Principal Investigator
 |
Dr. Tianyu Zhu,
Assistant Professor (CV) (tzhu2@clemson.edu) Tianyu Zhu joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering as an Assistant Professor in August 2023. He is a material scientist/engineer with experience in the synthesis and processing of organic and ceramic materials for energy applications. Zhu obtained his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from the University of South Carolina in 2019. Prior to joining Clemson University, he worked as a senior engineer at Quantumscape Inc. (2022-2023) and as a postdoc scholar at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2020-2022). His research interests lie in the interface of synthetic organics and advanced manufacturing to address the challenges in energy research frontiers. |
Graduate Students
 |
Alireza Mehrvarz, Fall 2024, MSE (amehrva@clemson.edu) M.S., Sahand University of Technology (2021) B.S., University of Tabriz (2017) Alireza joined the Zhu group in August 2024 as a Ph.D. graduate student. He enjoys cooking, swimming, and watching mysterious movies. Alireza focuses on the synthesis and characterization of LMFP cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. |
 |
Xingyu Zhang, Spring 2025, MSE (xingyuz@clemson.edu) |
 |
Ashley Gomez, Fall 2021, MSE (agomez3@g.clemson.edu) B.S., University of Texas at El Paso (2018) Ashley is a PhD candidate working in Dr. Zhu’s research group since January 2025. Her research interests include materials synthesis and characterization of cathode materials for solid-state battery application. |
High School Teacher (Crescent High School)
Martha Abernethy |
Lab Alumni
 |
Ayodeji Arnold Olaseinde, Fall 2023, MSE (aolasei@g.clemson.edu) B.Eng, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria (2012) M.Eng, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria (2021) Ayodeji is a master student in the materials science and engineering program. He joined the Zhu group in May 2024 as a summer researcher. He enjoys listening to music, watching movies, and traveling. Ayodeji specialized in the fabrication of oxide ceramic thin film electrolytes for solid-state batteries. |
 |
John Andrew Liu, Fall 2023, General Engineering (jaliu@g.clemson.edu) Graduated from D. W. Daniel High School (2023). John Liu is a Clemson 1st year Undergraduate in the Engineering program. John joined the Zhu Group in October 2023 as an undergraduate researcher. In his free time, he enjoys listening to and playing music, playing video games, swimming, building model kits, and learning to cook. |
 |
Xinyue Liu, Spring 2024, MSE (xinyue2@clemson.edu) M.S., Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology (2023) B.S., Harbin University of Science and Technology (2020) Xinyue joined the Zhu group in January 2024 as a Ph.D. graduate student. She enjoys traveling and savoring good food, especially hot pot. Xinyue focused on the low-cost, scalable synthesis of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. |
Sandy DeYoung (sdeyoun@clemson.edu) |