Graduate Students

Jorge Canada Perez-Sala (EECS, PhD Candidate)
jcanadap@mit.edu

Coils Whisperer

Enabling the takeover of the machines

Fencer and sailor, Jorge brings terror to the waters of the Charles River. He did his undergrad in Madrid, Spain, and a master’s in Tokyo, Japan, where he also participated in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (behind the cameras, not in front of them). Jorge originally majored in Industrial Engineering and ended up drifting towards Electrical Engineering. He has worked on electricity demand forecasting through machine learning, design of medical devices, and design of integrated circuits for ultra-low power applications.

Jorge is working on the development of monolithically 3D printed electromagnetic actuators (motors and so on). Trying to push the limits of what is achievable with a standard fused filament 3D printer, Jorge is combining conductive, magnetic and insulating materials to get stuff to move right off the printer bed. No killer robots have been printed thus far, but stay tuned!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorge-canada/


Alex Kashkin (MechE, Master of Science Candidate)
kashkin@mit.edu

Wizard of Electrons

Breaking classical physics, because why not?

The Wine & Cheese Chair of the Mechanical Engineering department, Alex is an avid consumer of Renaissance art and barbecue. He previously invented and commercialized a genetic analysis instrument, GeneTiger, leveraging advances in additive manufacturing, compact electronics, and machine learning. Definitely paying attention in class, Alex got his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and B.A. in Economics at The University of Texas at Austin.

Mostly focused on ultra-sharp things (think of a needle, now make it 10,000 times sharper), Alex’s work applies electric field enhancement to things like liquid ionization, nanosatellite propulsion, and electron projection lithography. His primary project is tied to the coupling of nanowire-coated substrates with digital microfluidics, having record-high electrospray currents for clinical mass spectrometry (as part of an effort in the Velasquez group, Lincoln Laboratory, and Empiriko Corporation). Alex collaborates with the Mechanosynthesis group on quantum-tunneling electrons out of freestanding 3d-printed carbon nanotube field emitter arrays, and is also working on iterating additively-manufactured planar field emission sources. If you’ve read this far and haven’t fallen asleep, bravo, now go check out our publications!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexkashkin/


Hyeonseok Kim (MechE, Master of Science Candidate)

kimhs@mit.edu

Satellite Warden

Ultrasonic… meh. We go hypersonic!

Interested in the physical modeling of problems involving fluid mechanics, Hyeonseok got his B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University in Korea. As a metalhead, Hyeonseok likes to go metal concerts around Boston. He also enjoys playing an electric guitar and cooking.

Hyeonseok is working on electrospray thrusters for CubeSats. The working liquid is supplied through 3D printed microfluidics channels, and a strong electric field generates the Taylor cone and emits high-speed ions or droplets to produce a thrust.


Zoey Bigelow (EECS, Master of Science Candidate)
zbigelow@mit.edu

Plasma Hulk

Sure the sky’s the limit – it’s the lower limit!

A deep lover of all things plasma, Zoey believes that plasma science holds the key to the universe. Or at least to saving the world. She grew up in Alaska and got her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She enjoys all things outdoors, particularly biking and adventuring with her awesome 6-year-old. As a child at heart, Zoey has recently discovered a passion for jiu jitsu, where grown-ups get to wrestle around all day. In case you were wondering, yes, her daughter does it too, and yes, her daughter often wins.

Zoey’s primary work includes characterizing plasma in space and in the lab using plasma sensors! She’s done work with retarding potential analyzers and is currently working on using Langmuir probes to gather all that delightful plasma data.


Colin Eckhoff (EECS, PhD Candidate)
ceckhoff@mit.edu

Colin works on 3D-printed ceramic quadrupoles for mass spectrometry.

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