People
Meet our Principal Investigator
David Fenning
Francine Berman Professor
Chemical and Nano Engineering Department at UC San Diego
I completed a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013 based on my work on high-temperature defect engineering of metal impurities in silicon solar cells.
After finishing my Ph.D., I had the unique opportunity to put it straight to work. I consulted at silicon solar technology company 1366 Technologies, working with their talented R&D team toward deploying solar at the cost of traditional coal-based power.
To address the intermittency challenge that solar power faces, I returned to MIT to work on solar energy storage technologies, including solar-to-fuel electrochemistry. In MIT's Electrochemistry Energy Lab, I pursued projects in photoelectrochemistry and solar-to-fuels research based on a variety of materials platforms and device architectures.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Maimur Hossain
From perovskite films to flavorful curries, my life is a blend of science and spice.
Guillermo Esparza
Beyond research, Guillermo loves to go backpacking, practicing various forms of art, and playing games.
Ph.D. Students
Kelly Vences
Kelly loves to hike, dance, and try different boba cafes around San Diego.
Ayush Tiwary
Ayush actively participates in local soccer tournaments and also loves playing tennis.
Tejas Nivarty
Outside of the lab, Tejas enjoys music, hiking, cooking, playing GeoGuessr, and catching either vibes or strays.
Guang-Yu Lee
Guang-Yu had a little lamb, whose fleece was white as snow and everywhere Guang-Yu went, the lamb was sure to go.
Rania Ahmed
Rania received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley in 2025. Her previous projects were on atomic layer etching at JPL and electrolyte degradation in lithium-ion batteries in the McCloskey Lab at UC Berkeley. Her current research interests are exploring materials and methods for dynamic catalysis.
Eric Oberholtz
When away from lab, Eric can be found playing the saxophone, cooking new recipes, and hiking.
Research Staff
Daniel Abdoue
When he isn't tinkering with lab equipment, Daniel likes cooking, playing soccer, playing the drums, and finding other stuff to tinker with in between.