People

Current Research Associates

Sanjay Choudhary

B.Tech. Metallurgical Engineering; National Institute of Technology Raipur (India), 2014

M.Tech. Materials Science and Engineering; Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (India), 2016

Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering; Monash University (Australia), 2022

 

Sanjay is from Raipur, India. He obtained his B.Tech in Metallurgical Engineering from NIT Raipur (India) in 2014, and M.Tech in Materials Science and Engineering From IIT Kanpur (India) in 2016. He worked with TATA Steel India Ltd. as a Researcher, investigating localized corrosion of the hot rolled steel plates and galvanized steel rebars. He obtained his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Monash University (Australia) in 2022, where he studied the evolution of passivity in Cr and Cr-containing alloys including stainless steel and multi-principal element alloys. He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Kelly’s group, where he is studying localized corrosion characteristics of Al-alloys used in aerospace and stainless-steel dry storage containers, using finite element modeling and in-situ TEM. In his free time, Sanjay enjoys cooking and watching sci-fi movies and TV shows. 

Current Graduate Students

Savannah Horowitz

B.S. Materials Science and Engineering (with certificate in metallurgy); University of Florida, 2023

 

Savannah is from Auburndale, FL. She received her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering with a certificate in Metallurgy from the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. While there, Savannah was a part of Phi Sigma Rho, Machens First Opportunity Scholars, and participated in a study abroad program to Madrid, Spain. During her undergraduate career, Savannah conducted research focusing on high entropy memory shape alloy development and automation of infrared thermography non-destructive testing image analysis for welds. Savannah presented her undergraduate research at the TMS 2022 conference, where she won first place in the Undergraduate Materials Processing & Manufacturing Division. She also has experience in industry, working on the processing of stainless steels at Tesla.  Savannah's current project focuses on studying the corrosion-fatigue properties of Al-alloys. Savannah likes to spend her free time cooking, rock climbing, and embroidering.

Timothy (TJ) Montoya

B.S. Chemistry; University of New Mexico, 2022

 

Timothy was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he earned his BS degree in Chemistry with a Distributed minor at the University of New Mexico. During his undergrad, Timothy worked as a year-round research and development student intern at Sandia National Labs. His research focused on studying corrosion problems for the spent nuclear waste program.  Outside of school and research, Timothy enjoys going to the gym, participating in sports, hanging out with friends, and playing video games.

Armando Shehi

B.S. Chemical Engineering; California State Polytechnic University Pomona, 2021

 

Armando was born and raised in Albania and later moved to United States where he obtained a BS degree in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Materials Science and Engineering. During his undergraduate time, Armando conducted research on the corrosion behavior of novel metallic alloys for biomedical applications. His area of research later expanded to investigating and comparing the corrosion behavior of various AM alloys for biomedical and marine environments. Armando’s free time is spent between creating and exploring new dishes and learning languages.

Victor Kontopanos

B.S. Chemistry and Engineering Physics; Randolph-Macon College, 2021

 

Victor is from Richmond, VA. He received his B.S. in Chemistry and Engineering Physics with a minor in Physics from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA where he participated on the R-MC Men’s Swim Team for NCAA Division III. During his undergraduate career, Victor performed research in the Chemistry department that focused on the synthesis of nickel phosphide nanoparticles for electrocatalysis of the hydrogen evolution reaction. Victor also has experience as a laboratory teaching assistant for inorganic chemistry at R-MC and as an engineering sciences intern for Afton Chemical Corporation. In his free time, Victor likes to play board games, read a variety of books, rock climb, and spend time with his friends and family.