People – ABATE Lab

About

Iwnetim Abate

Assistant Professor

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Abate is the Chipman Career Development Professor and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. He completed his postdoctoral training at UC Berkeley and his PhD at Stanford University. His interdisciplinary research group at MIT works at the nexus of electrochemistry, condensed matter physics, earth sciences, and data science to develop materials and devices for next-generation energy storage, computing, and mining technologies. Prior to his Ph.D., he conducted research at IBM Almaden and Los Alamos National Laboratory for two years. Abate has been recognized as one of the “Talented 12” by C&E News, a Bose Fellow by MIT, and a Miller Fellow and Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow by UC Berkeley. He also received the Young Investigator Award from the International Solid State Ionics Society, Daniel Cubicciotti Award from the Electrochemical Society and became the Principal Investigator on an ARPA-E award for geological hydrogen.

Outside the lab, Iwnetim is a co-founder and president of a non-profit organization (www.scifro.org) that empowers African youth to address local challenges through scientific research and innovation. The organization is generously supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the American Physical Society.

Awesome

Meet Our Group Members

Dr. Yifan Gao

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

Ph.D., Environmental Science and Engineering
Tsinghua University
B.S., Environment Engineering (major), Economics (minor)
Tsinghua University

Research at MIT:
Hydrogen
Lithium-ion battery recycling

Outside the Lab:
Travel, hiking,
and cooking

Office: 13-5142
yifangao@mit.edu

Dr. Seok Hee (Justin) Han

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

Ph.D., Chemistry
Seoul National University
B.S., Chemistry (major), Economics (minor)
Seoul National University

Research at MIT:
Electrochemical ion Insertion
2D materials, Hydrogen, Batteries

Outside the Lab:
Weightlifting, running, wine,
classical music, and occasional cooking

Office: 13-5118
shhan@mit.edu

Dr. Bachu Sravan

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

Ph.D., Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)
B.S., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal (NITK)

Research at MIT:
Electrode materials for Sodium ion batteries

Outside the Lab:
Watching cricket, playing Table Tennis and hiking

Office: 13-5026
sravan92@mit.edu

Dr. Varun Kamboj

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

Ph.D., Physics
University of Cambridge. UK
M.Sc. Nanoelectronics
University of Manchester

Research at MIT:
2D materials, Spectroscopy and Microscopy, Electrochemical ion Insertion

Outside the Lab:
Hiking, Bowling

Office: 13-5098
vkamboj@mit.edu

Dr. Ming Lei

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

Ph.D., Chemical and Environmental Engineering
University of California, Riverside
M.S., Chemistry
Xiamen University

Research at MIT:
DFT study of battery materials and electrocatalysis

Outside the Lab:
Reading, Backpacking, Trail running and Swimming

Office: 13-5142
mlei012@mit.edu

Dr. Yaoshen Niu

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

Joint Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering
Xi’an Jiaotong University; Institute of Physics CAS
B.S., Metallurgical Engineering
Central South University

Research at MIT:
Sodium ion batteries

Outside the Lab:
Movie collection, gym, and billiards

Office: 13-5026
ysniu@mit.edu

Dr. Abhishek Soni

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

Ph.D., Chemistry
The University of British Columbia, Canada
Integrated B.S.-M.S., Chemistry Indian Institute of Science Education and Research

Research at MIT:
Self-Driving Laboratory

Outside the Lab:
Music, chess, sketching, cricket

Office: TBD
abhisoni@mit.edu

Dr. Shipeng Jia

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

Ph.D., Chemistry
McGill University
B.S., Chemistry
Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)

Research at MIT:
Battery, High Throughput Research
Outside the Lab:

Outside the Lab:
Ukulele, piano, soccer, snooker,
travelling, photography and cooking

Office: TBD
shipengj@mit.edu

Dr. Hao Zhang

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

MPLS Enterprise and Innovation Fellow, University of Oxford
Postdoctoral Associate, Chemistry, University of Oxford
Ph.D., Materials Science, Imperial College London

Research at MIT:
Geological Hydrogen/Ammonia Production; Carbon Dioxide Storage; Critical Minerals Recovery

Outside the Lab:
Calligraphy, arts, piano and ASMR

Office: TBD
hzhchem@mit.edu

Hugh Smith

PHD STUDENT

B.S.E., Materials Science and Engineering (major); Applied Data Science, Geology, and History (minor)
Case Western Reserve University

Research at MIT:
Sodium-ion batteries

Outside the Lab:
Intramural sports, exploring Boston,
and gym

Office: 13-5098
hughs@mit.edu

Corson Chao

PHD STUDENT

B.S., Materials Science and Engineering
Cornell University
M.E., Electrical & Computer Engineering
Cornell University

Research at MIT:
Automation; Electrocatalysis

Outside the Lab:
Art, tennis,
and gym

Office: 13-5098
corsonc@mit.edu

Anirudh Adavi

PHD STUDENT

B.S., Materials Science and Engineering
Georgia Tech
B.S., Chemistry
Georgia Institute of Technology

Research at MIT:
Polaron physics; optics of layered materials

Outside the Lab:
Skateboarding, violin,
and gym

Office: 13-5118
aadavi64@mit.edu

Virgil Watkins

PHD STUDENT

B.S.E, Materials Science and Engineering
University of Michigan

Research at MIT:
Electrochemical Ion Insertion; 2D/Layered Materials

Outside the Lab:
Cooking, board games,
and gym

Office: 13-5118
virgiljw@mit.edu

Willem Vanmoerkerke

PHD STUDENT

M.Sc., Nanotechnology
KU Leuven & Chalmers University of Technology
B.Sc., Materials Science and Engineering
KU Leuven

Research at MIT:
Battery materials, computational catalysis

Outside the Lab:
Hiking, biking, cello

Office: 13-5026
willemvm@mit.edu

Jakob Nielsen

PHD STUDENT

B.S., Materials Science and Engineering
Texas A&M University

Research at MIT:
Electrochemical Extraction of Metals
Geological Hydrogen

Outside the Lab:
Science-fiction, collecting old books, going to concerts, running, and volunteering

Office: TBD
jakobkn@mit.edu

Haihui Lan

PHD STUDENT

B.S., Chemistry
Wuhan University

Research at MIT:
Atomic manufacturing in nanomaterials and catalysis

Outside the Lab:
Games and reading books

Office: TBD
lanhh@mit.edu

Yuheng Wu

PHD STUDENT

B.S., Chemistry and Material Science (major); Computer Science and Technology (minor).
University of Science and Technology of China

Research at MIT:
Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics, Heterogeneous Catalysis.

Outside the Lab:
Table tennis

Office: TBD
wuyuheng@mit.edu

Charlotte Michaluk

UROP

(major) Aerospace Engineering
MIT

Research at MIT:
Automation, Electrocatalysis

Outside the Lab:
Fiber arts, sailing, linguistics, and environmental conservation

Office: TBD
lenorka9@mit.edu

Merrill Chiang

UROP

(major) Materials Science & Engineering
MIT

Research at MIT:
Geologic hydrogen

Outside the Lab:
Soccer, learning Japanese, electroforming

Office: TBD
mkchiang@mit.edu

Kathryn Simons

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Kathryn Simons provides wide-ranging administrative, financial, and human resources duties for Professors Iwnetim Abate, Robert J. Macfarlane, and Frances M. Ross and their research groups. Tasks include tracking student account assignments, purchasing lab equipment and supplies, managing travel planning, and working with the DMSE human resources office to process appointments and visas for visiting students and scholars. Before starting at DMSE in 2003, she was a staff assistant at the Harvard Institute for International Development. Previously, Simons directed the Speakers’ Bureau at Oxfam America, where she assigned country directors to visit colleges and universities across the United States to educate students and faculty about the aid agency’s efforts in developing countries. Outside of work, Simons is an enthusiastic skier, having grown up skiing with her family in the Adirondacks and throughout the US. In all seasons, when not running around in her Somerville neighborhood, Simons can be found at MIT’s Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center putting in miles on the stationary bikes. She has a bachelors’ degree in psychology with a concentration in communications from the University of New Hampshire and has taken masters-level courses in international development.

Outside the Lab:
Hobbies include skiing and cycling

Office: 13-5062
kesimons@mit.edu

Mahia Brown

FINANCIAL COORDINATOR

Mahia Brown works in DMSE’s finance office. Previously, Brown was an office manager at educational consulting company CollegeVine. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Hartford. In her free time, she enjoys sports, and spending time with friends and family.

Outside the Lab:
Hobbies include sports and spending time with friends and family

Office: 6-112
mahia@mit.edu

You?

In its radiance, the bulb embodies two core ideals. First, it symbolizes our unwavering commitment to advancing the realm of green electricity and energy. Second, it reflects our laboratory’s steadfast dedication to nurturing your professional and personal growth, fostering the light within you to shine brightly.

Meet Our Alumni

Dr. Victor Venturi

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE,
Argonne National Laboratory

Position In Abate Lab:
Postdoctoral Associate

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)
B.S., Mechanical Engineering (major), Computer Science and Aerospace Engineering (minor)
Caltech

Research at MIT: Batteries, Computation

vventuri@mit.edu