Team

Makhsud Saidaminov, Principal Investigator

Makhsud is a Canada Research Chair Tier II in Advanced Functional Materials, and an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and ECE at the University of Victoria. Prior to this position, he was a Banting PDF at the University of Toronto (2017-2019), a Visiting Scholar at MIT (April-July 2018), and a PDF at KAUST (2014-2016). Grown-up in Tajikistan, he received his Ph.D. from Lomonosov Moscow University (2013). Makhsud was named 2021, 2022 Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics. He authored 120+ publications in peer-reviewed journals which were cited 17k+ times with an h-index of 58.

Dr. Ren Yan, Visiting Professor

Ren Yan is a visiting professor sponsored by the Ministry of Education of the P. R. China. Before she joined Prof. Makhsud’s group, her research field was in the growth and mechanism of single-crystalline fibers in solution. She now collaborates with Prof. Makhsud on the crystal growth of the columnar perovskites for X-ray detector.

Dr. Sergey Dayneko, Research Director

Sergey joined a group as Research Director in April 2023. Prior to this position, he was a Senior Scientist at a commercial company (2020-2023), and a PDF at Queen’s University (2021-2023), and at the University of Calgary (2016-2021). He received his Ph.D. in laser physics and solid-state physics from Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPI) in 2015. Currently, he is focusing on the development of cutting-edge solar cells and X-ray detectors.

Dr. Yuki Haruta, PDF

Yuki received his Ph.D. from Kyoto University in Japan. He first joined the group as a visiting research student in 2021, and then as a PDF in 2022. His current research focuses on developing/optimizing perovskite thick films for high-energy photon detection.

Vishal Yeddu, Ph.D. Student

Vishal received his B.Tech. in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India (2015), and his M.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering from Oklahoma State University, Tulsa, U.S.A. (2019). During his Master’s, he worked on perovskite and organic optoelectronic devices for near-infrared detection.

Dongyang Zhang, Ph.D. Student

Dongyang has a keen interest in the development of perovskite-based optoelectronic devices and their commercialization.

Muhammad Awais Malik, Ph.D. Student

Awais received his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan (2015) and his M.Sc. in Renewable Energy Engineering from the University of Science and Technology (KIER), Daejeon, South Korea (2020). During his master’s, he worked on flexible CIGS thin-film solar cells. He currently has an interest in stabilizing the perovskite solar cells for industrialization.

Parinaz Moazzezi, Ph.D. Student

Parinaz received her B.Sc in Electrical Engineering from IK international University in Iran and earned her M.Sc in Micro and Nano Electric Devices from TMU. During her master thesis, she worked on Perovskite materials with emphasis on their application in light-emitting diodes. She is interested in light-matter interaction. She will start her Ph.D. in Fall 2021.

Mohammad Reza Kokaba, Ph.D. Student

Mohammad Reza, B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Bu-Ali Sina University, M.Sc. in Applied Design Mechanical Engineering from IK International University. Expert in the experimental and numerical analysis of severe plastic deformations on FCC metals at high strain rates and cryogenic temperatures. His research focuses on the microstructural and mechanical property evolution of solar cell materials. He will start his Ph.D. in Fall 2022.

Yameen Ahmed, Ph.D. Student

Yameen Ahmed received BS in Physics from Hazara University Mansehra, Pakistan (2018) and MS in Optical Engineering from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, China (2020). During his BS and master’s, he worked on the green synthesis of nanoparticles and the fabrication of flexible perovskite solar cells, respectively.

Vahid Kamraninejad, Ph.D. Student

Vahid received his B.Eng. from the University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran (2019) and his M.Sc. from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran (2022). During his master’s, he worked on perovskite quantum dots and perovskite solar cells.

Sean Bernard Reinecke, M.S. Student

Sean received his bachelor’s of science with a double major in chemistry and history from the University of Victoria. He is interested in increasing the commercial viability of solar technology. His work is presently focused on the use of atomic layer deposition for creating thin consistent films at lower temperatures.

Shuang Qiu (Sam), M.S. Student

Sam received his bachelor’s degree at UVic. He is currently working on Atomic Layer Deposition of materials.

Paul Huber, UVic Undergraduate Student

Paul is an undergrad student majoring in chemistry and minoring in mechanical systems. Paul is interested in single crystal perovskite synthesis for the purpose of developing more sensitive X-ray detectors. These more sensitive X-ray detectors improve the health and safety of X-ray medical and dental imaging. Paul is also interested in synthesizing monocrystalline thin film X-ray detectors for application in industrial and construction fields for improved imaging of curved surfaces.

Eya Ibrahim, McGill Undergraduate Student

Eya Ibrahim is an undergraduate student interested in pursuing Neuroscience at McGill University. Eya is working on single-crystal perovskite solar cells. She is passionate about researching and developing emerging technologies in order to make sustainable energy more accessible in the future. 

Nicholas Sandor, UVic Undergraduate Student

Nicholas is a fourth-year undergraduate at Uvic studying electrical engineering. He is interested in the optoelectronic properties of perovskite single crystals and their application as sensitive x-ray detectors. Nicholas is investigating applications of control theory and computer vision to improve the quality of perovskite single crystals.