Post-Doctoral Fellows
Sarah Blunk was born in Brazil and earned her bachelor’s degree in Physics at the Federal University of Paraná. She obtained her master’s degree in Science and Materials Engineering at the same institution, conducting research on the mechanical properties of glass-ceramic materials. She worked as a Laboratory Technician at UFPR for about four years, analyzing the nanomechanical properties of material surfaces. Sarah completed her PhD at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, with research focused on PVD coatings for medical applications. During her PhD, she spent one year at McMaster University as an international student. In July 2024, Sarah joined MSECTL as a postdoctoral researcher, working on the mechanical and tribological analysis of ID-HVOF sprayed coatings. Additionally, she is a member of OrthoPETica, a Brazilian company dedicated to developing and producing 3D-printed polymeric prostheses for veterinary use. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, playing the violin, and spending time with her family.
Dr. Sara Blunk
Post-Doctoral Fellow
(2024 - present), Microstructure and tribological properties of thermal spray coatings
Graduate Students Currently Supervised
Alejandra was born in Mexico City, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Metallurgy and Materials Engineering in the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), Mexico. In 2010, she joined a global manufacturer and supplier of steel pipes based in Veracruz, Mexico as part of the Global trainee program and then as a researcher in the Metallurgy and Materials Department. After 4 years, she decided to continue her master’s program in Metallurgic Engineering. Her experience is related to chemical, microstructural and mechanical characterization of HSLA steels for extreme environments. In 2019 she joined Professor Chromik's research group as a PhD student, her research involves understanding the wear mechanisms of thermally sprayed coatings for high-temperature applications. She enjoys watching series, playing backgammon and minesweeper.
Alejandra Islas Encalada
DOCTORAL STUDENT
(2019 - present), Tribology of MMC coatings made by thermal spray.
Maya Harfouche
DOCTORAL STUDENT
(2022 - present), Cold spray of high entropy alloy coatings.
Maya was born in Seattle, USA and lived on the island of Martinique before attending University in Canada. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Materials Engineering at McGill University, minoring in aerospace engineering. Maya joined Professor Chromik’s group as a Co-op intern in 2021, where she worked on scratch testing of thick thermal spray coatings to analyze their adhesive and cohesive bond strengths. She then continued working in the group as a graduate student in 2022. Her research focuses on cold spray deposition of high entropy alloy coatings, and the investigation of their tribological properties. In her free time, Maya enjoys running, sailing, baking, and reading.
Tongyue comes from Wuxi, a beautiful city in the south of China. She received her B.Sc. (2018) in Chemistry and a M.Sc. (2021) in Materials Engineering, During her Master's, she studied the mechanical properties of Ni-cBN superabrasive coatings. She is pursuing a PhD on duplex coatings and high entropy alloys to address the problem of regolith wear in lunar environments. . In her free time, she likes watching TV series and playing with her dog.
Tongyue Liang 梁同钥
DOCTORAL STUDENT
(2021 - present), Duplex coatings and high entropy alloys for regolith wear resistant applications
Aosong Li
DOCTORAL STUDENT
(2021 - present), Solid lubricant composite coatings prepared by pulsed cold spray deposition.
Aosong Li comes from Xingtai, a city in north of China. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Logistics Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology and Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from South China University of Technology. During his Master’s, he focused on the research of surface texture, two-dimensional (2D) lubricating materials and biomimetic coatings for improving tribological properties of titanium alloys. In September 2021, Aosong joined Professor Chromik’s group as a Ph.D. student. His research is focusing on the Duplex Coatings Based on Cold Spray and PVD. In leisure time, he enjoys playing basketball, travelling, and reading.
Lin Wu comes from Dalian, a coastal city in northeast of China. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering in the Xi’an Shiyou University in China. During her undergraduate, she majored in Size Effect of Cu/CuZr Nano-amorphous Composite Materials by molecular dynamics simulation as well as the optimization of microstructure of pipeline steel by heat treatment. She then working on the development and standard exploration on sacrificial high-performance separation membrane in Dalian Institute Of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy Of Sciences. She is a big fan of comics. In leisure time, she enjoys swimming, skiing and playing games.
Lin Wu
DOCTORAL STUDENT
(2022 - present), High entropy thin films
Yu Gao
DOCTORAL STUDENT
(2024 - present), Cold spray repair
Yu Gao is from Jixi, a city in northeast China. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Materials Physics from Jilin University, China. In September 2018, she joined Prof. Chromik’s research group as a master’s student, focusing on the microstructure and nanoindentation tests for Diamalloy 3001 and Diamalloy 3002 thermally sprayed coatings. In September 2024, she began her Ph.D. research, specializing on cold spray repair technology for reactive metals. In her leisure time, she likes hiking, swimming, and reading.
Sara was born in North Punjab, Pakistan, pursued her academic journey with distinction. She earned her bachelor's degree in applied physics from FUUAST Islamabad, where her research endeavors began in 2014 with a focus on Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy. She furthered her expertise by obtaining a master's degree in Materials Science Engineering from the Institute of Space Technology Islamabad in 2018. Her master's research centered on analyzing microstructures properties, adhesion strength of coatings utilizing High Velocity Oxy-Fuel thermal spray methodology.
Professionally, Sara has excelled as a lecturer of Physics at a reputable college since 2014 and served as Vice Principal from 2020 onwards. Additionally, she shared her knowledge as a visiting faculty member at FUUAST, teaching fundamentals of Materials Science Engineering to undergraduates. Beyond academics, Sara enjoys exploring culinary delights, nurturing plants, and expressing her creativity through sketching and drawing in her leisure time.
Sara Hashmi
DOCTORAL STUDENT
(2024 - present), Surface engineering
Srikar Billa
MASTER'S STUDENT
(2021 - present), Mechanical properties of cold sprayed powders and coatings
Srikar Billa is born and raised in the southern part India. He obtained his Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2015 from GITAM University. He graduated with a Masters degree in Metallurgical Engineering in an year 2019 from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University. For his Masters dissertation, he worked on Exploring unsupervised machine learning models for deconvoluting high-speed nanoindentaton property data. He worked in Indian Institute of Technology Madras as a Project Associate for an year and gained an expertise in multi-scale modeling of materials. His research interests are optimization of cold spray process, Data driven material development, Microstructure image analysis using deep learning approaches and multi-scale modeling of materials. He likes trekking, badminton and solo traveling.
Jack was born in Mississauga, Ontario. He completed his Bachelor's degree in Nanoscience at the University of Guelph, minoring in Physics. His U/G research involved the detection of avian flu viruses using an optoelectronic biosensor made of a graphene quantum dot and gold nano bundle hybrid, which was he published as a second author with other researchers. Jack also worked with an IP development and commercialization company specializing in graphene-based nanotechnology. He also investigated the ice shedding performance, mechanical properties, and durability of icephobic materials. In September 2023, Jack joined Professor Chromik’s group as a Master’s student. His research involves cold spray deposition for the repair of damaged metallic structures. In his free time, Jack enjoys hiking, playing soccer, biking, reading, and trying new foods.
Jack Mogus
MASTER'S STUDENT
(2023 - present), Cold spray repair