After completing his master's in India, Dr. Iyer pursued Ph.D. opportunities abroad to no avail. Joining as a research assistant at JNCASR under Prof. Sebastian C. Peter, he focused on synthesizing and characterizing intermetallics and organic-inorganic materials. This research yielded several publications, securing him a position at the University of Alberta, Canada under Prof. Arthur Mar. 

Dr. Iyer focused on developing rational synthetic design principles for new chalcogenides to study their optical and magnetic properties. Moving to Canada, brought challenges -  cold, language, teaching.  A supportive scientific community aided his growth both personally and professionally.  

His postdoctoral research at UC Riverside under Prof. Boniface Fokwa and Northwestern University under Prof. Mercouri Kanatzidis focused on muti-group collaborations resulting in new synthetic methodologies and structural stabilization of the highest-performing nonlinear optical materials. 

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Dr. Vidyanshu Mishra obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. He joined the group in July 2024. Before this, he served as a Research Scientist at SeeO2 Energy Inc. in Calgary while concurrently holding a Postdoctoral Fellow position at the University of Alberta. Dr. Mishra specializes in X-ray crystallography, machine learning, and quantum calculations for the design of new materials. His current research focuses on metal chalcogenides for water remediation and leveraging machine learning techniques to accelerate the discovery of materials. In addition to his professional pursuits, Dr. Mishra has a keen interest in photography. 

Hyewon Byeon is from South Korea, currently pursuing a degree in chemistry at the University of Manitoba. She is gaining hands-on experience in various laboratory techniques and has a particular interest in the synthesis and characterization of solid-state materials. She plans to further explore this field, contribute to scientific advancements, and pursue graduate studies. A fun fact about her is that she once worked as a line cook at a restaurant, yet she still feels a bit nervous when handling flames in the lab.

My name is Tyson Roy, I am a third-year chemistry student interested in functional materials such as magnets. My interest extends from synthesis to characterization and finally at application. Currently my interests are in solid state chemistry, but I am also interested in Organometallic, Electrochemistry, and Nano chemistry and I am eager to learn more about each field. For past times outside of chemistry I am an avid baker, cook, biker and have been doing self-study into finance and learning several languages.

Manya Rishi is her second year in the Faculty of Science at the University of Manitoba. She is studying biological sciences and chemistry while pursuing a career in healthcare. Alongside her education, Manya has a passion for working with rescue and foster animals.