Ph.D. Students
Julian Long
Julian is currently a PH.D. student at UF, majoring in Materials Science and Engineering. Julian is specializing in ceramic materials and his research examines the effects of polishing tool motion on the polishing characteristics of fused silica optics finished with magnetic field-assisted finishing. Outside of academics, Julian enjoys hiking, camping, canoe trips, playing Xbox and going to concerts.
Kat Hutt
Kat was born and raised in the Florida panhandle. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of Florida. Kat has previously researched the surface finishing characteristics for medical stents, and is currently exploring and characterizing an oscillatory magnetic field-assisted finishing technique for complex geometries. In her free time, she enjoys making music, reading, and finding a nice spot to hang a hammock.
Dane Ungurait
Dane Ungurait was born and raised in Pembroke Pines, Florida. He graduated from the University of Florida with Honors with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in May 2020 and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in May 2023. He is currently pursuing a PH.D. in Mechanical Engineering. He is working on developing and optimizing systems for biological tissue collection. In his free time, he enjoys watching sports, exercising, cooking, and playing games with friends.
Master’s Students
Durvesh Deokar
Durvesh was born in Nashik, India. He is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. His research focus is on ultra-precision polishing of polycrystal ceramics. In his free time, he enjoys swimming, playing the piano, traveling, and watching F1 races.
Hiroyuki Matsumura
Hiroyuki was born in Gifu, Japan. He moved to Gainesville in August 2019. Hiroyuki is currently pursuing a master’s in aerospace engineering at the University of Florida. He is currently working on magnetic-field assisted polishing of a workpiece with Julian and Patrick. In his free time, he enjoys surfing and watching movies.
Justin Rietberg
Justin was born in Orlando, Florida and was raised in Coral Springs, Florida, where he has lived since he was 4. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in the spring of 2022 at the University of Florida and is currently working on his Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering. Justin’s research is focused on using magnetic field assisted finishing to polish a workpiece with complex geometry. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends, cooking, and watching movies.
Spencer Schmidt
Spencer Schmidt is a senior mechanical engineering student from Celebration, Florida. His research involves magnetic field assisted finishing of additively manufactured metal components. Spencer’s hobbies include fishing, cooking, and snow skiing.
Yibo Wang
Yibo was born in Jinan, China. He is pursuing a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Unviersity of Florida. Yibo is now working on a team that is developing a medical device to improve Prostate Cancer Biopsy. In his free time, he likes cooking and playing online games.
Grace Elizabeth Winkler
Grace Winkler is a senior at UF studying Mechanical Engineering and will be pursuing her master’s degree following graduation. Her research involves ultra-precision polishing of polycrystal ceramics. A few of Grace’s hobbies include crocheting, pottery, and biking.
Ziyi Zhao
Ziyi comes from Hebei, China and she is currently pursuing her master‘s degree in mechanical engineering. Her research focuses on polishing fused silica using magnetic field-assisted finishing. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, driving around with friends and she loves dog very much.
Undergraduate Students
Dylan Leong
Dylan is from Tampa, Florida. He is currently a junior studying mechanical engineering at the University of Florida. His research focuses on the development of a medical device to improve Prostate Cancer Biopsy. In his free time, he enjoys listening to music and playing soccer.
Eden Navarrete
Eden is from Orlando, Florida. She is a sophomore in Mechanical Engineering. Eden’s research contributes to the development of magnetic field-assisted single point incremental forming. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, and trying new restaurants.
Alina Orozco Vasquez
Alina Orozco Vasquez is from Sarasota, Florida. She is currently a freshman in Mechanical Engineering. Alina’s research focuses on analyzing laser damage on fused silica polished by magnetic field-assisted finishing. She enjoys running, thrifting, and experimenting with vegan recipes.
Graduate Alumni
PH.D.
Arthur Graziano, Junmo Kang, Valens Nteziyaremye, Raul Riveros, Daniel Ross, Pei-Ying Wu.
M.S.
Roy Luis Araya, Richard Barrington, Derrick Benson, Vipra Bhand, Taylor Boggs, Robin Carroll, Ho-An Chien, Sean Dobbs, Xueyu Du, Patrick Hendershot, Eva Hinkeldey, Chen-Kai Hsu, Yi-Chun Huang, Hamit Kahraman, Mikayla Lamb, Mingshuo Li, Patrick Moorhead, Timothy Pham, Dylan Pinard, Jason Ratay, Geovanna Ruiz, Zixi Shi, Ryan Skelton, Max Stein, Zuoben Tang, Erik Tastepe, Andy Therathankorn, Dane Ungurait, Yanming Wang, Fang Xu, Shengjie Xu, Zongyi Yang, Tianyu Yin, Xingyu You, Yi Zhao.
Undergraduate Alumni
Bryce Alsten, Taylor Boggs, Alexandors Bouliakis, Whittaker Bullard, Brandon Crone, Alex Fairweather, Brian Flatley, Andrew Gabrang, Arnold J. Garcia, Andrew George, Deanna Gierzak, Patrick Hendershot, Scott Hinton, Peter Hoffman, Brian Houtenbrink-Hoyo, Kat Hutt, Daniel Imaizumi, Jovany Jimenez, Erika Joa, Micheal Kelley, Blake Krueger, Mikayla Lamb, Andrew Li, Julian Long, Paul Loschak, Kristina Merino, Sterling Miller, Matthew Mo, Matthew Moore, Eduardo Moreno, Nicholas Natale, Kruz Oliver, Mitchell Parker, Adrian Piedra, Daniel Poljak, Hadyan Sani Ramadan, Jason Ratay, Justin Rietberg, Gilmer Rojas, Marissa Scalise, Ryan Skelton, Marcus Spanolios, Max Stein, Kyle Talko, Micheal Tan, Zachary Tupper, Razvan Vesa, Mark Wagner, James Wilkes, Monica Wilson, Grace Elizabeth Winkler, Anna Woods, Steven Zehnders.
Honors Thesis
Taylor Boggs, Arnold J. Garcia, Brian Houtenbrink-Hoyo, Kat Hutt, Erika Joa, Mikayla Lamb, Julian Long, Sterling Miller, Matthew Moore, Eduardo Moreno, Adrian Piedra, Daniel Poljak, Hadyan Sani Ramadan, Jason Ratay, Justin Rietberg, Kyle Talko, Zachary Tupper, Razvan Vesa, Grace Elizabeth Winkler, Anna Woods.
Postgraduate Career
| Accenture, Affiliated Engineers Inc., ASML, Apeel Sciences, Boss Laser, Cameron Controls Southeast Inc., CoorsTek, Cornelius, Corning, Cummins Inc., Die & Stamping Co., Enercon, F.tech R&D North America, Florida Power & Light Company, GE Appliances, GE Aviation, GE Energy, Gemini Seawater Systems, Henz Engineering, Honda R&D Americas, Inc., Intel Corporation, Intuitive, King of Fans Inc., L3 Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Jacobs Technology, Pratt & Whitney | Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas Inc., Molex Electric Solutions, Moses & Associates, Munro & Associates, Nanotherapeutics, Inc, NASA, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), NextEra Energy, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Parametric Solutions Inc., Raytheon, Samsung, Sandia National Laboratories, SpaceX, Sun Hydraulics, TE Connectivity, Tesla Inc., Thin Metal Parts, TP Adiyaman Bolge Mudurlugu Variety, Graduate schools |
Visiting Professors and Post-Doctoral Researchers
| Prof. Ikko Ihara | Kobe University, Japan | April 2011-October 2011 |
| Prof. Özlem Salman | Süleyman Demirel University, Turkey | April 2012-March 2013 |
| Dr. Raul Riveros | August 2012-December 2012 |
Visiting Students
| Masaya Akimoto | Osaka Institute of Technology | September-November 2016 |
| Shingo Tsujimoto | Osaka Institute of Technology | October-November 2017 |
| Shuhei Kodama | Tohoku University | October-December 2017 |
| Jimmy Overmeyer | Ohio State University | May-August 2018 |
| Sabrina Corbin | University of West Florida | May-August 2019 |
| Marco Gucciardi | University of Palermo | February-November 2020 |
| Amy Forsbacka | St. Mary’s College of Maryland | May-August 2021 |
| Elisabeth Lawrence | Hamilton College | May-August 2022 |
| Adriel Magalhaes Souza | University of São Paulo | October 2022-January 2023 |