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Check out our job opportunities!
Current Group Members
Churchill Agoni
Ph.D. Candidate
In the SHADOW project, Churchill investigates ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals under confinement in shells and droplets.
PROJECT
SHADOW
FROM
Nigeria
EDUCATION
M.Sc. Photonics, University of Eastern Finland
PREVIOUSLY AT
University of Ibadan; National Open University of Nigeria; Federal Government Girls' College Abuloma; Ambrose Alli University
JOINED IN
2025
Amina Alizade
Postdoctoral Researcher
Amina is the primary chemist in the ALCEMIST project, working to develop routes of synthesis of liquid crystal elastomer materials from cellulose derivatives.
PROJECT
ALCEMIST
FROM
Bolnisi, Georgia
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz (Germany)
PREVIOUSLY AT
Baku State University, FH Münster
JOINED IN
2026
+352 46 66 44 5089
Tatiana Avsievich
Postdoctoral Researcher
Tanja works in the ALCEMIST project on the production aspects of producing liquid crystal elastomers from cellulose-derived materials.
PROJECT
ALCEMIST
FROM
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
EDUCATION
D.Sc. Technology, University of Oulu (Finland)
PREVIOUSLY AT
Tambov State Technical University, Siberian Federal University
JOINED IN
2025
Miriam Fischer
Ph.D. Candidate
Miriam works with the ALCEMIST project on pioneering new liquid crystal elastomers from cellulose nanocrystals.
PROJECT
ALCEMIST
FROM
Mannheim, Germany
EDUCATION
M.Sc. Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz (Germany)
JOINED IN
2025
Yong Geng
Research Scientist
Yong works on several projects involving the use of mechanochromic liquid crystal elastomers, cholesteric shell reflectors for security purposes, and managing our equipment.
PROJECT
Lots
FROM
Shandong, China
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Physics, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
PREVIOUSLY AT
Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg, Qingdao University of Science and Technology
JOINED IN
2015
+352 46 66 44 6527
Lawrence (Larry) Honaker
Postdoctoral Researcher
Larry works to create smart textiles with liquid crystal-based sensing functionalities.
PROJECT
TECHSTILE, ALCEMIST
FROM
Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Physics, University of Luxembourg
PREVIOUSLY AT
Wageningen University; Kent State University; BASF; Ministry of National Education, France
Ph.D. Materials Science Engineering, University of Santiago (Chile)
PREVIOUSLY AT
ESCPI, Paris
JOINED IN
2024
+352 46 66 44 5619
Mohammadreza Kamyab
Ph.D. Candidate
Reza works on the AFR-funded project ACSELER8 to improve our laboratory workflows for the production and processing of cholesteric liquid crystal spherical reflectors, using automation and machine learning tools to improve task efficiency.
PROJECT
ACSELER8
FROM
Shiraz, Iran
EDUCATION
M.Sc. Engineering, University of Luxembourg
PREVIOUSLY AT
Shiraz University of Technology (Iran)
JOINED IN
2025
Rijeesh Kizhakidathazhath
Senior Research Associate
Rijeesh works on polymerizable liquid crystals for myriad applications, ranging from mechanochromic liquid crystal elastomer sensors to polymerized cholesteric shell reflectors for authentication and identification purposes.
PROJECT
BriCE
FROM
Kozhikode, Kerala, India
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Life Science, Hokkaido University (Japan)
PREVIOUSLY AT
Tampere University; Kyushu University; Aligarh Muslim University
JOINED IN
2018
+352 46 66 44 5086
Jan Lagerwall
Principal Investigator
Jan is the leader of the ESMP group and a Professor of Polymer Physics at the University of Luxembourg. Check out his personal website for more information!
PROJECT
Lots
FROM
Gothenburg, Sweden
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Materials Science, Chalmers University (Sweden)
PREVIOUSLY AT
Seoul National University; Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg; Universität Stuttgart; University of Colorado Boulder
JOINED IN
2007
+352 46 66 44 6219
Yosuke Pestana Nakamura
Ph.D. Candidate
After doing both his Bachelor's and Master's theses with ESMP, Yosuke is doing his Ph.D. within the COSAMOS project on the use of mechanochromic cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers in soft robotics applications.
PROJECT
COSAMOS
FROM
Porto, Portugal
EDUCATION
M.Sc. Physics, University of Luxembourg
PREVIOUSLY AT
University of Munich
JOINED IN
2022
+352 46 66 44 5626
Zornitza Tosheva
Research Scientist
In addition to managing our labs, Zory is primarily involved in research on cellulose nanocrystal self-assembly.
PROJECT
ALCEMIST
FROM
Sofia, Bulgaria
EDUCATION
M.Sc. Physics, University of Sofia
JOINED IN
2014
+352 46 66 44 6332
Yvonne Zagzag
Postdoctoral Researcher
Yvonne is a physicist on the ALCEMIST project, combining theoretical knowhow with experiments for generating novel geometries of liquid crystal elastomers.
PROJECT
ALCEMIST
FROM
Queens, New York, USA
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Physics, University of Pennsylvania
PREVIOUSLY AT
New York University
JOINED IN
2026
Hakam Agha
Project Officer
After working in our group as a researcher for many years, Hakam now works as a project officer to help us manage our ERC-funded projects and satisfy various bureaucratic obligations.
Ph.D. Condensed Matter Physics, Université de Strasbourg
PREVIOUSLY AT
Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization; Lebanese University; Université de Lorraine
JOINED IN
2016
+352 46 66 44 5452
Mónica Arenas Correa
Visiting Researcher
Mónica works as a visiting researcher at ESMP under an FNR Industrial Fellowship, working on the deposition of CSR tags onto different surface materials.
PROJECT
CLARIPHY
FROM
Colombia
EDUCATION
D.Sc. Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
JOINED IN
2026
Deniz Işınsu Avşar
Visiting Researcher
Deniz previously completed her Ph.D. study in our group in the TRANSCEND project on cholesteric shell reflectors (CSRs) as a means to encode data for autonomous navigation and secure authentication. She has rejoined us with an Industrial Fellowship from the FNR, continuing this work but in the framework of our spinoff company Trace Crystal.
PROJECT
COVERT
FROM
Ankara, Türkiye
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Natural Sciences, University of Luxembourg
PREVIOUSLY AT
Middle East Technical University; Hacettepe University
JOINED IN
2021
Leigh Binet
Group Secretary
Leigh joined us in 2026 to take over group secretarial duties and help us navigate the ever-changing university administration.
PROJECT
Helping manage projects and other administrative tasks
FROM
Belgium
JOINED IN
2026
+352 46 66 44 5052
Adamantia Galani
Group Secretary
Adamantia is part of the DPHYMS secretariat who helps us with navigating exceptionally complicated projects.
PROJECT
Helping manage projects and other administrative tasks
FROM
Athens, Greece
JOINED IN
2021
+352 46 66 44 6730
Georgia Kaprou
Research Facilitator
Georgia works as part of the University of Luxembourg Research Facilitation team to help us secure grants and manage our projects.
PROJECT
Helping us secure funding and manage our projects
FROM
Greece
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Bionanotechnology, University of Crete
JOINED IN
2023
+352 46 66 44 5568
Yansong Zhang
Visiting Researcher
Yansong works primarily on the LETZCOLOR project, now developed as the spin-off company ReLuxPV, to beautify solar panels through the magic of cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers.
PROJECT
LETZCOLOR
FROM
Beijing, P.R. China
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan)
