Entering its fifth year, the Future Faculty Fellows (FFF) program in Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering helps Rice Engineering Ph.D. and postdoctoral scholars build pathways to academic careers as tenure-track faculty. Fourteen fellows have joined the 2024-25 cohort.
The FFF program prepares fellows to compete successfully for tenure track engineering faculty positions through one-on-one consultations, tailored workshops, and mock interviews. Workshops and panels are led by Rice University’s Activate Engineering Communication Program, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and Rice Engineering faculty.
“I am looking forward to the mentorship and resources provided by the program, which will empower me to navigate the complexities of the job market with greater confidence and preparation,” said Jimin Wu, 2024-25 fellow and Ph.D. candidate in bioengineering (BIOE).
For the first time in the program’s history, fellows had the opportunity to participate in two summer workshops on writing their research statements, led by Activate Engineering’s Kamisha Escoto, before the official launch of the 2024-25 program.
“With a series of new workshops led by faculty experts from the Activate Engineering Communication Program at Rice Engineering, our fellows will have the tools and guidance they need to tackle their research statements and application materials with confidence,” said Renata Ramos, senior associate dean for academic affairs in the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice University.
Other new program elements for this year include a workshop on preparing for the chalk talk and a job talk run-through with peers in the program. Additionally, a newly formed FFF Faculty Committee will offer mentorship to fellows and will assist with future program refinement.
“Our additional events focus on fostering a vibrant community of support and mentorship, connecting fellows from different disciplines and with Rice Engineering faculty who will offer valuable expertise and insights throughout the job search process,” said Ramos.
This year’s cohort represents all nine Rice Engineering departments. Meet the 2024-25 Future Faculty Fellows:
Sarah Adaryan is a postdoctoral research associate in chemical and biomolecular engineering (ChBE). Her research focuses on developing innovative technologies to reduce environmental pollution and mitigate carbon emissions, with an emphasis on carbon capture, detection, and conversion. Among other awards and fellowships, she has received the NSF Fellowship of Academic Leadership for Women Engineers. Adaryan earned her B.S. in mechanical engineering (MECH) from the University of Tulsa and a Ph.D. in mechanical and materials science and engineering from the University of Houston.
Elyse Chase is a postdoctoral fellow in MECH, researching multisensory integration, haptics and cognitive science in Marcia O’Malley’s Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces (MAHI) Lab. She received her Ph.D. and M.S. in MECH from Stanford University and her B.S.E. in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellow and a Rice Academy Postdoctoral Fellow and previously participated in the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
Sara Denison is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Alvarez research group in civil and environmental engineering (CEE), where she focuses on sustainable soil remediation. She was a Trailblazer in Engineering Fellow at Purdue University in the summer of 2024 and also recently won Rice University’s CEE Lightning Talk. Denison received her M.S. from Rice and B.S. from The University of Texas at Austin, both in environmental engineering.
Yingying Fan is a sixth-year Ph.D. student in the department of electrical and computer engineering (ECE) researching integrated bio-sensors, bio-actuators, and brain-machine interfaces. She also holds a M.S. degree from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree from Southeast University, China. In addition to winning multiple awards from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Fan has also received the Nettie S. Autrey Fellowship from Rice University.
Shane King is a postdoctoral fellow in MECH working with Marcia O’Malley in the MAHI Lab. His research areas include the design and control of prostheses and exoskeletons, biomechanics and neuromodulation. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. in MECH from Vanderbilt University and his B.S. in biomedical engineering from North Carolina State University.
Bishal Lamichhane is a postdoctoral research associate in ECE researching computational bio-behavioral models for objective assessment of mental health. He has been awarded the Ken Kennedy Fellowship and the best paper award at the IEEE International Conference on Communications, among other honors. Lamichhane received his Ph.D. in ECE from Rice; his M.S. from Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands; and his bachelor’s of technology in engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Surat.
Barun Mahata is a postdoctoral research associate in BIOE working in Isaac Hilton’s lab. His research focuses on development and application of programmable epigenome engineering tools for human health, disease and discovery biology. Mahata most recently won Best Poster Prize in the BIOE Retreat at Rice University. He received his Ph.D. from the Bose Institute-Kolkata, India; his M.S. in zoology from Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India; and his B.S. in zoology, chemistry and botany from Jhargram Raj College, West Bengal, India.
Thiago J. Pinheiro dos Santos is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in ChBE. His research interests include thermodynamics and molecular modeling for medical and biomolecular applications. Among other fellowships and awards, he was most recently awarded the Riki Kobayashi Fellowship and the Ken Kennedy Institute Fellowship. He received his M.S. in chemical and biochemical process engineering and B.S. in chemical engineering, both from the Federal Institute of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Peizhu "Pam" Qian is a Ph.D. candidate in CS researching explainable artificial intelligence, human-robot interaction and intelligent tutoring systems for nursing education. Qian holds a B.S. in computer science and mathematics from Simmons College, Boston. She has won the Best Video Demo Award at the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, among other accomplishments.
Raúl Rincón is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in CEE. His research focuses on computational algorithms and statistical tools that promote resilience of infrastructure systems against deterioration and natural hazards. Before coming to Rice, Rincon received his M.S. and B.S. in civil engineering from the Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. Among other awards and fellowships, he won first place in the Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) Objective Resilience Student Paper/Presentation Competition at the Engineering EMI 2024 conference.
Ali Siahkoohi is a Simons Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Computational Applied Mathematics and Operations Research. His research focuses on developing scalable, data-driven methods in computational science and artificial intelligence to address large-scale engineering problems. Siahkoohi received his Ph.D. in computational science and engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. He also holds a M.S. in geophysics from the University of Tehran and a B.S. in electrical engineering from Sharif University of Technology.
Jimin Wu is a sixth-year Ph.D. candidate in BIOE whose research integrates computational imaging, microscopy, neuroengineering, medical imaging and machine learning. Her current research focuses on developing ultra-compact computational microscopes with superior imaging performance. Wu holds a M.S. in bioengineering from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. from Wuhan University, and in 2023 she received the 2023 SPIE Optics and Photonics Education Scholarship.
Peng Yang is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in statistics researching statistical methods and computational tools for complex innovative clinical trial design, Bayesian adaptive clinical trial design, and cancer genomic studies. Yang has won multiple awards from the American Statistical Association. He received his M.S. in statistics from Rice and his B.S. in applied mathematics from Ningbo University.
Yifan Zhu is a postdoctoral research associate in materials science and nanoengineering. His research focuses on the design and development of novel materials for energy conversion, energy storage and environmental remediation. Zhu received a Ph.D. in materials science from Rice and a B.S. in chemistry and materials science from the University of Science and Technology of China.