Cushing Lab

Scott Cushing (he/him)
Assistant Professor of Chemistry (CV )
scushing@caltech.edu

Post-Docs

Bethany de Roulet (she/her)
deroulet@caltech.edu

Grad Students

Wonseok is from Incheon, South Korea. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in 2020. His current research focuses on developing ultrafast electron energy-loss spectroscopy techniques to probe electronic and structural dynamics in materials. He is broadly interested in capturing "movies" of ultrafast phenomena, revealing how electrons and atoms move and interact in real time. Outside the lab, he enjoys going to the gym.

Wonseok Lee (he/him) wonseok@caltech.edu

Jocelyn earned a B.S. in chemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute where she studied the surface chemistry and stability of solar photovoltaic materials under Professor Ron Grimm. In the Cushing lab, Jocelyn is focused on studying ultrafast polaron dynamics in photocatalyst materials using transient extreme ultraviolet spectroscopy and modeling the resulting dynamics to elucidate materials design principles. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running, reading, and exploring LA.

Jocelyn Mendes (she/her)
jmendes@caltech.edu

Levi earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in 2020 studying under Prof. Renee Frontiera. In the Cushing Lab, he develops optically coupled electron microscopy to study photocatalysts at nanometer length scales while under illumination. Outside the lab, he enjoys baking desserts, weight lifting, and playing with his two kittens.

Levi Palmer (he/him)
lpalmer@caltech.edu

Ric earned his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California at Riverside where he studied the formation of secondary organic aerosols. At Caltech, he researched a novel non-linear material (LBGO) to extend the lab's entangled light-matter interaction techniques to the UV regime, and is currently working on time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy using entangled photons. Outside of lab, he enjoys practicing mixed martial arts.

Ric Tolentino (he/him)
pfleider@caltech.edu

Ayantika earned her B.Tech. in Engineering Physics from IIT Delhi in 2022 and grew up in Jharkhand, India. Her research focuses on developing integrated photonic devices in thin-film lithium niobate nanophotonics for on-chip generation and manipulation of quantum-entangled states of light, with applications in quantum technologies and spectroscopy. In her free time, she enjoys singing, listening to music, binge-watching shows, and exploring new restaurants.

Ayantika Sengupta (she/her) asengupt@caltech.edu

Amy grew up in Toronto, Canada and earned her B.S. in Chemistry from McGill University in Montreal. Her interest in advancing materials characterization techniques led her to her current research developing ultrafast and spatially resolved instruments for battery technologies. Outside of science, Amy enjoys Pilates, running, and eating seafood, although she is always looking for new hobbies.

Amy Lin (she/her) alin5@caltech.edu

Jadon grew up in the Bay Area and earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California at Santa Barbara. His research focuses on understanding the fundamental ionics of solid-state ion conductors for energy storage technologies. In his free time, he likes to climb and play keys/bass.

Jadon Bienz (he/him) jbienz@caltech.edu

Lauren grew up in Washington State and Maryland and earned her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University in 2024. Her work in computational X-ray spectroscopy for batteries led to her current research interest in measuring spatially resolved ultrafast ionic conduction in battery materials. Outside of the lab, Lauren can be found playing beach and indoor volleyball, go-kart racing, and enjoying live music.

Lauren Illa (she/her) lilla@caltech.edu

Yulu was born and raised in China. She obtained her B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Science and Technology of China. Her research in the Cushing Lab primarily focuses on polaron dynamics using pump-probe techniques. Outside of doing research, she is also passionate about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and photography.

Yulu Cao (she/her) ycao2@caltech.edu

Natan is from Chicago, IL and got his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University. He is very interested in batteries and works on the development of instruments to probe ion transport on the nanoscale and with ultrafast time resolution. In his free time, Natan is a member of the Caltech Rugby Club, and enjoys playing golf and other sports with his friends.

Natan Spear (he/him) nspear@caltech.edu

Tang-Yu (JJ) grew up in Taiwan and earned his B.S. and M.S. from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in 2023 and 2025, respectively. His current research focuses on the on-chip generation of quantum entangled states of light and the development of fully integrated nanophotonic platforms for applications in spectroscopy and quantum computing. Outside the lab, he plays tennis and is addicted to Alpine climbing. His motto is: "The possibility of death in the mountain reminds me I am still alive and capable of surviving my PhD."

Tang-Yu Kao (he/him) tkao@caltech.edu

Kevin was born and raised in Massachusetts. He earned his B.S. degrees in chemistry, physics, mathematics, and astronomy from UMass Amherst in 2025. For his undergraduate research, he worked in Dr. Jeanne Hardy's lab where he used solution-phase NMR to study the structure and dynamics of proteins. His research at Caltech explores charge carrier dynamics in materials with electron microscopy and solid-state NMR. His interests outside of lab include classical piano, reading, and carillon bells.

Kevin Alexander (he/him) kalexand@caltech.edu

Nick earned a B.S. in Chemistry from UMASS Amherst in 2021 and grew up in Western Massachusetts. His current research focuses on designing and building a novel ultrafast momentum-resolved electron pump–electron probe instrument with particular interest in fundamental dynamics that govern strongly-correlated quantum materials. Outside the lab, he enjoys cooking, rock climbing and playing rugby with the Caltech Rugby Club.

Nick Heller (he/him) njheller@caltech.edu

Alejandro is from Los Angeles (the best place in CA). He got his B.S. in Physics at the University of California at Merced. In the Cushing Lab, he characterizes photocatalysts using a laser-produced plasma source. Beyond the lab, Alejandro likes hiking, lifting weights, exploring food places, and reading psychology and philosophy books.

Alejandro Arellano (he/him) aarella2@caltech.edu

Audrey Washington is a SoCal native from Ventura, California. She obtained her B.S. in 2023 from San Diego State University, where she majored in Chemistry with a minor in Physics. By leveraging state-of-the-art electron pump–electron energy loss (EELS) probe spectroscopy, she seeks to unveil the intricate pathways of charge transfer and carrier interactions that underpin energy conversion and catalytic efficiency. In her free time, she enjoys tennis, yoga, ceramics, reading short stories, and trying new restaurants.

Audrey Washington (she/her) ajwashin@caltech.edu

Christopher grew up in Ventura County, California and attended the University of California, Irvine (B.S. Physics, B.S. Mathematics). He is currently working on a tabletop soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy instrument, adapting it to conduct measurements of CO2 reduction catalysts under electrochemical working conditions. Outside of the lab, he enjoys long-distance running, playing saxophone, and attending concerts.

Christopher Effarah (he/him) ceffarah@caltech.edu

Zac grew up in Troy, New York. He got his B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Physics from Arizona State University, where he worked with professor Scott Sayres developing experimental apparatus to perform ultrafast spectroscopies on charged metal and metal/covalent clusters. In the Cushing Group, Zac now uses transient extreme ultravaiolet spectroscopy to observe carrier dynamics in condensed matter systems. Outside of the lab, he enjoys hiking, miniature model-making, analog electronics, and good Chinese food.

Zac la Brake (he/him) zlabrake@caltech.edu

Claude is from Chengdu, China, and earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Emory University in 2025. His undergraduate research on in situ SERS at semiconductor–electrolyte interfaces sparked his interest in mechanistic studies of photoelectrochemistry. This now motivates his work in the Cushing Lab developing ultrafast liquid-phase TEM-EELS to probe nanoscale photocatalysts. Outside the lab, he enjoys photography, cooking, and reading.

Claude Zheng (he/him) yzheng5@caltech. edu

ALUMNI

Wei-Hsin Chein (he/him)
M.S. Caltech ‘26

Emily Hwang (she/her)
Ph.D. Caltech ‘25

Nathan Harper (he/him)
Quantum Optics & Integrated Photonics Engineer
HRL Laboratories, LLC
Ph.D. Caltech ‘25

Kim Pham (she/her)
Senior Member of Technical Staff
The Aerospace Corporation
Ph.D. Caltech ‘24

Danika Nimlos (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty
Bellevue College
Ph.D. Caltech ‘25

Ye-Jin Kim (she/her)
Assistant Professor
Seoul University
Postdoc Caltech 2024

Manni He (she/her)
Optical Engineer at Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics
Ph.D. Caltech ‘24

Bryce Hickam (he/him)
Strategic Planning and Business Development Analyst at Scripps Research
Ph.D. Caltech ‘23

Jonathan Michelsen (he/him)
Ph.D. Caltech ‘23

Aelin Hunt (they/them)
B.S. Caltech ‘23

Isabel Klein (she/her)
Associate at Rhapsody Venture Partners in Cambridge, MA.
Ph.D. Caltech ‘22

Hanzhe Liu (he/him)
Physical Chemistry Assistant Professor at Purdue University
Postdoc Caltech ‘22

Alex Krotz (he/him)
Ph.D. student at Northwestern University
B.S. Caltech '20

Hamilton Evans (he/him) Freelance Blockchain Software Developer
M.S. Caltech '22

Szilard Szoke (he/him)
Engineer at Quintessent Inc.
Ph.D. Caltech '22