Group Members
Associate Professor
AJ Medford is an Associate Professor in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. He attended North Carolina State University as an undergraduate, and subsequently spent a year as a Fulbright fellow at the Technical University of Denmark before attending Stanford University where he received his Ph.D in Chemical Engineering. His research focuses on the intersection of data science, electronic structure theory, and catalysis science, with contributions including machine-learned exchange correlation functionals for density functional theory, application of neural networks to fit transient kinetic datasets, and establishing mechanistic insight into nitrogen conversion reactions, and was the recipient of the 2023 ACS "Early Career in Catalysis" award. He developed the course "Data Analytics for Chemical Engineers", which is now one of the core courses in the "Data Science for the Chemical Industry" certificate program and has won several teaching awards including the Georgia Tech "Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence" and "Excellence in Online Teaching" awards. Outside of research and teaching, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, international travel, and outdoor activities.
CURRICULUM VITAE
TODD WHITTAKER
Postdoctoral Fellow
Todd joined the group in 2025. He completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering under the supervision of Adam Holewinski and Charles Musgrave at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2025.
Awards & Activities
2025 Max Peters Most Outstanding Graduate Student, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
2024 Quad Fellowship, Institute of International Education
2021 Northrop Grumman Graduate Education Scholarship, American Australian Association
Education
Trinity University
B.Sc, Chemistry, 2017
University of Colorado Boulder
M.Sc, Chemical Engineering, 2022
Ph.D, Chemical Engineering, 2025
JAGRITI SAHOO
GRAduate student
Jagriti Sahoo joined the group in 2019.
Education
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Bachelor of Technology, Chemical Engineering, 2019
LUCAS TIMMERMAN
Graduate Student
Lucas joined the group in 2021.
Education
University of Kentucky
B.S. Chemical Engineering, 2020
Awards
Summa Cum Laude & Patterson Scholar Finalist & National Merit Finalist
DINGQI NAI
Graduate Student
Dingqi joined the group in 2021.
Education
University of California, Davis
B.S. Chemical Engineering, 2018
Carnegie Mellon University
M.S. Chemical Engineering, 2019
LOGAN BRABSON
Graduate Student
Logan joined the group in 2022.
Education
Texas A&M University
B.S. in Chemical Engineering
SAYAN BHOWMIK
GRADUATE STUDENT
Sayan joined the group in 2022.
Education
Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
M.Tech in Chemical Engineering (2022)
Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
B.E. in Chemical Engineering (2020)
NEUNG-KYUNG YU
GRADUATE STUDENT
Neung-kyung joined the group in 2022.
Education
Hongik University
B.S. (2020) and M.S. (2022) in Chemical Engineering
Alumni
SIHOON CHOI
ALUMNUS
Education
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
B.S. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 2019
NICOLE HU
ALUMNUS
Education
University of California, Santa Barbara
B.S. Chemical Engineering, 2018
GABRIEL GUSMÃO
ALUMNUS
Awards & Activities
Science Without Borders, 2012 - University of California, Riverside
Best Qualification Exam, GA Tech, 2018
Best Poster Award, SUNCAT Summer School, 2019
Education
University of Campinas
B. Eng, Chemical Engineering, 2013
University of California, Riverside
Visiting Student, Christopher Research Group, 2012
KAYLEE TIAN
ALUMNUS
Education
Carnegie Melon University
Bachelor of Technology, Chemical Engineering, 2020
ADAM YONGE
ALUMNUS
Adam graduated from the group in 2022 and began a postdoc at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Education
University of South Carolina
B.S., Chemical Engineering, 2017
BEN COMER
Alumnus
Ben Comer graduated from the group in 2020 and took a position as a postdoc at the SUNCAT group after graduation.
Education
Auburn University
B.S., Chemical Engineering, 2016
awards & activities
DoD NDSEG Fellowship Finalist
Dow Chemical Fellowship
President’s Fellowship, Georgia Tech
Outstanding Academic Accomplishment Award 2016-2017
RAY LEI
Alumnus
Ray Lei graduated from the group in 2021 and took a position as a postdoc at Toyota Research Institute.
Education
University of Minnesota
B.S., Chemical Engineering, 2016
CHAOYI CHANG
Alumnus
Chaoyi graduated from the group in 2021 and is working as a software engineer at Google as of 2022.
Education
Tianjin University
B.S., Chemical Engineering, 201
SEAN NAJMI
ALUMNUS
Sean graduated from the group in 2021 and began a postdoc at the University of Delaware in the group of Prof. Dion Vlachos.
Education
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
B.S., Chemical Engineering, 2017
Awards & Activities
NSF GRFP Fellowship
Meyerhoff Scholar
MARC U*STAR Trainee
Big Data & Quantum Mechanics VIP team
The Big Data & Quantum Mechanics team is a "vertically integrated project" (VIP) consisting of 15-20 undergraduate students ranging from sophomores to seniors from diverse disciplines including computer science, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and materials science. The VIP team members are an important part of the Medford research group, but membership changes often, so specific members are only listed by request.
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”