People

The members of our group come from a diverse cultural and academic background, promoting a creative and productive work environment.

  • Bottom row: Farhan Shaikh, Yuqi Feng, Paulette Clancy, Mia Liu, Joshitha Pilla, Yi Cao; Top row : Kumar Miskin, Peter Mastracco, Madaline Marland, Luke Oluoch
  • Dinner photo: LHS (closest to the camera and going back)-- Jess Strongin, Peter Mastracco, Luke Oluoch, Madaline Marland RHS (closest to the camera first)-- Yuqi Feng, Yi Cao, me, Farhan Shaikh, Kumar Miskin
  • LHS (closest to the camera and going back)-- Jess Strongin, Peter Mastracco, Luke Oluoch, Madaline Marland RHS (closest to the camera first)-- Yuqi Feng, Yi Cao, Paulette Clancy, Farhan Shaikh, Kumar Miskin

Principal Investigator


Prof. Paulette Clancy

Edward J. Schaefer Professor in Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Samuel W. and M. Diane Bodman Professor in Chemical Engineering, Cornell University

Ph.D. Chemistry, Oxford University, 1977
B.A. Chemistry, University of London, 1974

Address: 221 Maryland Hall
Phone: 410-516-4312
Email: pclancy3@jhu.edu
Research Interest: Computational studies of crystalline semiconducting materials synthesis, processing and design with a focus on ‘small molecule’ organic semiconductors and beyond-CMOS electronic materials (from graphene to InGaAs and low-k SiCOH).


Postdoctoral Research Associates


Peter Mastracco

Ph.D. at University of California, Irvine, 2024
MS University of California, Irvine, 2021
BS Binghamton University, 2019
Email: pmastra2@jh.edu
LinkedIn: peter-mastracco
Research Interest: Developing interpretable, physics-informed machine learning frameworks for materials design, using experimental data to guide Bayesian optimization for materials discovery. Integrating computational modeling, thermodynamics, and statistical learning to extract physical insight from limited, noisy experimental data for data-efficient pathways to next-generation functional materials.


Doctoral Research Associates


Kumar Miskin

M.Tech. Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India, 2022
B.Tech. Metallurgical Engineering & Materials Science with Minor in Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India, 2022
Email: kmiskin1@jh.edu
LinkedIn: kumarpmiskin
Research Interest: Algorithm Development for Material Discovery and Atomistic Simulation


Luke Oluoch

B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester, 2019

Email: loluoch1@jh.edu
LinkedIn: luke-oluoch
Research Interest: Applying deep learning to material processing and image processing.


Yi Cao

B.S. Pharmaceutical Sciences, Fudan University, 2023
Email: ycao73@jh.edu
LinkedIn: yi-cao
Personal Website: yicao-elina
Research Interest: Machine learned interatomic potential (MLIP); Develop generalizable AI4Science frameworks that combine DFT, MD with ML and LLMs to enable data-efficient, interpretable, and closed-loop material discovery.


Jessica Strongin

B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Maryland College Park, 2023

Email: jstron14@jh.edu
LinkedIn: jessica-strongin
Research Interest: organic electronics, conducting polymers for bioelectronic applications, intersection of experimental and computational work, machine learning


Madaline Marland

B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Virginia, 2023

Email: mmarlan1@jh.edu
LinkedIn: madaline-marland
Research Interest: Computational materials investigation for mechanistic understanding and efficient materials design


Farhan Shaikh

Integrated M. Tech Chemical Engineering, minor Polymer and Material Science, Institute of Chemical Technology Mumbai, Jalna Campus, 2023
Email: fshaik10@jh.edu
LinkedIn: farhan-shaikh
Research Interest: Computational Materials Science, Density Functional Theory, and Machine Learning for Perovskite Exploration


Maurice Curran

B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Virginia, 2023
Email: mcurran8@jh.edu
LinkedIn: maurice-curran
Research Interest: Combining computational and experimental approaches for semiconductor nanomaterials development


M.S. Research Associates


Leyao Huang

BE, Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University, 2025

Email: lhuang77@jh.edu
LinkedIn: leyao-huang
Research Interest: Combining DFT and ML to study energy materials


Joshitha

Joshitha Pilla

BS/MS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 2026

Email: jpilla1@jh.edu
Research Interest: Machine learning and materials research for applications in energy technologies


Undergraduate Research Associates


Victor Wu

Email: vwu16@jhu.edu
Research Interest: DFT and ML for defect study in 2D vdW material; Machine learned interatomic potential (MLIP)


Mia Liu

Email: jliu379@jh.edu
Research Interest: Computational investigation of materials interfaces for energy and environmental applications


Mark Zhang

Email: zzhan332@jh.edu
Research Interest:  Process optimization through modeling and machine learning

Anthony Mugavero

Email: amugave3@jh.edu
Research Interest:  DFT and machine learning

Visiting Scholars