People

Principal Investigator

Daniel J. Preston
CV | Email: djp@rice.edu

PhD – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017
SM – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014
BS – University of Alabama, 2012

Dan obtained his B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama and his S.M. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT, he worked under the guidance of Prof. Evelyn N. Wang. Following his graduate work, he trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, advised by Prof. George M. Whitesides, before starting as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rice University in July 2019.

Visiting Scholars

Mohit Barthwal
Visiting Scholar, Mehta Rice Engineering Scholars Program
Email: esz208163@ces.iitd.ac.in

Current PhD candidate at IIT Delhi

MTech – IIT Mandi, 2020
BTech – Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, 2017

Mohit joined the PI Lab in fall 2024.

Graduate Students

Marquise D. Bell
Email: mdb16@rice.edu
Web: marquisebell.com

BSME – Baylor University, 2020

Marquise joined the PI Lab in summer 2020.

Richard J. Fontenot
Email: rjf9@rice.edu

BSME – Louisiana Tech University, 2021

Rick joined the PI Lab in summer 2021.

Amanda Johnson
Email: amanda.johnson@rice.edu

BASc – University of Waterloo, 2024

Amanda joined the PI Lab in fall 2024.

Barclay Jumet
Email: barclay.jumet@rice.edu
Web: barclayjumet.com

BSME – The University of Alabama, 2020

Barclay joined the PI Lab in summer 2020.

Nicholas Kraemer
Email: nk73@rice.edu

BSME – University of Florida, 2024

Nick joined the PI Lab in fall 2024.

Hung-Yu “Iris” Lin
Email: il23@rice.edu

BS – National Chung Hsing University, 2024

Iris joined the PI Lab in fall 2024.
She was supported by MACHI-STEM as a visiting researcher in spring 2023.

Sarah Beth Oliphant
Email: sbo@rice.edu

MS in Business – Texas A&M University, 2025
BSME – Texas A&M University, 2024

Sarah Beth will join the PI Lab in fall 2025.

Neethu Pottackal
Email: ntp3@rice.edu

BS – Cornell University, 2020

Neethu joined the PI Lab in spring 2023.
She is co-advised by P. M. Ajayan.

Valeria Sanchez
Email: vs78@rice.edu

BSME – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 2025

Valeria will join the PI Lab in fall 2025.

Sofia Urbina
Email: su12@rice.edu

BS – Louisiana Tech University, 2023

Sofia joined the PI Lab in fall 2023.

Recruiting now for spring and fall 2025.
Contact for more information.

Undergraduate Students

Cristiana De Sousa
Email: cd70@rice.edu

Majoring in MECH at Rice

Cristiana joined the PI Lab in summer 2024.

Van Do
Email: vd35@rice.edu

Majoring in ECE at Rice

Van joined the PI Lab in spring 2025.

Megan Enriquez
Email: me52@rice.edu

Majoring in MECH at Rice

Megan joined the PI Lab in fall 2023.

Steve Fuentes
Email: saf15@rice.edu

Majoring in MECH at Rice

Steve joined the PI Lab in summer 2025.

Mateo Gonzales
Email: mag31@rice.edu

Majoring in MSNE at Rice

Mateo joined the PI Lab in fall 2023.

Justin Impelman
Email: ji12@rice.edu

Majoring in MECH at Rice

Justin joined the PI Lab in fall 2024.

Jasmine Klinkao
Email: jk120@rice.edu

Majoring in MECH at Rice

Jasmine joined the PI Lab in fall 2023.

Juan Alejandro Garavito Leon
Email: jag38@rice.edu

Majoring in Mechatronic Engineering at Universidad Javeriana

Alejandro joined the PI Lab in summer 2023.

Karina Manrique
Email: klm15@rice.edu

Majoring in MECH at Rice

Karina joined the PI Lab in summer 2023.

Tony Nguyen
Email: tn62@rice.edu

Majoring in MECH at Rice

Tony joined the PI Lab in summer 2025.

Autumn Pepper Rhodes
Email: aer11@rice.edu

Majoring in MECH at Rice

Pepper joined the PI Lab in fall 2024.

Jessica Shi
Email: js307@rice.edu

Majoring in MSNE at Rice

Jessica joined the PI Lab in summer 2025.

Kory Sila
Email: ks188@rice.edu

Majoring in MECH at Rice

Kory joined the PI Lab in fall 2023.

Johnny (Hieu Duc) Tran
Email: hieudtran@utexas.edu

Majoring in Biomedical Engineering at UT Austin

Johnny joined the PI Lab in summer 2025.

Carlos Vela
Email: cv58@rice.edu

Majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Lone Star College

Carlos joined the PI Lab in summer 2025.

Hannah Wixom
Email: hw73@rice.edu

Majoring in MECH at Rice

Hannah joined the PI Lab in spring 2023.

Recruiting now for spring and summer 2025.
Contact for more information.

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