People



Paul Russo
Lab Director
paul.russo@mse.gatech.edu

Contact Info:
School of Materials Science & Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
801 Ferst Drive (MRDC 3508)
Atlanta, Georgia 30332 USA

Office Phone: 404-385-2607
Cell phone: 225-588-8104
Fax Number: 404-894-9140

Education:
B.S., University of Wisconsin – River Falls
PhD., University of Minnesota

Publications:
Click here to view publications

Calendar:
Calendar (ICS style)
Calendar (Web browser)




Paul L. Balding

Alumni GT
pbalding3@gatech.edu

Education:
B.S., (Hons) International Science, University of Wollongong, Australia

Publications:

Research Interests:
The synthesis of polyelectrolytes via ATRP and their characterization by various microscopic, spectroscopic and scattering techniques. The study of polyelectrolyte dynamics in solution using a fluorescence photobleaching recovery method

Hobbies:
Painting rainbows and unicorns, long walks on the beach, and occasional Nicaraguan escapades


Alyssa Blake
Alumni GT

Education:
B.S. (Hon.), Biochemistry, Mercyhurst University
Research Interests: 
Silica polypeptide composite particles consisting of an inorganic silica core and an organic polypeptide shell can be used as model systems for studying biological and physical particle interactions. The polypeptide conformational transitions can be used to study the dynamics of vesicles and virus-like particles to better understand how proteins undergo their transitions. Jamming studies of the polypeptide composite particles can be conducted to determine how responsive polymer effect the jamming phase transition.
Hobbies: 
Running, soccer, cooking, reading, traveling, skiing



Bailey Risteen

Alumni GT
bristeen3@gatech.edu
Education:

B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Virginia

Research Interests:
Cellulose nanocrystals, flexible electronics, semiconducting polymer processing
Hobbies:
Playing guitar, painting, traveling



Graham Parkinson

Alumni GT
grahamdbp@gatech.edu

 Education:

B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder

Publications:

Research Interests:
My research is focused on the structure and function of gel materials. I investigate the structure of arborol thermoreversible gels as well as functional applications of these fibrous network for molecular scale assemblies. I also research the use of reversible templates on the macro scale structure of bioinspired chemical and physical gels. My final project focuses on creating aerogel structures from biological polymers.
Hobbies:
Swimming, running, playing golf, cooking, reading, traveling, playing string instruments



Xujun Zhang

Alumni GT
xujun.zhang@mse.gatech.edu
Contact Info:

View Xujun's profile on LinkedIn

Education:

B.S., Applied Chemistry, Shanghai University, China

Research Interests:
Hydrophobins, differential dynamic microscopy (DDM), dynamic light scattering (DLS)
Hobbies:
skateboarding, skiing, tennis



Drew Gorman

Alumni GT
agorman3@gatech.edu
Contact Info:

View Drew's profile on LinkedIn

Education:

B.S., Dept. Physics, University of Tennessee

Publications:
Research Interests:
My work is focused on the self assembly and characterization of hydrophobins with a variety of techniques such as neutron/x-ray/light scattering, DLS, optical tweezing, and optical microscopy.
Hobbies:
Racquetball, tennis, football, and soccer

Rachel Borrelli

Alumni GT


Elsa Samantaray

Alumni GT


David (Mac) Thompson

Alumni GT


Ron Volkovinski

Alumni GT



Cornelia Rosu

Alumni GT

Postdoc 2014 – 2016 (co-advised with Elsa Reichmanis)

Research Interests:
Polypeptide-conducting polymer interactions


Jinxin Fu

Alumni GT
jinxin.fu@mse.gatech.edu

Postdoc 2014 – 2016 (co-advised with Mohan Srinivasarao)

Education:

Optical properties of liquid crystals, differential dynamic microscop


Jessica Stelzel

Alumni GT


Undergraduate Students

Professor Russo only accepts graduate students in partnership with other professors, who are in a lead role.

Alumni (LSU)

Let me think…..MS & PhD: Mark Delong, Mazidah Mustafa, Debbie Tipton, Daewon Sohn, Keunok Yu, Lucille Smith-Wright, Randy Cush, Brian Fong, Nadia Edwin, Elena Temyanko, Mike Baylis, Sibel Turksen, Erick Soto-Cantu, Jian-hong Qiu, Cornelia Rosu, Melissa Collins, Wayne Huberty, Derek Dorman, Garrett Doucet and Zimei Bu …who have I missed?