Team

Principal Investigator

Publications: Google Scholar

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: 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.

Helina (Binghui) Li

Bio: Helina graduated from the University of Alberta (BSc. in Chemical Engineering) and the University of British Columbia (MASc. in Materials Engineering). Outside of school, she is either busy unlocking new hobbies like mixology, and latte art or hopping from museums, art galleries to concerts. She also enjoys more adventurous outdoor activities like skiing and skateboarding. 

Project: Autonomous laboratories. Joined 2025

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

Bio: 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.

Warner Ducheine

Bio: Warner is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at FSU. He is part of Engineers without Borders, the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering, and the American Institute of Physics. Warner is working on developing automation tools for synthesis.

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