People


W. Benjamin Rogers

W. Benjamin Rogers
Group leader

wrogers@brandeis.edu | Webpage | CV
Office: Abelson 221
Tel.: 781-736-2857;
Fax: 781-736-2915

Ben joined the Martin A. Fisher School of Physics at Brandeis University as an Assistant Professor in January 2016. His research program is focused on developing quantitative tools for understanding and controlling self-assembly at the nano- and micrometer scale. Before coming to Brandeis, Ben was a postdoctoral fellow in the Manoharan Lab within the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, where he studied assembly and optical properties of colloidal suspensions. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2012. With John Crocker, Ben used optical tweezers to study colloidal interactions and single-molecule kinetics. Ben graduated magna cum laude in 2005 from the University of Delaware, earning an Honors Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, with Distinction. 


Omkar Hegde
Postdoctoral Research Associate

omkarhegde@brandeis.edu

Omkar is a postdoc in the Rogers lab working on liquid phase separation in droplets. He has a master's degree in Thermal and Fluids Engineering. He completed his Ph.D. in Jan 2022 at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, working with Saptarshi Basu. His Ph.D. thesis dealt with new paradigms of non-contact droplet manipulation using vapor mediation. Omkar enjoys adventure sports like hiking, paragliding, and river rafting. He loves doing yoga and meditation as his daily routine.

 

Manodeep Mondal
Postdoctoral Research Associate

manodeep@brandeis.edu

Manodeep is a postdoctoral associate in the Rogers lab, where he studies the dynamical pathways of colloidal crystallization. However, he is also interested in other research topics being investigated in the Rogers lab. He received his master's degree in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, India, in 2015 and his Ph.D. from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) Bangalore, India, in 2022 under the supervision of Rajesh Ganapathy. During his Ph.D., he worked on template-assisted colloidal self-assembly and experimentally observed the dynamical processes governing epitaxial film growth, which had previously only been predicted in atomic systems. In his spare time, he enjoys wildlife photography and traveling to new places.

 

Myeonggon Park
Postdoctoral Research Associate

myeonggonpark@brandeis.edu

Myeonggon is a postdoc in the Rogers lab working on the nucleation of DNA origami monomers. He worked with Steve Granick for his Ph.D and he is too interested in many research topics to be focused on only one. While outside of the Lab, he loves playing tennis and traveling. He is always looking forward to meeting new friends in his academic journey.

 
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Anjali Sharma
Postdoctoral Research Associate

anjalisharma@brandeis.edu

Anjali is a postdoctoral associate in the Rogers lab working on liquid-liquid phase separation of DNA complexes. She had her masters degree in Physics in 2014. Anjali completed her Ph.D. in May 2021 at the University of Luxembourg working with Jan Lagerwall. Her Ph.D. thesis deals with the study of nematic liquid crystal shells produced using microfluidics. She enjoys hiking, reading, and cooking in her free time.

 
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Thomas Videbaek
Postdoctoral Research Associate

videbaek@brandeis.edu

Thomas is a postdoctoral associate in the Rogers Lab and Fraden Lab researching the dynamics of DNA origami assembly. He completed a masters degree in scientific instrumentation at Stony Brook University in 2012 and his Ph.D. in 2020 at the University of Chicago working with Sidney Nagel. During his doctoral work, he studied the Saffman-Taylor instability and the complexities that arise from using miscible fluids. In his free time, he enjoys making pottery.


 

Daichi Hayakawa
Graduate Research Assistant

dhayakawa@brandeis.edu

Daichi is a 6th-year Ph.D. student working on dynamic self-assembly. He earned his undergraduate degree in Applied Physics at the University of Tokyo, where he studied the magnetic properties of thin metallic films with Dr. Chiba. Daichi also obtained his master’s degree in Applied Physics from the same institution, studying the dynamics of coalescence between liquid droplets in the Sakai Lab.

 
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Ian Murphy
Graduate Research Assistant

ianmurphy@brandeis.edu

Ian is a third year PhD candidate researching enzyme kinetics. He earned his undergraduate degree in physics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he studied the self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules into nanoscale sheets with Professor Dinsmore. In his free time, Ian enjoys cooking (and eating), hiking (but also not moving), and owning a dog.

 

Hunter Seyforth
Graduate Research Assistant

hunterseyforth@brandeis.edu

Hunter Seyforth is a third year Ph.D. candidate working on the dynamics of colloidal phase separation. He earned his undergraduate and Masters degree in Physics at California State University, Fullerton characterizing the activity and viscoelastic response of an active bath using an optical trap. While outside of the lab, Hunter enjoys playing his guitar, watching and playing basketball, and playing board games with friends.

 

Madhurima Roy
Graduate Research Assistant

madhurimaroy@brandeis.edu

Madhurima is a second year Ph.D. student focusing on self assembly of DNA origami. She received her undegraduate degree in Physics (Hon.) from the University of Calcutta, followed by a Masters in Physics at Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, where she studied properties of glassy materials using molecular dynamics simulations. Madhurima enjoys exploring Boston on her weekends, and loves to play with dogs.

 

Simon Liu
Graduate Research Assistant

simonliu@brandeis.edu

Simon is a second year PhD student working on DNA origami. He attended Denison University for his undergraduate degree in Physics. He is into aircraft spotting and loves to collect miles.


 

Angela Tang
Undergraduate Research Assistant

yixingtang@brandeis.edu

Angela is a 3rd-year undergraduate student studying DNA origami. She is majoring in Physics and Computer Science. Outside of academics, she loves cooking and jogging.

 

Shengkai (Kevin) Li
Undergraduate Research Assistant

shengkaili@brandeis.edu

Kevin is a 4th-year undergraduate student studying nucleation dynamics of DNA origami. He is pursuing a major in Biological Physics along with a minor in mathematics. Besides research, he is also a big fan of cooking, movies, and video games (Overwatch!)

 

Mason Price
Undergraduate Research Assistant

masonprice@brandeis.edu

Mason is a 3rd year undergraduate student majoring in math and physics. He is interested in the self-assembly of toroids and helical tubes using DNA origami. Outside of school, he is involved with the robotics club and the astronomy club. He also loves reading and going for walks.

 

Keren Bobilev
Undergraduate Research Assistant

kerenbobilev@brandeis.edu

Keren is a 4th-year undergraduate student researching enzyme diffusion. They are on track to major in Biological Physics and Biology and minor in Psychology. Keren enjoys crocheting, playing with animals, and spending time outdoors.


 

Eden Ikonen
Undergraduate Research Assistant

edenikonen@brandeis.edu

Eden is a 3rd year undergraduate student researching enzyme diffusion. They are pursuing a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Physics. Outside of the lab, Eden enjoys visual arts, cooking, rock climbing, and going for walks.


Collaborators

Bortolo Mognetti, University of Brussels, Statistical mechanics of multivalent interactions
Rees Garmann, Harvard University, RNA folding and unfolding
Guillaume Duclos, Brandeis University, Phase separation in driven systems
Mike Hagan, Brandeis University, Theory and computation of kinetic pathways to self-assembly
Anna Wang, University of New South Wales, Origins of life
Yutetsu Kuruma, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Origins of life
Will Jacobs, Princeton University, Theory of self-assembly
Grace Han, Brandeis University, Phase-change materials for energy applications
Jenny Ross, Syracuse University, Programmable active matter
Wylie Ahmed, Cal State: Fullerton, Programmable active matter


Alumni

Postdoctoral fellows

Simon Merminod, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate, 2017-2020; Now a postdoc with Max Prigozhin at Harvard
Melissa Rinaldin, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate, 2019-2020; Now a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology
Gael Prado, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate, 2016; Now a consultant at Sogeti

Graduate students

Huang Fang, PhD, Graduate Research Assistant, 2017-2022; Now a postdoc in Shanghai, China
Alex Hensley, PhD, Graduate Research Assistant, 2016-2022; Now creating digital art projects in coastal Maine
Janna Lowenshon, PhD, Graduate Research Assistant, 2017-2020; Now a Belgian American Education Foundation postdoc in Belgium

Undergraduate students

Marco Borja, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2022; Now a PhD student at University of Chicago
Adrian Koretsky, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2021;
Alexa Livingstone, Summer Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2021; Now an undergraduate at Hampton University
Gabe Freiman, Summer Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2017; Now an undergraduate at Brandeis University
Angelina Gallego, Summer Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2016; Now a graduate student at University of Minnesota
Kyra Hamel, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2016; Now a researcher in the Lovett Lab
Daniel Hariyanto, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2019-2020; Now an undergraduate at Brandeis
Josh Heller, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2017-2018; Now a researcher in the High Energy group
Larry Luster, Summer Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2018-2019; Now an undergraduate student at Hampton University
Mohammad Nosherwan Malik, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2021-2022; Now a PhD student at Vanderbilt University
Guillermo Narvaez-Paliza, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2016-2017; Now at TIBCO Software Inc.
Jordan Nobles, Summer Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2019; Now an undergraduate at Hampton University
Kess Ofunrein, Summer Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2017; Now an undergraduate at Hampton University
Michael Perlow, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2016-2018; Now a PhD student at Carnegie Mellon
Zach Trotz, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2016; Now a scientist at MIT Lincoln Lab
Nathan Weber, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2018-2019; Now an undergraduate student at Brandeis University
Alex Wofford, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2021-2022; Now a PhD student at NYU
Alfred Yeung, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2018-2019; Now an undergraduate student at Brandeis University
Guoxi Zhu, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2018; Now a study-abroad undergraduate at University of Oxford
Olivia Zou, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2016-2019; Now a graduate student at Caltech


We are actively seeking motivated undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows interested in soft matter research. Candidates should contact Ben at wrogers@brandeis.edu.