Alumni – Preston Innovation Lab

Alumni
*Indicates degree obtained as a student in the PI Lab

	Veronica Aguilar BSME* – Rice University, 2024 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: September 2023–May 2024 Currently: Mechanical Engineer I at AEI
	Abduallah Alsinan Majoring in MECH at Rice Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: January 2022–May 2023
	Chris Avalos Majoring in Mathematics Position: NEWT Center summer undergraduate researcher Tenure: June 2022–August 2022 Currently: Student at San Jacinto College South
	Summer Barrette Majoring in MECH at Rice Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: October 2022–December 2022
	Marquise D. Bell Web: marquisebell.com PhD* – Rice University, 2025 BSME – Baylor University, 2020 Position: PhD student Tenure: July 2020–August 2025 Currently: Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania
	Adam Broshkevitch MS* – Rice University, 2024 BS – The United States Air Force Academy, 2022 Position: MS student Tenure: August 2022–May 2024
	Rodrigo Cisneros BS – University of Texas at Austin, 2024 Position: NEWT Center summer undergraduate researcher Tenure: June 2021–August 2021 Currently: Field Engineer at DPR Construction
	Colter Decker BSME* – Rice University, 2023 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: October 2019–May 2023 Currently: PhD Student at Harvard
	Van Do Majoring in ECE at Rice Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: January 2025–April 2025
	Loic Duggal BSME* – Rice University, 2025 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: September 2024–May 2025 Currently: MS Student at Georgia Tech
	Emily Ellison BSME* – Rice University, 2024 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: September 2023–May 2024 Currently: PhD Student at Stanford
	Brandon Espinoza Majoring in MECH at the University of Houston AS – San Jacinto College, 2024 Position: Undergraduate researcher supported by the Climate & Sustainability REU Tenure: June 2024–August 2024
	Aman Eujayl BSME* – Rice University, 2023 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: February 2020–May 2023 Currently: PhD Student at Caltech
	Steve Fuentes Majoring in MECH at Rice Position: Undergraduate researcher supported by Rice SURF Tenure: May 2025–August 2025
	Juan Alejandro Garavito-Leon BS – Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 2025 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: June 2023–September 2023
	Esha Ghai BSChE – Rice University, 2023 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: September 2019–December 2021 Currently: Associate Consultant at Bain & Company
	Mateo Gonzales Majoring in MSNE at Rice Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: January 2024–April 2025
	Damian Gonzalez BSME* – Rice University, 2024 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: January 2022–May 2024 Currently: PhD Student at Northwestern
	Isaac Heil Majoring in Advanced Manufacturing Position: NEWT Center summer undergraduate researcher Tenure: June 2021–August 2021 Currently: Student at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
	Rio Kawate BS – Meiji University, 2024 Position: Undergraduate researcher supported by TOMODACHI-STEM Tenure: February 2022–May 2022 Currently: PhD Student at Caltech
	Christophe Kwizera Majoring in MECH at Rice Position: Undergraduate researcher supported by Rice SURF Tenure: June 2024–August 2024
	John Lentz Majoring in Mechanical Engineering Position: NEWT Center summer undergraduate researcher Tenure: June 2022–August 2022 Currently: Student at Lamar University
	Leighton Less Majoring in MECH at Rice Position: Undergraduate researcher supported by Rice SURF Tenure: June 2022–December 2022
	Zhen Liu PhD* – Rice University, 2024 MS – Xi’an Jiaotong University, 2019 BS – Xi’an Jiaotong University, 2016 Position: PhD student Tenure: September 2019–July 2024 Currently: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor at UT Dallas
	Wyeth McKinley BSME – Rice University, 2023 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: February 2021–December 2021 Currently: NASA Operations Support Officer
	Eva Montenegro BSME* – Rice University, 2025 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: September 2024–May 2025
	Alia Nathani BSChE* – Rice University, 2024 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: September 2020–May 2024 Currently: Process Engineer at BP
	Evan Noce MS* – Rice University, 2024 BS – Loyola Marymount University, 2022 Position: MS student Tenure: August 2022–May 2024 Currently: Mechanical Engineer I at PVP Advanced EO Systems, Inc.
	Anoop Rajappan PhD – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2020 SM – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017 BS – Indian Institute of Technology Madras, 2015 Position: Postdoctoral researcher and research scientist Tenure: September 2020–June 2024 Currently: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor at Tulane University
	Rawand M. Rasheed PhD* – Rice University, 2023 MS – Portland State University, 2019 BS – Portland State University, 2017 Position: PhD student Tenure: August 2020–September 2023 Currently: CEO and Co-Founder of Helix Earth Technologies
	Marvyn Raya Majoring in MECH at Rice Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: September 2023–May 2024
	Mark Schara BSME* – Rice University, 2023 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: October 2019–May 2023
	Jessica Shi Majoring in MSNE at Rice Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: May 2025–August 2025
	Rachel A. Shveda MS* – Rice University, 2021 BSME – US Coast Guard Academy, 2014 Position: Graduate student Tenure: August 2019–May 2021 Currently: Officer in the US Coast Guard
	Connor Spears Majoring in MECH at Rice Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: January 2022–May 2022
	Cat-Linh Tran Majoring in MECH at Rice Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: September 2022–May 2023
	Johnny (Hieu Duc) Tran Majoring in Biomedical Engineering at UT Austin Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: May 2025–August 2025
	Jennifer Turrubiantes Majoring in Chemical Engineering at Lone Star College Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: May 2023–August 2023
	Gerardo Vega BSME* – Rice University, 2023 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: September 2021–June 2023 Currently: MS Student at Carnegie Mellon University
	Carlos Vela Majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Lone Star College Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: May 2025–August 2025
	Vi Vo BSME* – Rice University, 2023 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: September 2021–August 2023 Currently: PhD Student at Boston University
	Divya Wagh Majoring in MECH at Rice Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: October 2020–May 2022
	Doris Xu BSME* – Rice University, 2023 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: October 2021–May 2023 Currently: PhD Student at Cornell Co-advised with the MAHI Lab
	Xin Xu BS – Carnegie Mellon University, 2023 Position: Rotating MS student Tenure: August 2023–October 2023 Currently: MS Student at Rice
	Te Faye Yap Web: SoMa Lab PhD* – Rice University, 2024 BSME – University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2019 Position: PhD student, postdoc Tenure: August 2019–November 2024 Currently: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
	Mingde Zeng BSME* – Rice University, 2023 Position: Undergraduate researcher Tenure: October 2019–May 2023
	Irfan Zobayed MS* – Rice University, 2024 MS – Cornell University, 2022 BS – University of Texas at Dallas, 2019 Position: MS student Tenure: August 2022–May 2024