People

Current Group Members

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Prof. Mark Cappelli – Principal Investigator

Professor Cappelli received his B.Sc. degree in Physics (McGill, 1980), and M.A.Sc and Ph.D. degrees in Aerospace Sciences (Toronto, 1983, 1987). He joined Stanford University in 1987 and is currently a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Co-Director of the Engineering Physics Program. He carries out research in applied plasma physics with applications to a broad range of fields, including space propulsion, aerodynamics, medicine, materials synthesis, and fusion.

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Dr. Benjamin Wang – Postdoctoral Scholar

Benjamin Wang received his B.A. degree in Physics, and double majored in Economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He obtained a MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford. His current research is focused on creating a sustainable energy future using plasmas, and AI for energy and physics. In his free time he enjoys pickleball and building AI projects.

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Dr. Hossein Mehrpour Bernety  – Postdoctoral Scholar

Hossein Mehrpour Bernety worked as an RF/Antenna engineer at Facebook Reality Lab (FRL). He received his Ph.D. from the University of Utah in 2020 and M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering-electromagnetics from the University of Mississippi in 2020 and 2015, respectively. His general research interests include electromagnetic scattering, cloaking, antennas, antenna arrays, and metamaterials/metasurfaces. Currently, he is working on plasma electromagnetics to investigate the possibility of integrating plasmas into topological structures, metamaterials, and advanced antenna systems.

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Dr. Hongtao Zhong- Postdoctoral Scholar

Hongtao completed a B.E. from Tsinghua University and Ph.D. from Princeton University in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. At Stanford, he studies plasma chemistry related to energy and fuel conversion applications. His general research interests also include laser diagnostics, gas-phase chemical kinetics, and plasma modeling. In his spare time, he likes hiking, searching for the best Asian food, and going to the gym. 

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Taemin Yong – PhD Candidate

Taemin Yong spent his undergraduate studies pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Seoul National University in South Korea and got his MS degree in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University (2015). His research interests lie in generating plasmas in high pressure conditions and studying their kinetics. During his free time, he enjoys traveling and playing sports, especially table tennis.

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Dr. Jesse A. Rodríguez

Jesse completed his undergraduate studies at Oregon State University with HBS degrees in Physics, Mathematics, and Nuclear Engineering. He obtained a MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford. He is a devoted cinephile, avid golfer, rabid Laker fan, reluctant marathon runner, stoked snowboarder, broke watch collector, gym rat climber, and average landscape photographer. His research interests include studying plasma jets to gain insight into the fundamental physics of plasma turbulence and plasma photonic crystal devices for strange applications like cloaking and optical computing.

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Adura A.T. Jibodu – PhD Candidate

Adura received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California. After working as a consultant at Deloitte and a mechanical design engineer at Pratt and Whitney, he came to Stanford to study plasma physics. He is particularly interested in high energy plasmas and fusion applications, and is currently working on developing diagnostic systems to better understand kinetic behavior within such plasmas. Outside of academia, he is interested in cars, fitness, and movies.

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Ryan C. Przybocki – PhD Candidate

Ryan received his undergraduate degree in Physics from MIT after growing up in Austin, Texas.  He is primarily interested in bridging fundamental plasma physics with engineering applications in research, particularly to advance the fields of fusion energy and propulsion.  He is currently working on measurement techniques for laboratory plasmas and seeks to engineer new devices to study plasma collisions.  Outside of research, Ryan enjoys powerlifting, playing guitar, watching The Big Lebowski, and searching for the best coffee in town.

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Christina Sze – Undergraduate Student

Christina is a Stanford undergraduate planning on majoring in engineering and biology and minoring in International Relations. Her research interests lie in plasma chemistry and its applications to the life sciences. Outside of academics and research, Christina enjoys long-distance running, watching musical theater, and working on projects in the Stanford Student Space Initiative.

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Samuel Montagut Agudelo – Undergraduate Student

Samuel is currently an undergraduate student at Stanford University majoring in engineering and minoring in Chinese. He works under Professor Mark Cappelli at the Stanford Plasma Physics Laboratory. Samuel’s interests are in researching plasma physics and the potential for optical computing as well as plasma propulsion for spacecraft. He hopes to one day use his knowledge and entrepreneur spirit to start a company and continue working in what he loves doing. When not studying or in the lab, Samuel spends time playing pickleball, working on the Solar Car Project or working out at the gym.  

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Ahmed Abdalla – Undergraduate Student

Ahmed is a Sudanese American undergraduate researcher currently pursuing a double major in Physics and Math. His budding research interests lie at the intersection of machine learning and photonics. He hopes to continue his studies by pursuing a Ph.D in high-energy physics. When not studying physics, Ahmed divides his time between the Stanford Student Space Initiative, his euphonium, and watching cartoons with his little sister Asiel.

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