Dr. Hornbostel Research Group

Students

Mahpara

Mahpara Habib

Graduate Student (PhD Track)

Mahpara Habib joined Dr. Hornbostel’s group as a Research Assistant in the fall of 2018 and is working towards a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering. She has completed her bachelor’s degree from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 2017. Her research in Dr. Hornbostel’s group involves direct air capture from a natural gas/direct air capture hybrid plant to promote negative carbon emission. She is also working on harvesting ocean wave energy using piezoelectric energy harvesters. In her spare time, she likes to travel, read for leisure and spend time with family and friends.

Joanna

Joanna Rivero

Graduate Student (PhD Track)

Joanna Rosa Rivero is third year Mechanical Engineering PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh’s (Pitt) Swanson School of Engineering (SSOE). Her work primarily focuses on membrane separation technology for carbon capture via various outlets such as flue gas from commercial power plants and directly from sea water. The importance of her works stems from reversing greenhouse effects and ocean acidification. She has received her Bachelor of Science from Pitt and has been awarded the National Center for Women in Information and Technology (NCWIT) and the Universities Space Research Association (URSA) based on her undergraduate research work with thermoelectrics. She is currently a Success, Transition, Representation, Innovation, Vision, and Education (STRIVE) Scholar, a co-funded fellowship between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and SSOE. Joanna’s overall goal is to better her education and become a role model for her communities (LGBTQ+ and Latinas), enabling her to give back to these diverse communities and hopefully positively affect others such as educators and their Students.

Austin

Austin Lieber

Graduate Student (PhD Track)

Austin Lieber began working with Dr. Hornbostel’s group and pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering during the fall of 2019. His current research includes the modeling and simulation of metal-organic frameworks and membranous systems for the separation and storage of carbon dioxide. Before this point, Austin attended Dickinson College where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry in 2017. Here he enjoyed the secondary pursuit of both philosophy and ceramics, but his primary research focused on characterizing activity rates of recombinant heat-shock protein 70 with electrophilic adduction modifications in a DH5α E. coli system. Additionally, he aided in the development of an open-source Arduino software for a multi-reaction titration system, and used this system to evaluate zinc oxide nanoparticle formation size with various rates of addition. After graduation, he started work as a R&D technician at Vitro Architectural Glass where he developed several prototypes of thermally advanced glazings and co-patented a new type material application process for windows. In 2018, he began working as a research technician and lab manager in the Renal-Electrolyte division of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Colleges (UPMC), where he help with the investigation of sodium, magnesium and calcium electrolyte handling in the distal convoluted tubule of the nephron. His desire to create, innovate, and help on a community scale are what led him to the Hornbostel group, where these motivations culminate in a sustainable technology development hub that hopes to answer some of the looming challenges of our environment.

Iza

Iza Lantgios

Graduate Student (PhD Track)

Iza is a second-year graduate student working towards a PhD in mechanical engineering. She earned both a bachelor's and master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, along with undergraduate and graduate certificates in nuclear engineering. She is supported by an Integrated University Program Fellowship awarded by the Office of Nuclear Energy within the U.S. Department of Energy. Her current research pertains to the behavior of fission products within advanced reactor containment vessels. When Iza is not working she can most likely be found cooking or baking.

Aaron

Aaron Esquino

Graduate Student (Master's Track)

Aaron Esquino has a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, and also studied briefly at Hochschule München. He joined Dr. Hornbostel’s research group in the spring of 2020, continuing work from his senior year on Piezoelectric Wave Energy Harvesting. His background is in renewable energy, internerning at a Nuclear Pump provider, where he worked in: Quality Assurance, Testing, Thermal/Stress Analysis, and Dynamic/Hydraulic Analysis departments (the majority of his time was spent in simulation and design work). With the Piezoelectric Wave Energy Harvesting project, he is bringing his 3D CAD experience to the project, and incorporating some of his dynamic analysis background. He is currently transitioning into a new research project funded by ARPA-E, with the goal being to create a negative net emissions power plant. In his free time he helps run e-sports tournaments in the Pittsburgh area, enjoys road biking, and fish keeping.