Members
Principal Investigator (PI)
Postdoc, MSE: Stanford University
PhD, Chemistry: Purdue University
BS, Chemistry: Wofford College
Aristide Gumyusenge
Merton C. Flemings (1951) Assistant Professor of Materials Science & Engineering
Graduate Students
Heejung Roh
Heejung is a graduate student at MIT in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Program in Polymer and Soft Matter (PPSM). Prior to MIT, she received a B.A. in Industrial management and engineering/Materials science and engineering from POSTECH, South Korea, with a one term study abroad at HKUST. Her research interests are on organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), materials design and synthesis, and applications.
Camille Cunin
Camille is a Ph.D. student in the Program in Polymer and Soft Matter (PPSM) and in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. After receiving her B.S. in Engineering from École Centrale de Marseille in France, she completed a M.S. in Bioengineering and Nanotechnologies at École Centrale de Lyon and a M.S. in Medical Imaging, Signals and Systems at Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1. During her master’s thesis in the Department of Bioelectronics at École des Mines de Saint-Étienne, Camille worked on designing a novel strategy for encapsulating and micropatterning mechanically flexible optical neural probes. Fascinated by devices capable of interfacing the brain and mimicking its function, she joined the OMSE lab to design, process, and characterize organic materials for neuromorphic computing and bio-inspired electronic devices. Outside the lab, Camille loves travelling, hiking, climbing, dancing, and DJing.
Eric Lee
Eric is a PhD student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Program in Polymer and Soft Matter (PPSM). Before coming to MIT, he received a BASc in Nanotechnology Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada. He is interested in the design and synthesis of polymers with applications such as bioelectronics that have direct impacts on improving human health. Broad research interests include nanomaterials, biomaterials, and nanomedicine. Outside of the lab, Eric enjoys baking, playing the piano/trombone, and playing video games.
Rebecca Meacham
Rebecca is a PhD student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Program in Polymers and Soft Matter. Previously, Rebecca attended Clarkson University where she earned a BS in Chemical Engineering with minors in Chemistry and Materials Science and completed an honors thesis on dynamic covalent chemistry in polymers. Her research interests are in monomer design, polymer synthesis, and molecular self-assembly in polymer systems.
Mujtaba Jebran
Mujtaba is a Mechanical Engineering graduate student at MIT. He earned his dual Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering (MIT course 2) and in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (6-2) with a minor in Nuclear Science and Engineering (22) from MIT in 2020. After graduating, he worked with the Traverso laboratory at MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School as a research engineer designing and developing medical devices and long-term drug delivery systems. At the OMSE lab, he is interested in designing and manipulating organic materials to develop micro- and nano-fabricated conformable systems and nanoelectronics for biomedical sensing, analysis, and drug delivery. Outside of the lab, he enjoys mentoring at the MIT Makerlodges and playing soccer.
Undergraduate Students
Come join our interdisciplinary research on organic semiconductors!
Please email Aristide a brief statement on your research interests to discuss open positions in the group!
MIT undergraduates should check the Undergraduate Research Opportunities (UROP) website for the available positions.
Non-MIT undergraduates are encouraged to apply to summer programs available at MIT (e.g. Center for Materials Science and Engineering (CMSE) REU, MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP), Amgen Scholars). Upon admission, you can choose OMSE Lab for your summer research!
Members Beyond the Lab
Former OMSE Lab Members
Dr. Sanket Samal (2021-2022, Postdoc), Postdoc, Purdue University
Geon Gug Yang (2022, V-GS), PhD Candidate, KAIST
Previous Research Mentees
Dung Tran, 2016-Present, PhD Candidate at Purdue University
Kaelon A. Jenkins, 2017-Present, PhD Candidate at Purdue University
Zhifan Ke, 2018-Present, Graduate Student at Purdue University
Huihong Jiang, 2019-2020, Graduate Student at Zhejiang University
Brandon Jang, 2018-2019, MS, Purdue University, ChemE
Hongyi Zhang, 2015-2017, Currently Graduate Student at UChicago, IME
Community Involvement
Diversity and Inclusion
Throughout his research journey, Aristide has strived to ensure that the field of materials science can continue to be more diverse and inclusive. Thus far his approach has been to promote engagement in positive conversations, self education, and education of colleagues on historical origins of socio-economical disparities especially in America. OMSE Lab members are thus also encouraged to contribute, initiate, and engage in activities promoting equitable education. Aristide has been and remains an active member of inclusive education initiatives:
2021-Present: MIT. Active member of the departmental diversity, equity & inclusion council. Contributing member to initiatives and policy discussions towards increasing DEI through teaching.
2020-2022: Stanford. Contributed to the campus-wide initiative for making positive change especially in the research community at Stanford University.
2017-2020: Purdue University. Active member of DTA (Diversity Transformation Award), a chemistry department diversity initiative to help facilitate communication between prospective minority students and current graduate students at Purdue University.
Community Initiatives
Water2All Rwanda
As a native of Rwanda, Aristide spent several hours when he was younger walking to and from water wells and had to carry water home every day. Since it was a necessity, he never had to think twice on whether the time he spent on this inconvenient task could have been used for his education and career development. It was either thirst or reading time, the choice was obvious. To this day, many children still have to walk miles and spend hours to get water, and oftentimes, dirty water!
At the beginning of Covid 19, when access to clean water became more critical than ever before, Aristide initiated a project, Water2All, with the aim to find affordable ways to provide clean and running water in rural areas of Rwanda, starting with Kamonyi district. For more details on the project, feel free to reach out to Aristide. Thus far, he has raised enough funds through donations and personal efforts to build a water well that now provides clean water to over 50 households in Kamonyi!
BookSmart Rwanda
Aristide now aims to establish a platform for these children who no longer have to walk and wait in line for water to turn the water fetching times into reading and talent development times, an opportunity that he never had growing up. His ultimate goal is to establish youth centers, where children can gather to read, play, and be mentored. Currently, he is partnering with his parents, retired educators in Rwanda, to offer guidance and mentorship to children starting in Kamonyi district. His parents currently run a "Itetero" in their home, which is essentially a community daycare for local children. There, children can come and are taught basic reading and writing for free, and are also educated about hygiene practices and nutrition (examples of Itetero topics have been animated for online access, link). In partnership with the local institutions, the Itetero also serves as a spot for monitoring the health and growth of the children, especially those from low income families. Aristide aims to continue monitor the education progress of Itetero graduates and foster their career development through BookSmart Rwanda!