Twelve Students Present Original Research in Juried Competition
Zhifeng Ren, Paul C. W. Chu and May P. Chern Endowed Chair in Condensed Matter Physics and Director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), is pleased to announce the winners of the 60th TcSUH Student Research Symposium, held May 2, 2025, at the University of Houston Science Center. The symposium is a juried competition for students selected from each research group headed by a TcSUH Principal Investigator. Prizes are awarded based on originality of research (25%), quality of research (25%), quality of presentation (25%), and skillful use of visual aids (25%).
The 2025 competition featured eleven graduate students and one undergraduate student from the departments of chemistry, physics, and chemical engineering. Professors Arnold Guloy (chemistry), Jae-Hyun Ryou (mechanical and space engineering), and Liangzi Deng (physics) served as judges.
The judges awarded the First Prize of $600 to Mr. Sudaice Kazibwe, a Ph.D. student in physics whose advisor is Liangzi Deng. He presented his research on the study of pressure effects at the megabar range on superconducting cuprates.
Two Second Prizes of $300 were awarded. Ms. Ange Benise Niyikiza, a Ph.D. student in physics whose advisor is Zhifeng Ren, discussed her work on the synthesis and characterizations of boron arsenide crystals. Ms. FNU Vidhi, a third-year Ph.D. student in physics, also won for her research presentation on enhancing oxygen evolution performance via leaching-induced surface reconstruction of iron-molybdenum oxide hybrid electrocatalysts. Vidhi's advisor is Shuo Chen.
The judges selected three Third Prize winners to receive $200 awards. Mr. Arman Karimaghaei, a chemistry undergraduate student whose advisor is Jakoah Brgoch, presented his work on machine learning guided discovery of oxidation-resistant materials. Mr. Asim Khan, a Ph.D. student whose advisors are Arnold Guloy and Allan Jacobson in the chemistry department, won for his work on topochemical reduction of Kagome-like MoO3 layers in Cs2(MoO3)3PO3CH3 by hydrogen spillover. Ms. Iqra Zahid, a 3rd year Ph.D. student in physics under the advisement of Paul C. W. Chu, discussed her research on the investigation of strain and pressure effects on La3Ni2O7 thin films.
All prize winners are eligible to apply for the TcSUH Student Travel Awards, which help defray expenses to attend conferences, workshops, and important reviews.
Each student presented in one of three sessions held throughout the day. The session chairs were Professors Shuo Chen (physics), Jakoah Brgoch (chemistry), and Oomman Varghese (physics). Graduate students in physics serving as assistant chairs were Ms. Navmi Naik and Mr. Junaid Ur Rehman, and Ms. Jinyulin Li, a postdoctoral fellow in physics.
- Susan Butler, TcSUH Office of Public Affairs