Senior member Katie Sun participated in the University of Pennsylvania’s 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition and won 2nd place! Penn 3MT is a university-wide competition designed to showcase graduate students’ research and communications skills in a three-minute talk to a general audience. Katie’s thesis centers around the adsorption of nanoparticles to polymer brushes, which she …
5th-year PhD Student, Katie Sun, presented her research on “Selectivity of Gold Nanoparticle Adsorption in a Weak Polyelectrolyte Brush Controlled Through Grafting Density Changes” at the APS Division of Polymer Physics (DPLOY) conference in Denver, Colorado. The technical session was focused on experts in block copolymers, polymers, and biomacromolecules at interfaces. This marks her…
David Bujdos, a second-year PhD student, presented his poster on the “Slow Kinetics of Confined Diblock Copolymer upon Infiltration into a Bicontinuous, Nanoporous Gold Scaffold” at the APS Division of Polymer Physics (DPLOY) conference in Denver, Colorado. This year there were 85 DPLOY posters presented, and David had the honor of being selected for the […]
Penn’s undergraduate experience has evolved greatly since initiating academic exercises in a former church building at Fourth and Arch streets in the 18th century, today supporting upwards of 10,000 enrolled students in West Philadelphia. This intellectually and demographically diverse student body represents more than 100 nations and all 50 states. Looking ahead, the University, through Pen…
Colby Snyder, a third-year undergraduate in the Composto Lab, has been named a 2025 Goldwater Scholar—one of just 441 students selected nationally from over 1,300 nominees across 445 institutions. The prestigious award recognizes exceptional students pursuing research careers in science, engineering, and math. Colby’s achievement was supported by Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fello…
Professor Russell Composto, a distinguished professor of materials science and engineering and the Howell Family Faculty Fellow, has been appointed as a co-director of the Bozza Family Penn First Plus Faculty Directorship. In this role, he works alongside Fayyaz Vellani to support Penn First Plus (P1P), a transformative initiative that empowers first-generation and modest-income students […]
Sydni Wilson, the second year Ph.D student, presented her research work at the Ivy Collective for Inclusion in Engineering Doctorial Symposium. Congratulations Sydni!
The Composto Lab was represented with enthusiasm and innovation at the 4th Annual Frontiers of Energy Research Poster Session, where three standout undergraduates, Isa Pan, Colby Snyder, and Julia Chiang, showcased their forward-thinking research projects. This poster session was co-hosted by the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology and the Vagelos Integrated Program in […]
The 2024 Geoffrey Belton Graduate Fellowship has been awarded to two third-year PhD students, Antonio Martinez and Katie Sun, from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. This award recognizes their substantial and exceptional contributions to their field, exemplifying their innovative research and dedication. Named in honor of Dr. Geoffrey Belton, a former luminary of […]
RJC with Prof Jan Genzer (North Carolina State) and Prof. Arthi Jayaraman (Delaware) RJC with former PhD Prof Jan Genzer (North Carolina State) and academic grandchild Prof. Arthi Jayaraman (Delaware) Composto Group (Left to right): Colby Snyder, Isa Pan, Weiwei Kong, Russell J. Composto, Yechan Kim, Katie Sun & Aria Zhang
As the new year rolls around, the Composto group would like to celebrate highlights of our group’s fall 2023: PhD Candidate Weiwei Kong Completes a Summer Internship at META We are happy to highlight the completion of a summer internship at META by PhD candidate Weiwei Kong. Weiwei is researching polymer kinetics within confined spaces […]
Russell Composto is the associate dean of undergraduate education at the School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). Kristin L. Field is the director of education and program coordinator for the Penn-based SoftAE Program, a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.  In their recent article for the Perry World House’s Global Shifts […
As the spring 2023 semester draws to a close at the University of Pennsylvania, the Composto group would like to highlight some of our group’s spring highlights! Soft AE Kickoff & Aria Zhang’s Participation in the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) We are happy to announce a successful kick-off of Soft AE– Exploring Research […]
