Group Members

Padma Gopalan

Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Professor of Chemistry
Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor
University of Wisconsin-Madison

pgopalan@wisc.edu

Google Scholar

CV

Prof. Gopalan received her Ph.D. from Cornell University in Chemistry and postdoctoral work at Lucent Technologies and Bell Laboratories. She worked as a Research associate at the National Aerospace Laboratory in India and as a R and D scientist at Grinwell Norton. She joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003 and is currently a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Her research is funded by NSF, DOE, ACS, DARPA, Army, and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). She has received several awards, including the NSF-CAREER award in 2005 and the Kellet Mid-Career award in 2022. She has also been a Co-leader in the NSF-MRSEC center on campus and was appointed as a visiting Professor through the World Research Hub at Tokyo Institute of Technology from 2018 to 2020.

Sheng Wang

Research Assistant

swang2353@wisc.edu

Sheng received his master’s degrees in Materials Science & Engineering from Northwestern University. His current research focuses on reworkable thermosets and block copolymer lithography. In his free time, he enjoys playing badminton and table tennis.

Leonardo Lizardi Rodriguez

Research Assistant

lizardirodri@wisc.edu

I obtained a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras and joined the Gopalan’s research group in Fall 2023. Currently, I am working on the synthesis of a new copolymer. In my free time I like to bike, watch movies, follow sports, play pool and video games.

Chenli Jia

Research Assistant

cjia29@wisc.edu

I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering right from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My current research focuses on self-assembly polymer guided crystallization of piezoelectric molecules. In my free time, I enjoy reading science fiction and detective novels, as well as playing video games.

Yixuan Yuan

Research Assistant

yyuan258@wisc.edu

Yixuan received his master’s degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Northwestern University. His current research focus is about poly(dimethyl siloxane) brush growth. During his free time, he likes to read fiction and play video games.

Swapnil Vaidya

Research Assistant

vaidya7@wisc.edu

I completed my undergraduate studies from Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai and my Masters from Cornell University. Currently, my research focuses on synthesis of polymer brushes. Outside the lab, I enjoy exploring new places, watching and discussing Formula1 and playing soccer and table tennis.

Nilabja Maity

Postdoc

nmaity2@wisc.edu

I am from India, where I received my Ph.D. in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 2022. My research focuses on the synthesis of conjugated polymer, its interaction with single-wall carbon nanotubes and growth of biocrystal. During my free time, I like to cycle, watch movies and travel.