People
Principal Investigator
I joined RIT's Department of Chemical Engineering in 2017. I grew up in Chennai, India which is a cultural hub and only a few degrees north of the equator. I prefer to go by my first name because in my culture we do not have family names or surnames that pass down for generations. I use she/her pronouns. Outside of work, I enjoy jazz music, visiting museums when I travel, cooking, driving cars with manual transmission, running, and Bharatanatyam.
PhD in Biomedical and Chemical Engineering has been approved by NYS! Accepting applicants since Fall 2021.
Currently, we have two graduate students in the Microsystems Engineering PhD program and several undergraduates/accelerated degrees working in the group enrolled for independent study or project credit. Openings are available for a motivated graduate student, in the fields of Math Modeling, Microsystems Engineering, or Biomedical and Chemical Engineering. Please contact Dr. Poornima Padmanabhan directly if interested.
Current Graduate Students
My name is Michael Grant and I am a fourth year PhD student in the Microsystems Engineering program. I received my B.S. in Chemistry here at RIT where I conducted a combination of computational and synthetic research. My love for polymer physics and molecular simulation led me to pursue advanced research and I was ecstatic to join the Padmanabhan group When I am not conducting research I enjoy spending time with my son and partner. Any spare time after that is spent playing video games or working out.
Connor Knott
I am from Maryland, and graduated from RIT in 2024 with a BS in Chemical Engineering. I returned to RIT pursuing a PhD to further my skills in researching polymers, both through modeling and laboratory techniques. Outside of the lab you can find me playing the trumpet in the RIT GSO, playing D&D with friends, or cooking in the kitchen.
Current Undergraduate Students
Zachary Hill
Zachary is a student in the BS/MS Chemical Engineering program here at RIT. Hailing from Hartland, NY, Zach is involved with both New Student Orientation and the Men’s Rugby Club. In his free time, Zach likes to spend time with good friends and good food.
Adam Vining-Recklitis
My name is Adam Vining-Recklitis and I am from Worcester, MA. I am a first year honors student in the MS/BS Computer Engineering program. In my free time I enjoy playing games and spending time with friends and family.
Affiliates
Dr. Quinny Campbell
I graduated in May 2026 with a PhD in chemical engineering from University of Rochester. My dissertation was focused on AI safety and LLM agents automating molecular dynamics. I am passionate about how we can use machine learning to accelerate research in materials design and discovery. I am working with Poornima (or Dr. Padmanabhan) to explore the design parameters that engineer how polymers switch between conformations in response to temperature, toward applications in flexible polymer design. In my free time, I enjoy visiting local cafes to try out their lattes and running with friends. Some evenings, you may find me reading books and cuddling my two large New Shep dogs.
Group Photos
Party Parrot
Celebratory cake with the theme of the Party Parrot Slack family of GIF emojis.
Spring 2024 BBQ party
Standing left to right: Liz, Piyush, Ben Ronde
Sitting left to right: Natalie, Meleni, Poornima
Missing: Mike
Fall 2023 Dinner at Sodam Korean restaurant
From left to right: Meleni, Liz, Mike, Poornima, Ryan, Ben, Piyush, and Natalie
Zoom group meeting April 2021
From left to right followed by top to bottom: Ali, Poornima, Emily, Natalie, Mickaela, Hira, (not Rex), Alec, and Rex.
Group photo at second floor bridge at Institute Hall, Dec 2019
From left to right: Fu, Poornima, Natalie, Lauren, Krysia, Mickaela, Melissa, and Joe.
Missing: Joules and Lianna
Dinner at Raj Mahal in December 2018.
From left to right: Duncan, Krysia, Poornima, and Natalie.
Alumnae/i
PhD alumnae/i
Natalie Buchanan, 2024 PhD Microsystems Engineering, now at Air Force Research Laboratory
BS and BS/MS Students
Brennan Fingler, 2026 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, now at Franklin Engineering Group
Zach Burpee, 2026 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, now at Ultragenyx
Kambar Mangibayev, 2024 BS Mechanical Engineering, on to the Raymond Corporation
Piyush Kumar, 2024 BS Chemical Engineering, on to National Grid
Ben Ronde, 2024 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, on to Zebra Technologies
Elizabeth Ahrens, 2024 BS Chemical Engineering, on to GE
Meleni Sarantos, 2024 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, on to pursuing a PhD at University of Michigan
Maryalice Ball, 2023 BS Chemical Engineering, on to Plug Power
Danny (Hyungjoon) Kim, 2023 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, on to Materion Inc
Sam Platt, 2023 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, on to Pratt & Whitney
Rex Bartolini, 2022 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, on to RIT pursuing a PhD
Alec Maxwell, 2022 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, on to BAE systems, Inc
Hira Abid, 2021 BS Chemical Engineering, on to Encoded Therapeutics Inc.
Ali Binga, 2021 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, on to Mohawk Industries
Emily Borza, 2021 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, on to Kromek
Lianna Ketcham, 2021 BS Chemical Engineering, on to pursuing a PhD at Case Western Reserve University
Mickaela Samuel, 2021 BS Chemical Engineering, on to Pfizer
Krysia Browka, 2020 BS Chemical Engineering, now at Samsung Austin Semiconductor
Melissa Calopiz, 2020 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, now pursuing a PhD at University of Michigan
Lauren Chester, 2020 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, now at Renesas Electronics
Joules Provenzano, 2020 BS Chemical Engineering, now pursuing a PhD at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Fu Wu, 2020 BS Chemical Engineering
Logan Hobbs, 2019 BS Chemical Engineering/MS Materials Science, now at Corning Inc
John Ste.Marie, 2019 BS Chemical Engineering, now pursuing a PhD at Oregon State University
Duncan Stewart, 2019 BS Chemical Engineering, now at Vanderbilt University