Team

Dr. Reza Abdolvand

E-mail: reza.abdolvand@ucf.edu

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/reza-abdolvand-2308034

Dr. Abdolvand is a professor and the chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Central Florida, where he joined in January 2014, and is the director of the Dynamic Microsystems Lab.

He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, in 1999 and 2001, respectively, and his Ph.D. degree from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA in 2008. His research interests lie in the area of micro/nanoelectromechanical systems with a special focus on the design, fabrication, and characterization of micro-resonators with applications in radiofrequency circuits and resonant sensors including bio-sensors.

Dr. Abdolvand has authored and co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed journal and conference articles in his field of expertise. He was awarded 12 US patents and inducted into the National Academy of Inventors in 2013. He was also a recipient of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Patent Application Award in 2009.

Dr. Hakhamanesh Mansoorzare

E-mail: hakha@ucf.edu

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/hakha-m-zare

Hakhamanesh received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in 2016. He joined DML at the University of Central Florida upon receiving the ORC Doctoral Fellowship in 2016 and completed his Ph.D. in 2021. His Ph.D. research led to an NSF PFI award which supported his postdoctoral research efforts. His research is in MEMS with a focus on the design, fabrication, and characterization of piezoelectric devices for RF communication and sensing applications.

Hakhamanesh holds 3 US patents and several patent applications. He received the best student paper award of IEEE IFCS-EFTF in 2019, and his work has been featured on the cover of IEEE Electron Device Letters (Sep. 2020) and selected as an outstanding paper finalist in IEEE MEMS 2021 and Hilton Head 2022. He is currently a part-time research associate at DML.

Dr. Hannaneh Mahdavi

E-mail: Hannaneh.mahdavi@ucf.edu

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/hannaneh-mahdavi-2ba3141b6

Hannaneh received her B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from K. N. Toosi University of Technology in 2010 and 2012, respectively. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Shahed University in 2021 where her research focused on designing and developing sensing devices for different applications, especially for disease diagnosis through breath analysis. She possesses expertise in metal oxide gas sensors, machine learning algorithms, and signal processing.

Hannaneh is currently a postdoctoral scholar with DML at the University of Central Florida, and her ongoing research centers on the design and fabrication of MEMS-based devices for healthcare applications.

Kevin Chan

E-mail: kevin.chan@ucf.edu

Kevin graduated from Harvard University in 2006 with an SB in Engineering Sciences, specializing in bioengineering. He received his JD in 2012 from the University of Florida, Levin College of Law. Currently, he is pursuing his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at UCF—his research focuses on design and fabrication of novel MEMS actuators. His other research interests include optoelectronics and biosensors.

Parvin Akhkandi

E-mail: parvin.akhkandi@ucf.edu

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/parvin-akhkandi-99155557

Parvin Akhkandi received her B.S. and M.S. from Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran, and Shiraz University in 2012 and 2016, respectively. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Central Florida, under the supervision of Dr. Reza Abdolvand. Her research interest is RF MEMS, Integrated MEMS Sensors, and RF Front end design. 

Parvin won the competitive Qorvo Ph.D. Fellowship in 2019. She has also recently accepted a position as a Hardware Engineer at Apple.

Ankesh Todi

E-mail: ankesh.todi@ucf.edu

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/ankeshtodi

Ankesh has received a M.S. degree from UCF in Nanotechnology and a B.Tech in Electronics and Telecommunication from MPSTME, Mumbai. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Central Florida. His research includes MEMS-based accelerometers and oscillators with a focus on fabrication.

Yasaman Majd

E-mail: yasaman.majd@ucf.edu

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/yasaman-majd-423000176

Yasaman Majd received her B.S. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran, in 2014, and her M.S. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Shahrood University of Technology in 2017.

She has recently graduated with her Ph.D. degree at the University of Central Florida. Her research interests include microelectromechanical systems with a special focus on the design, fabrication, and characterization of ultra-stable micro-resonators for RF communication and sensing applications.

Justin Phelps

E-mail: justin.phelps@ucf.edu

Justin attended the University of Central Florida where he graduated with his B.S. degree in the summer of 2019. He has recently graduated with his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. His research interests include MEMS, sensors, transparent conducting oxides, and Power Electronics.

Jennyfer Vivas Gomez

E-mail: jennyfer.vivas.gomez@ucf.edu

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jennyfer-vivas-gómez

Jennyfer received her B.S. in Electronics Engineering from Savannah State University in the fall of 2017. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Central Florida. Her research focus includes lamb-wave lithium niobate resonators.

Daniel Lopez Garcia

E-mail: delopezg@knights.ucf.edu

Daniel received a B.S. in Engineering physicists from Universidad Nacional de Colombia – Medellín in 2012. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Electrical Engineering. His research interests include the design, and fabrication of Micro Optoelectronic Mechanical Systems (MOEMS) devices and Radio-Frequency MEMS Sensors.

Maliha Sultana

E-mail: Maliha.sultana@ucf.edu

Maliha received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from University of Chittagong, Bangladesh in 2017 and 2019. She is currently working towards her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Central Florida. She is the recipient of ORCGS Doctoral Fellowship at UCF in 2022. Her research interest is focused on the design, fabrication, and characterization of MEMS resonators for sensing applications.

Tanvir Hasan

E-mail: Tanvir.Hasan@ucf.edu

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/tanvir-hasan

Tanvir has attained a B.S. degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh. Following his graduation, he served as an L1 System Engineer at Smart Technologies, a division of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) in Bangladesh. During this time, he completed 45 professional courses and obtained 7 Service and Solution Qualification Certificates from HPE. He is certified in HPE SYNERGY composable bladed software‑defined infrastructure and HPE SIMPLIVITY hyper‑converged architecture.

Currently, Tanvir is pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at UCF, commencing in 2022. His research focuses on High‑Performance devices for Neuromorphic Computing and Micro-Sensors.

Hamed Atashbar

E-mail: hamed.atashbar@ucf.edu

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/hamed-atashbar-20142940

Hamed earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in 2015 and 2017, respectively. In 2023, he joined the DML at the University of Central Florida as an ORC Doctoral Fellow to pursue his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. His research focuses on the design, fabrication, and characterization of piezoelectric micro-acoustic devices for RF communication and sensing applications.

Michael ‘Zion’ Franz

E-mail: zionfranz@ucf.edu

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/michael-franz-4a89b724b

Zion is currently pursuing his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Central Florida. He joined DML in 2023. His research interests include MEMS, Magnetics, and Ion Propulsion. 

Katherine Tharp Muñoz

E-mail: katherine.tharp@ucf.edu

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/katherine-tharp-muñoz

Kat is currently pursuing her B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Central Florida. She joined DML in 2024. Her research interests include MEMS, semiconductor manufacturing, and mechatronics.