People

Amir Haji-Akbari

Principal Investigator, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University

Office: 9 Hillhouse Ave., Room 307. New Haven, CT 06511

Phone: (203) 432-7236

Email: amir.hajiakbaribalou@yale.edu

Past Education:

Professional Experience:

Sarwar Hussain

PhD candidate, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University

Office: 9 Hillhouse Ave, Room 300A. New Haven, CT 06511

Email: sarwar.hussain@yale.edu

Biography: Sarwar is a 5th-year Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering at the CEE department. He finished his B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in India in 2017. His research focuses on studying the questions of ice nucleation in the atmosphere and crystal nucleation on nano-patterned surfaces; along with the development of robust tools and methodologies for performing accurate crystal nucleation simulations. Outside of the lab, he enjoys rock climbing, swimming, biking, and spending time with friends sipping Karak tea and eating good food.

Past Education:

Brian Shoemaker

PhD candidate, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University

Office: 9 Hillhouse Ave., Room 301. New Haven, CT 06511

Email: brian.shoemaker@yale.edu

Biography: Brian is a Ph.D. student in the Chemical Engineering track of the CEE department. He received his B.S. in Physics from Wake Forest University where he studied metal-organic frameworks using DFT. Before coming to Yale, Brian worked in the pharmaceutical industry where he used a variety of computational and experimental techniques to aid in drug research and development. Currently, his research interests involve reverse osmosis desalination and molecular simulations. Outside of work, Brian enjoys running, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

Past Education:

Tiago Dos Santos Domingues

PhD candidate, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University

Office: 9 Hillhouse Ave., Room 300A. New Haven, CT 06511

Email: tiago.domingues@yale.edu

Biography: Aside from being a Ph.D. candidate at the CEE department, Tiago is also a fellow at the Graduate program in Applied Mathematics. Tiago received both his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and his M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. For his M.Sc. thesis, he studied under Prof. Wladimir Neves the theory of renormalized solutions for the Boltzmann transport equation. His current research at Yale focuses on predicting transport properties of fluids under confinement, and using manifold learning techniques to analyze high dimensional data arising from molecular simulations. Outside the lab, Tiago enjoys dining with friends, playing boardgames and RPGs.

Past Education:

Fernanda Sulantay Vargas

PhD student, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University

Office: 9 Hillhouse Ave., Room 301. New Haven, CT 06511

Email: fernanda.vargas@yale.edu

Biography: Fernanda is a Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering at the CEE department. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Connecticut. She is a 2021 NSF GRFP fellowship recipient and a 2021 GEM fellowship recipient. She currently serves as the co-chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) committee at the CEE department. Her current research includes crystallization in heterogeneous surfaces and crystallization under shear. Fernanda is originally from El Salvador. Outside the lab, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, creating social media content, and drinking matcha latte.

Past Education:

Arlind Kacirani

PhD student, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University

Office: 9 Hillhouse Ave., Room 301. New Haven, CT 06511

Email: arlind.kacirani@yale.edu

Biography: Arlind is a Ph.D. student in the Chemical Engineering track of the CEE Department. Concurrently he is also a fellow in the Integrated Graduate Program in Physical & Engineering Biology (PEB). He received his B.E. in Chemical Engineering with double minors in Chemistry and Mathematics from the City College of New York in 2021 where he studied the structure and dynamics of fungal melanins using solid-state NMR spectroscopy in Prof. Ruth E. Stark's Lab. At Yale, his current research interests focus on protein aggregation, statistical mechanics and liquid phase transitions. Outside the lab, Arlind enjoys cooking and trying moderately spicy foods in good company.

Past Education:

Omar Magdi Khalifa

PhD student, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University

Office: 9 Hillhouse Ave., Room 301. New Haven, CT 06511

Email: omar.khalifa@yale.edu

Biography: Omar is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Chemical and Environmental department. He earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Petroleum Institute (now Khalifa University) and his M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Khalifa University. For his M.Sc. thesis, he designed and built an electro-membrane reactor to treat oily wastewater. His current research focuses on studying membrane’s selectivity via molecular simulations; a vital question in processes such as desalination. Outside the classroom (and Zoom calls), he would be sipping Karak tea with friends, voice-acting, and playing soccer.

Past Education:

Oion Akif

PhD student, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University

Office: 9 Hillhouse Ave., Room 300A. New Haven, CT 06511

Email: oion.akif@yale.edu

Biography: Oion is a Ph.D. student in the Chemical Engineering track of the CEE Department. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rochester in 2021, where he also worked under Dr. Andrew White. At Yale, his current research interest focuses on investigating the behavior of various organic and non-organic systems using computer simulations. Specifically, he is investing the question of ice nucleation events in the atmosphere, a question vital in understanding rates of reaction that take place above the ground. Outside the lab, Oion enjoys being in nature and professional photography.

Past Education:

Hessam Malmir

Research Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center

Past Education: