Current
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Konstantinos Sierros
Associate Professor
Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringKonstantinos (Kostas) Sierros received a B.S. (2001) in mechanical engineering from the University of Newcastle (UK) and an M.S. (2002) in polymer engineering and science from the University of Birmingham (UK). He earned his Ph.D. (2006) from the University of Birmingham (UK) in materials science and engineering. He is an associate professor with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at WVU. Kostas' current research is focused on multifunctional ink materials and novel additive manufacturing approaches. Applications include energy (i.e. harvesting, storage), sensing, and soft robotics. He is the founder and advisor of WVU's Human Powered Vehicle Design Team and he is also interested in design-based teaching approaches. When not teaching/researching, Kostas enjoys long distance running, reading, and coloring.
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Derrick Banerjee
Doctoral
Materials Science and EngineeringDerrick Banerjee, a 2012 Ruby Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship recipient, is pursuing a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering. He graduated with a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University, and has been working with Dr. Sierros since his sophomore year. His research interests include hydrophobic sol-gel coatings, tribology, direct-ink writing, and surface mechanical characterization methods. He has also interned with CSM Instruments in Boston, MA, and worked as a visiting student researcher with the nCATS lab at the University of Southampton in England. During his free time, Derrick enjoys traveling and playing all kinds of sports, especially basketball, softball, squash, ultimate frisbee, skiing, golf, and tennis.
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Jacob Cordonier
Doctoral
Materials Science and EngineeringJacob Cordonier, a 2014 NSF Fellow, is pursuing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. He graduated with a B.S. from West Virginia University in 2014, majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Physics. He is currently researching 3D-printing of polymeric solutions for use in creating sensing and energy-harvesting technologies for use in sustainable living. He enjoys volunteering his free time at the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, as well as playing basketball, video games, and trivia when he is not in the lab.
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Domenic Cipollone
Doctoral
Materials Science and EngineeringDomenic Cipollone is a second-year graduate student pursuing his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering as a University Provost Fellow. His research focuses on the development of solution based inks compatible with additive manufacturing for various applications, ranging from biomedical implants to energy devices. Domenic’s previous research experience has been realized through an undergraduate fellowship from the WV Space Grant Consortium, the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience program offered at WVU, and at FORTH and the Univ. of Crete. In his free time, Domenic enjoys playing soccer, snowboarding, reading books, and finally, watching cooking videos by the famed Gennaro Contaldo.
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Harrison Loh
Doctoral
Materials Science and EngineeringHarrison is a 2017 WVU graduate with B.A. degrees in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, as well as a 2019 recipient of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, Harrison has been a member of the FEST lab since 2015, where he has assisted in research projects such as sol-gel fabrication of functional coatings, formulating metallic based inks for use in additive manufacturing, and fabrication of methane sensors using graphene flakes. His research experiences includes multiple undergraduate fellowships through WVU’s NASA Space Grant Consortium as well as participating in the International Research Experience for Students (IRES) program, collaborating between WVU and the University of Crete in Greece. Current research interests and projects include the synthesis and morphological/electrical characterization of graphene from graphite flakes via high shear liquid exfoliation and incorporating these materials to enhance the performance of a variety of devices and the performance of material composites. Outside of research, Harrison is president of the Fencing Club at WVU, as well as an officer in the WVU Materials Advantage/Materials Research Society Student Organization.
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Eda Aysal
Doctoral
Materials Science and EngineeringEda Aysal received a B.S. (2016) in Chemical engineering from Ege University (Turkey) and an M.S. (2019) in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from Middle East Technical University (Turkey). During her master's research, she focused on the development of the cathode materials for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells. She joined the FEST lab in 2020. Other than research, she enjoys hiking, yoga, playing volleyball and reading books.
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Nicholas Winch
Doctoral
Materials Science and EngineeringNicholas Winch is a 2019 graduate of Elizabethtown College with a bachelor's degree in engineering with concentrations in mechanical and environmental engineering. He is currently seeking his doctoral degree in Materials Science and Engineering with a research focus on creating printable Solid-State Lithium Batteries as a WVU Ruby Distinguished Fellow. In his free time, Nick is an avid cook and board game connoisseur.
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John Burke
Masters
Mechanical EngineeringJohn Burke is a first-year master’s candidate in Mechanical Engineering with a technical area in Materials Science. John graduated from West Virginia University in 2021 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and began working with Dr. Sierros in Spring 2019 as a member of WVU’s Microgravity Research Team. His undergraduate research in the FEST Lab has included the investigation of printing TiO2 ceramic foams and exfoliated graphene dispersions. John has also assisted in the development of semi-analytic models of carbon fiber thermal-field emitters for high-powered-microwave technologies as an AFRL Phillips Scholar in the summer of 2020. These previous experiences were made possible through the WV Space Grant Consortium, WVU SURE, and the AFRL Scholars Program. John is currently supporting the lab’s NASA EPSCoR funded project, working on the development of a multimaterial microreactor-enabled, single nozzle direct-ink-writing system for the manufacturing of pneumatically controlled soft robotics for space applications. Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-burke-a60282146/
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Anirudh Tirunahari
Masters
Mechanical EngineeringAnirudh Tirunahari earned his MBA degree from WVU in 2014 and is currently pursuing his masters in mechanical engineering. He joined the FEST lab in Fall 2015 and is researching the fabrication and characterization of large area graphene from solutions for applications in electronics. In his free time he enjoys playing volleyball, ping pong, video games, reading history books and watching sports.
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Nathan Owen
Masters
Mechanical EngineeringNathan Owen is a first-year graduate student pursuing his master’s in mechanical engineering. He graduated with a B.S. from West Virginia University in 2019. His research focuses on applications of soft robotics in robotic systems. Nathan’s previous experience has been in robotic competitions where he has manufactured 3 first place designs for the WVU senior design team. Such as MIDAS I-II-III and MMR16 for RASC-AL. In his free time, Nathan enjoys yoga, cooking, videogames, and building small robots for fun.
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Christine Hernandez
Undergraduate
Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringChristine Hernández is pursuing a dual degree in Mechanical and Aerospace engineering and minoring in Spanish. She joined the FEST group in August of 2018 to gain experience in material science research and 3D printing technology. Her research consists of using the Japanese art of paper cutting, kirigami, and polydimethylsiloxane to develop soft actuators. Christine is also a part of WVU Experimental Rocketry and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. When not in the lab, she enjoys watching Premier League soccer and reading.