Principal Investigator
Asst. Prof. Dr. Scott Waitukaitis
E-mail:
scott.waitukaitis@ist.ac.at
Phone: +43 2243 9000 2148
Scott Waitukaitis was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in physics (honors) from the University of Arizona. He then earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Chicago, where he was a Robert Millikan Fellow and the inaugural recipient of the Bruce Winstein Prize for Instrumentation. He did his postdoctoral work at Leiden University and AMOLF in the Netherlands, where he was the winner of a prestigious Veni grant from the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research. In 2019 he became Assistant Professor at the IST Austria, where he runs the Soft and Complex Materials Lab.
Postdocs
Dr. Galien Grosjean
Office: I24.O1.015
E-mail: galienmariep.grosjean@ist.ac.at
Phone: +43 (0)2243 9000-2167
Galien Grosjean was born in Seraing (Belgium) in 1992. He obtained his master’s degree in physics from the University of Liège (summa cum laude) in 2014. He then obtained a FRIA grant from the FNRS to pursue a PhD under the supervision of Prof. Nicolas Vandewalle, which he completed with honors in 2018. His worked consisted in the experimental study of self-assembled magnetic microswimmers. He joined the Waitukaitis group in october 2019 as a postdoc, studying tribocharging with tools such as acoustic levitation and high-speed imaging.
Dr. Isaac Lenton
Office: I24.O1.015
E-mail: isaac.lenton@ist.ac.at
Isaac Lenton was born in Queensland, Australia. He obtained his Bachelors and completed his Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Queensland. His interests include optics and optical micro-manipulation. Outside of work he can often be found in the climbing gym or on the side of a cliff. In 2021 he joined the Waitukaitis group to build an optical trapping experiment to explore charging of microscopic particles in air.
Dr. John Hoffman
Office: I24.O1.017
E-mail: john.hoffmanjr@ist.ac.at
John Hoffman was born in Toledo, Ohio. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering (with honors) from the University of Toledo in 2016. He received his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 2021, under the supervision of Dr. William Phillip. He performed postdoctoral work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he was awarded a National Research Council postdoctoral fellowship award. He completed this postdoc in 2023 and joined IST Austria as a postdoc in 2024. His research background is in polymer modification through rapid functionalization reactions, which he previously utilized in membrane separations and in adsorptive materials. His work at IST Austria will utilize these skills to examine contact electrification of ionomers.
Ph.D. Students
Juan Carlos Sobarzo Ponce
Office: I24.O1.015
E-mail:
juancarlos.sobarzoponce@ist.ac.at
Phone: +43 (0)2243 9000-2167
Juan Carlos Sobarzo was born in Temuco, Chile. He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degree in physics (both with honors) from the University of Chile. His thesis consisted of studying hyperuniform states in a vibrated granular system. He worked in parallel as a lecturer and teaching assistant in the University of O’Higgins in Rancagua, Chile. As of 2019, he joined IST Austria as a PhD student to follow his dream of becoming a researcher.
Vicente Luis Diaz Melian
Office: I24.O1.015
E-mail: vicenteluis.diazmelian@ist.ac.at
Phone: +43 (0)2243 9000-2167
Vicente Luis Diaz Melian was born in Havana, Cuba. He obtained your Bachelor’s Degree in physics (summa cum laude) from Havana University, Cuba. The topic of his thesis degree was the study of the penetration dynamic of an intruder into the granular matters. From 2018, He worked as an assistant teacher at Havana University, Cuba. In 2020, He joined IST Austria as a Ph.D. student to continue his development as research.
Felix Pertl
Office: I24.O1.015
E-mail: felix.pertl@ist.ac.at
Felix Pertl was born in Klagenfurt, Austria. He moved 2015 to Graz, where he obtained 2019 his bachelor’s degree in Physics from the Technical University of Graz. Right after, he started with his master’s in Technical Physics focusing on surface science, semiconductor devices and laboratory technique. His thesis consisted of investigating defects and particles on bare silicon wafers in cooperation with Lam Research. In April 2021 he joined the Waitukaitis group to determine the amount and spatial distribution of charge on surfaces after contact electrification with KPFM. Outside the lab Felix enjoys a challenging tennis match or freeriding in deep powder.
Andrea Stöllner
Office: I24.O1.015
E-mail: andrea.stoellner@ist.ac.at
Andrea Stoellner was born in Freistadt, Austria. In 2013 she moved to Vienna, where she obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degree in physics from the University of Vienna, focusing on aerosol and environmental physics. In September 2021 she joined the Waitukaitis and Muller group at ISTA to explore the charging of aerosols and clouds on a single-particle microscale using optical tweezers. Outside the lab Andrea loves playing music and getting involved in the freiSOUND music festival in her hometown Freistadt.
Eavan Fitzgerald
Office: I24.O1.015
E-mail: eavan.fitzgerald@ist.ac.at
Eavan was born in Dublin, Ireland. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree (with Honours) in Experimental Physics from Trinity College Dublin. Her Bachelor thesis focussed on non-classical nucleation and crystal structures. After her Bachelor’s, she took a year off to travel as much as possible in South America. She joined the Waitukaitis group to work on Quincke rollers. Her outside interests lie in food, music and travel.
Sue Shi
Office: I24.O1.015
E-mail: Sue.Shi@ist.ac.at
Sue was born in Wuhan, China, and completed her secondary education in Richmond, Canada. She received her B.A. in Physics from Mount Holyoke College, and M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Brown University. Both her Bachelor’s thesis and graduate research focused on quantum dot optoelectronics. She joined the group in August 2023 and now studies acoustically levitated charged particles. Outside of the lab, she enjoys making music, rock climbing, and traveling.
Previous members
| Name | Position | Years | Currently |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benedikt Weihs | Scientific Intern | 2020 | University of Innsbruck |
| Anna Drummond Young | Academic Visitor | 2021 | University of Oxford |
| Yihong Hu | Academic Visitor | 2022 | University of Oxford |
| Markus Felber | Scientific Intern | 2021-2023 | TU Vienna |
| Dr. Cécile Clavaud | Postdoc | 2020-2023 | Maître de Conference, Institut de Physique de Rennes |