-Xun Wang

B.S. Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University

Areas of Expertise: Modeling and Optimization

Project: Systems Optimization for Biodegradable Plastics

Email: bwang355@wisc.edu 

Lisa Je  (Co-Advised with Van Lehn)

B.A. Chemistry, B.E Chemical Engineering, Dual Degree Vassar & Dartmouth Colleges

M.S. Chemical & Biological Engineering, UW-Madison

Areas of Expertise: Machine Learning and Molecular Science

Project: Molecular analysis and design of electrolytes

Email: lje@wisc.edu 

Blake Lopez

H.B.S. Chemical Engineering, Oregon State University

M.S. Chemical & Biological Engineering, UW-Madison  

Areas of Expertise: Modeling  and Optimization

Project: Curriculum Analysis

Email: brlopez@wisc.edu

J. Elvis Umaña  (Co-Advised with Gebbie)

B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Kansas

Areas of Expertise: Machine Learning and Electrochemsitry

Project: Molecular analysis and design of electrolytes

Email: elvis.umana@wisc.edu

Jaron Thompson (Co-Advised with Venturelli)

B.S. & M.S. Chemical Engineering, Colorado State University

Areas of Expertise: Computational Biology

Project: Microbiome Engineering

Email: jcthompson5@wisc.edu 

Jukbin Kim

B.S. Chemical & Biological Engineering, Yonsei University

M.S. Chemical & Biological Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Areas of Expertise: Modeling and Optimization

Project: Multi-scale optimization of energy systems

Email: jukbin.kim@wisc.edu

Ugochukwu Ikegwu  (Co-Advised with Van Lehn)

B.Eng. (Hons) Chemical Engineering, Landmark University, Nigeria.

M.Sc. Chemical Engineering, University of The Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Area of Expertise: Molecular Simulations and Systems Engineering.

Project: Plastic upcycling 

Email: ikegwu@wisc.edu 

Ashley McCullough (Co-Advised with Avraamidou)

B.S. Chemical Engineering, West Virginia University

Areas of Expertise: Modeling and Optimization

Project: Electricity Markets and Policy for Emerging Technologies

Email: abmccullough@wisc.edu

Joe Flory

B.S. Chemical & Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University

M.S. Chemical & Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University

Areas of Expertise: Machine Learning and Optimization

Project: Closed-loop Experimental Design

Email: jflory@wisc.edu


Brandon Flores

B.S. Chemistry, UC San Diego

Areas of Expertise: Density functional theory

Project: Data Science for Chemisty

Email: bsflores@wisc.edu 

Adam Martin

B.S. Chemical Engineering, Brigham Young University

Areas of Expertise: Optimization and Control

Project: Graph Theory and Optimization

Email: ammartin36@wisc.edu


Yicheng Li (Co-Advised with Van lehn)

B.E. Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University

M.S. Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

Areas of Expertise: Machine Learning and Molecular Science

Project: Liquid crystals for environmental sensing 

Email: yli2744@wisc.edu

Kiernan Jennings (Co-Advised with Avraamidou)

B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Connecticut

Areas of Expertise: Graph Theory and Optimization

Project: Graph-based multilevel optimization under uncertainty

Email: kxjennings@wisc.edu 

Ethan Deutsch (Co-Advised with Cersonsky)

B.S. Chemical & Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University

Areas of Expertise: Machine Learning and Optimization

Project: Topological Data Analysis and Molecular Simulations

Email: egdeutsch@wisc.edu

Postdoctoral Researchers

Brenda Cansino

Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Universidad Michoacana 

Areas of Expertise:  Modeling and Optimization 

Project:  Process Optimization and Sustainability

Email: cansinoloeza@wisc.edu

Yoel Ren Cortés-Peña 

Ph.D. Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 

Areas of Expertise:  Process Modeling and Sustainable Design

Project:  Graph Theory & Process Simulation

Email: cortespea@wisc.edu

Angan Mukherjee 

Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, West Virginia University 

Areas of Expertise:  Physics Constrained Machine Learning and Optimization

Project:  Topological Data Analysis and Data-Driven Optimization

Email: amukherjee43@wisc.edu 

Alejandro Ayala-Cortés (Co-Advised with Huber)

Ph.D. in Engineering, National Autonomous University of Mexico

Areas of Expertise:  Solar thermochemical biomass conversion processes and catalytic hydrodeoxygenation 

Project:  Mineral and Metal Oxide Removal from Biomass 

Email:  ayalacortes@wisc.edu 


Former Members

Leo Gonzalez, PhD [link]

Aurora Munguia, Postdoc [link]

Amy Qin, PhD [link]

Jiaze Ma, PhD [link]

Javier Garcia-Martinez, Visitor [link]

Saul Herrera Ovando, Visitor [link]

Daniel Laky, Postdoc, [link]

Weiqi Zhang, PhD, [link]

Shengli Jiang, PhD, [link]

Philip Tominac, Postdoc [link]

Alexander Smith, PhD, [link]

Dilara Goreke, MSc, [link] 

Yue Shao, PhD, [link]

Joshua Pulsipher, PhD, [link]

Yicheng Hu, PhD, [link]

Sungho Shin, PhD, [link]

Apoorva Sampat, PhD, [link]

Ranjeet Kumar, PhD, [link]

Jordan Jalving, PhD, [link]

Ilse Hernandez, Visitor, [link]

Hani Yoo, Visitor

Heriberto Alcocer, Visitor, [link]

Qiugang Lu, Postdoc, [link]

Renke Kuhlmann, Postdoc, [link]

Caroline Satye, Visitor, [link]

Santiago Rodriguez, Visitor, [link]

Aurora Munguia, Visitor, [link]

Jaime Garibay, Visitor, [link]

Yankai Cao, Postdoc, [link]

Dulce Lopez, Visitor, [link]

Javier Tovar, Visitor, [link]

Alexander Dowling, Postdoc, [link]

Kibaek Kim, Postdoc, [link]

Nai-Yuan Chiang, Postdoc, [link]

Yeonsook Heo, Postdoc, [link]

Luis Fabián Fuentes-Cortés, Visitor, [link]

Magdalena Santos-Rodriguez, Visitor, [link]

Bethany Nicholson, Intern [link]

Francisco Trespalacios, Intern [link]