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.

Junsu Yun

Research Assistant

junsu.yun@wisc.edu

Hi, I’m from South Korea and joined the group in 2018. I’m studying the functionalized biomaterials with polymer coatings for application in tissue engineering. I like to watch movies, play sports, and walk with my dog.

Stephanie Oliveras Santos

Research Assistant

oliverassant@wisc.edu

I am originally from Puerto Rico, where I obtained my bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez in 2020. I focus on studying the interactions between customized conjugated polymer dispersants and single-wall carbon nanotubes. I love scientific research, mentoring students, and sharing career-development resources. I also love traveling, watching movies, and eating plantains, merlot bellavitano cheese, and chocolate.

Miguel A. Betancourt Ponce

Research Assistant

betancourtp2@wisc.edu

I am originally from Puerto Rico, where I obtained my bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras in 2021. I work on the synthesis and self-assembly evaluation of poly(dimethyl siloxane) based block copolymers. During my free time, I like to exercise, read, play basketball and videogames.

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.

Bharathan Govindarajan

Research Assistant

bgovindaraj2@wisc.edu

Bharathan received his Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering at Anna University, India, and later received his Master’s in Chemical Engineering at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. He worked with biofibers and polymers in Biofiber Tech Sweden AB before joining Northvolt AB, a Swedish battery company where he worked with polymer electrolytes. Inspired by polymers, he then moved to the USA to pursue his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at UW-Madison in Prof. Gopalan’s group, where he is currently working with synthesizing polymer brushes and blocks for different applications.

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.

Nikhil Pokharel

Postdoc

npokharel@wisc.edu

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.