Team
Yan Zeng
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemitry, Florida State University
Current and Previous Research Appointments:
2024 - present: Assistant Professor, Florida State University
2024 - present: Faculty Affiliate, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
2023 - 2023: Staff Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
2020 - 2022: Postdoc, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
2015 - 2020: Ph.D., Materials Engineering, McGill University
Contact Information:
Address: 102 Varsity Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4390
Office: Room 2002, Chemical Sciences Laboratory, FSU
Email: zeng@chem.fsu.edu
Graduate Students
Evelyn McBride
Bio: Evelyn graduated as a commissioned Air Force 2nd Lieutenant from the United States Air Force Academy in 2024 with a BS degree in chemistry and a nuclear weapons and strategies minor. She's originally from Blairsville, GA and will befriend your dog if you have one.
Project: Automated solution-based synthesis of energy materials. Joined 2024. AFIT Masters student.
Nat James Heburn
Bio: Nat graduated from Florida State University in 2021 with a B.S. in Chemistry and a minor in Mathematics. They are a powerlifter and big fan of anime.
Project: Direct transformation of minerals to battery materials. Joined 2024.
Xiaozhao Liu
Bio: Xiaozhao earned his master’s degree from South China University of Technology in 2023.
Project: Developing battery materials leveraging automation and machine learning. Joined 2024.
Brandon Sauval
Bio: Brandon graduated from the University of South Florida in 2024 with a B.S. degree in Chemistry. He is from Palm Beach, Florida, and enjoys going on long runs and playing video games.
Project: Developing high-energy low-cost Na cathode materials. Joined 2024.
Seth Scoggins
Bio: Seth graduated from Birmingham Southern College in 2024 with a B.S. degree in chemistry. He is from Pensacola, FL. When not in the lab, he loves to be on the ocean either fishing or surfing.
Project: Development of high-entropy oxides as fast and stable ionic conductors. Joined 2024.
Elena Scivally
Bio: Elena graduated from Stetson University in 2023 with a B.S. degree in chemistry. She is from Winter Park, Florida. She is an avid reader, and her favorite genre is mystery novels.
Project: Solvothermal synthesis of energy materials. Joined 2023.
Email: es23@fsu.edu
Ajay Shaji
Bio: Ajay graduated from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research TVM with an integrated B.S.-M.S. degree in Chemistry (major) and Physics (minor).
Project: Developing advanced solid electrolytes in an automated lab. Joined 2023.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Tong Zhao
Bio: Tong obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Münster, Germany.
Project: Development of Na active materials, Automation tools and workflows for the materials research lab. Joined 2024.
Email: tz24d@fsu.edu
Yufang He
Bio: Yufang obtained her Ph.D. from Missouri University of Science and Technology, USA.
Project: Computational design of fast-charging and high-energy-density battery materials. Joined 2023.
Undergraduate Students
Kayla Spinner
Kayla is an undergraduate student at FSU pursuing a degree in Biochemistry. She is also a teaching assistant for General Chemistry Lab. In the Zeng group, Kayla is designing electrolytes for solid-state batteries.
Alumni
Tommy Dixon
High schooler, YSP summer 2024
Josh Kumar
High schooler, YSP summer 2024
Zoe Shoplock
High schooler, YSP summer 2024
Emily Zager
Undergraduate, Jan - Aug 2024