John Heron, Associate Professor
Contact Phone: 734-763-6914
Address:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Room 2030 H.H. Dow
2300 Hayward St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Email: jtheron@umich.edu
Biography
John studied Physics as an undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. As a graduate student he was awarded the NDSEG graduate fellowship and worked in the thin film complex oxide group of Professor Ramamoorthy Ramesh at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2013 John was awarded Ross N. Tucker Memorial Award. After earning his masters (2011) and doctoral (2013) degrees from the University of California Berkeley he began postdoctoral research at Cornell University under the co-mentorship of Professors Darrell Schlom and Dan Ralph.
John joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering as an Assistant Professor in Winter 2016.
Graduate Researchers
Matt Webb
webbmj@umich.edu
Matt earned a B.A. & an M.Sci. in Natural Sciences specializing in Materials Science from the University of Cambridge, UK, in 2020. For his master’s degree, Matt spent a year working on the growth and characterization of oxide materials for RRAM devices. Joining UM in 2020, Matt’s research will focus on the growth and characterization of high entropy oxides, as well as simulation of these materials using DFT calculations. He is co-advised by Prof. Emmanouil Kioupakis, MSE. Outside of the lab, Matt enjoys going for long walks, playing guitar, Disney movies and looking at pictures of dogs on the internet.
Tony Chiang
chiangt@umich.edu
Tony earned a B.S. degree in Physics at National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan. He joined UM in 2019. His research focuses on materials growth and characterization for next generation magnetic devices. Tony enjoys skateboarding, photography, watching movies and dramas in his free time.
Pat Kezer
pkezer@umich.edu
Pat Kezer graduated from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) in June 2017 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. While at Cal Poly, Pat gained work experience at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a Summer intern. After graduating, he worked as a product engineer at Micron Technologies for one and a half years before resuming his education. Currently, his research is primarily focused on the Spin Hall Effect and Spin Transport. In his free time Pat enjoys rock climbing, reading, watching movies, learning, and most of all, cooking.
Joshua Lee
joshleea@umich.edu
Joshua earned a B.S. degree in chemical engineering at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan in 2019. After graduating, he worked as an intern in National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan studying single layer TMDs synthesis for half a year. He then worked as a research assistant in National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center in Taiwan for another half a year. Joining UM in 2021, Joshua’s research interest lies in synthesizing and characterizing metal oxide thin films. In his spare time, he enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, camping and surfing.
Tzu-Yu Ou
tzuyuo@umich.edu
Tzu-Yu earned a B.S. degree in Resources Engineer at National Cheng Kung University(NCKU) in Taiwan. After graduation, she conducted one-year research in NCKU for metal ions detection by AuNPs. She joined UM in 2021. Her research focuses the domain structure and magnetoelectric switching. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, reading novels, doing arts, and watching movies in her free time.
Avery-Ryan Ansbro
aansbro@umich.edu
Avery earned her B.S. degree in Nanoscale Science as well as a minor in Mathematics from SUNY Polytechnic Institute, NY, in 2021. She has background in microscopy based materials and biological characterization, hydrothermal, and ion beam synthesis. Arriving to UM in 2021, her research will focus on the growth and characterization of high entropy oxides. Outside of academia, Avery tends to enjoy hiking, creating art, and hoarding plants.
Ruth Oliver
rkloh@umich.edu
Ruth earned her B.S.E. and M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at Arizona State University. During her master’s degree, she fabricated magnetic tunnel junctions with two-dimensional materials. Joining the University of Michigan in 2022, Ruth’s research interest lies in the application of novel materials within device heterostructures. When not working, Ruth enjoys spending time with her husband and friends, running, hiking, and baking.
Ben Justus
bwjustus@umich.edu
Ben earned a joint B.S. degree in Materials Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from UC Berkeley in 2022. During his time at Berkeley, he performed computational research, assessing the suitability of a set of materials for spintronics applications. Arriving to University of Michigan in 2022, Ben’s research interests center around the synthesis and characterization of functional materials for applications in novel devices. In his free time, Ben enjoys playing guitar and bass, learning new instruments, going to concerts, hiking, and watching bad TV shows with friends.
Undergraduate Researchers
Andy Danbury
adanbury@umich.edu
Andy is an undergraduate in his junior year at the University of Michigan, pursuing a Bachelor’s in Materials Science with a minor in Electrical Engineering. His research focuses on the growth and characterization of high entropy oxides as semiconductors. In his spare time, Andy enjoys playing guitar, running, and growing plants.
Lab Alumni
Peter Meisenheimer (Ph.D. 2021)
Post-doctoral researcher, Ramesh lab, Dept of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
Nguyen Vu (Ph.D. 2021)
ALD process and characterization engineer, EMD electronics
Steve Novakov (Ph.D. 2021)
Senior device engineer, Thin film startup
Sieun Chae (Ph.D. 2022)
Post-doctoral researcher, Schlom group, Dept of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University