2024-2025 Novelis Scholars

Victor Brandão is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Originally from Brazil, he earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Military Institute of Engineering. At Georgia Tech, Victor’s research focuses on understanding the fundamentals of electrochemical capture and conversion of CO2 to engineer electrolyzers for small molecules manufacturing. He has been awarded the IHe-LeaD and the Andrea Deaguero Ping fellowships, and served as vice-president of the Association of Chemical Engineering Graduate Students, student member of the Equity in Graduate Education Consortium and GT6000 group leader and advisory board member. In his spare time, he likes to bake, work out, and check places off his travel bucket list.

Donghyun (Daniel) Choi is a Ph.D. candidate in Operations Management at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, advised by Professors André Calmon and Beril Toktay. His dissertation focuses on operational strategies for setting and achieving corporate sustainability targets through analytical modeling and data analytics. Specifically, he explores how firms can leverage voluntary carbon mitigation or recycling targets to drive business model innovation and enhance supply chain efficiencies. Daniel is also passionate about collaborating with industry partners and start-ups to explore new ideas and address sustainability-related business challenges. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, tennis, and reading books.

Allannah Duffy is a third-year Ph.D. student in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering working with Dr. Srinivas Garimella. In 2022, she earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from University College Dublin, Ireland where she graduated first in her class. Allannah’s research focuses on integrating heat pumps with thermal batteries for residential decarbonization. Her work demonstrates the viability of thermal energy storage as an alternative to expensive electrochemical storage and an enabling technology for incorporating renewable sources into the electricity grid. Allannah has also designed a spray droplet condenser to recover steam generated during the aluminum ingot casting process, reducing water consumption. She has presented her work at international conferences in France, China, and the UK. Allannah is a Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems Graduate Fellow and a Junior Commission Member of the International Institute of Refrigeration. Allannah enjoys running and playing rugby with the Georgia Tech Women’s Rugby Club in her spare time.

Akshar Kota is a Ph.D. student in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, where he researched the sustainability potential of metal additive manufacturing technologies. At Georgia Tech, his doctoral research focuses on enhancing the interfacial properties of bimetallic 3D printed structures using Hybrid Wire-Arc Directed Energy Deposition (DED). Akshar's contributions to the field involved both modeling and experimental fronts. As a co-author, his work on modeling asymmetrical bead deposition in Wire-Arc DED has been published in ASME's JMSE, a highly reputed journal in manufacturing. On the experimental front of Hybrid Wire-Arc DED, his findings have been presented at the SME's NAMRC/MSEC Conference and published in Manufacturing Letters. Recently, progress from his ongoing project on improving the interfacial properties of bimetallic 3D-printed structures via an innovative approach called mesoscale groove engineering was presented at the ICAM Conference, hosted by ASTM International, a leading industry-recognized event. Beyond research, Akshar is deeply passionate about mentoring and community building. He has guided multiple undergraduate and graduate students, earning the Glenn Fellowship for mentoring excellence from Georgia Tech's Mechanical Engineering department. Additionally, he served as a graduate senator and executive on the Mental Health Committee, leading initiatives and events to support mental health and professional development for students. In his free time, Akshar enjoys playing badminton, sketching, photography, and exploring cuisines.

Abiram Krishnan is a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech, advised by Dr. Faisal Alamgir. He received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at PES University in India, then earned a Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Georgia Tech. His thesis focuses on using advanced characterization techniques to investigate material property changes during the operation of energy storage devices. In particular, his work uses X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy to probe changes in the oxidation state, spin state, and local atomic environment of transition metals in layered metal oxide electrode materials, with the aim of using this understanding to enhance device-level performance. In addition to his research, Abiram serves as the president of the Electrochemical Society (ECS) Student Chapter at Georgia Tech, where he helps organize lectures, poster competitions, and social events. He also leads the Energy Seminar Series (ESS) at Georgia Tech, which organizes and archives monthly online seminars featuring prominent researchers in the fields of energy storage and catalysis. In his free time, Abiram enjoys travelling, reading fiction, and listening to music.

Ayush Mohanty is a Ph.D. student in Machine Learning at the School of Industrial & Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech, working with Dr. Nagi Gebraeel. He holds a B.S. in Manufacturing Engineering & Science and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering & Management from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, India. His research focuses on decentralized learning of operational interdependencies in complex engineering systems, with an emphasis on federated learning frameworks for causal reasoning. As part of NASA’s HOME-STRI initiative, he has led two live demonstrations showcasing self-awareness capabilities of deep-space habitats, enabling real-time fault diagnostics and autonomous decision-making. Beyond decentralized analytics, he has contributed to research on prognostics for robotic manipulators and failure prediction in multi-fault environments. Mohanty has presented his work at premier conferences spanning machine learning (ICLR), human spaceflight (ICES), and operations research (INFORMS, IISE). Outside of research, he enjoys reading, hiking, and exploring new destinations.

Yifeng Wang is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, advised by Dr. Chuck Zhang and Dr. Jianjun Shi. He received a B.Eng. degree in Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 2021. His research focuses on developing engineering-informed learning and data analytics for quality prediction and control in advanced composite manufacturing and joining systems. He is working in the Composite and Hybrid Materials Interfacing (CHMI) research center and has contributed to multiple research proposals. He is also a member of the American Statistical Association (ASA), the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), and the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). Outside of work, he likes cooking.

Zihan Zhang is a Ph.D. candidate in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. She earned an M.S. in Computational Science and Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2024 and an M.A.Sc. in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2021. Her research focuses on high-dimensional data analytics and machine learning, with applications in advanced manufacturing—specializing in semiconductor manufacturing—as well as energy and healthcare systems. Her work encompasses three main areas: (1) reliability analysis and lifetime prediction, (2) automatic process control, and (3) maintenance optimization for multi-unit systems.

Sophia Anderson is a third-year undergraduate student in the School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). Since the fall of her sophomore year, she has been part of the McDowell Lab’s Cold-Batt subgroup, researching how the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) passivation layer on metallic foil anodes affects the performance of lithium-ion batteries at low temperatures. Sophia’s project employs electrochemical techniques and materials characterization to explore the properties, composition, and formation patterns of the SEI layer based on electrolyte, temperature, and anode material. By understanding the factors that influence the formation of the SEI layer, we can gain insights into the degradation mechanisms that lead to the premature failure of lithium-ion batteries at low temperatures, particularly for applications like electric vehicles and space exploration. In her free time, Sophia is actively involved in the MSE Makerspace, the MILL, serving as the CTO of materials processing, as a Team Leader for the MSE section of the GT1000 Freshmen Seminar, and as a cellist in the Georgia Tech Concert Orchestra.

Maham Mehmood is a 4th year undergraduate student in the B.S./M.S. Mechanical Engineering program. She is currently involved in research under Dr. Rick Neu, where she is researching ML applications for failure prediction in 316 Stainless Steel using existing TMF, CF, and other fatigue tests. The goal is to create a model that successfully predicts failure for 316SS using input features such as strain rate and temperature. During her time at GT, she has also been involved in structural research under Dr. Shi, in which she achieved her first paper publication in the ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering. Her previous internships at companies such as Siemens Energy and Amazon Robotics have led her to discover her interests in material mechanics, hardware, sustainability, and programming, which she intends to continue to explore through her research and Masters. In her spare time, Maham is a TA for ME 2110, the Vice President of the Georgia Tech Pakistani Students Association, and enjoys art and sports