About AVS > Committee > Early Career Professionals Committee

AVS Early Career Professionals Committee (ECPC)


Our goal as a committee is to connect the early-career professionals of AVS and bring them resources that can help advance their careers.

If you would like to get involved or get in contact with us, you can reach all of us at ecpc@avs.org.  If you have any questions about getting involved with AVS, we are happy to discuss opportunities with you.

If you are interested in getting involved with AVS and have already filled out the volunteer form, contact us and we will help make sure that your submission is responded to quickly. 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

 

Christopher Brewer 


Chris joined the ECPC in 2022 and is currently the committee chair. Chris is currently a Research Associate at the University of Texas at Dallas, working in Professor Amy Walker’s group.  Chris currently works on chemical bath deposition of transition metal chalcogenides and photoassisted chemical vapor deposition. Prior to this, Chris was a Postdoctoral Scholar at North Carolina State University working on chromophore design, working with Professor Phil Castellano.  Chris completed his PhD in Chemistry in 2021 at the University of Florida, working with Professor Lisa McElwee-White, studying photochemical decomposition pathways of organometallic ruthenium complexes.  Chris completed his BS in Chemistry and Biochemistry in 2014 at Florida State University.

Contact: christopher_brewer @ avs.org

Will DeBenedetti







 
Contact: william_debenedetti @ avs.org

Prithviraj Deshmukh


Joined ECPC in 2023.Prithviraj graduated from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&TSU) with a PhD in Nanoengineering under guidance of Prof. Shanthi Iyer. His work helped improve the understanding of nanowire growth mechanism and its issues related to highly complex and challenging semiconductor deposition techniques of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). He filed multiple invention disclosures for his discoveries and has been recently awarded US Utility patent for his work on GaAsSbN-based nanowires.This novel material composition enables high sensitivity photodetection in only the desired high selectivity Short Wave Infrared Range (SWIR) range.

Prithviraj joined as Thin-Films Module in the Logic Technology Development division at Intel Corporation in 2019. The primary focus was back-end process flow with multiple metal layers deposited using multi-functional Sputter machines. In this role, he achieved expertise in first-of-a-kind toolset qualification as well as transfer of process technology to global manufacturing sites. Prithviraj moved to the Test R&D engineer role in the Sort Testing Technology Development Group, where he is involved in developing world-leading testing interfaces for next-generation semiconductor chips.
 
Contact: prithviraj_deshmukh @ avs.org

Megan Giri 







 
Contact: megan_giri @ avs.org

Saima Sumaiya


Saima joined ECPC in 2024. Saima currently works at Bruker Corporation as a Regional Technical Account Manager. In this role, she provides technical guidance to support complex needs in nanoscale imaging, mechanical testing, and material characterization with an emphasis on advancing business growth. Saima earned her PhD at the University of California, Merced, in 2022, under the supervision of Prof. Mehmet Baykara, where her research focused on atomic-resolution surface imaging via atomic-force microscopy. Following her PhD, she served as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Columbia University, working with Prof. Ozgur Sahin. Her postdoctoral research concentrated on studying the mechanics of hygroscopic biological materials using nanomechanical approaches.
Contact: saima_sumaiya @ avs.org

Harry Wang 







 
Contact: haozhe_wang @ avs.org

Sarah Zaccarine


Sarah has been a member of the ECPC since 2022. Sarah is currently an XPS Staff Scientist at Physical Electronics (PHI), where she focuses on instrument demonstrations for prospective customers, system trainings and customer support, and developing applications and marketing materials. Previously, Sarah worked in Professor Svitlana Pylypenko’s group at Colorado School of Mines, performing physicochemical characterization of PEM fuel cells and electrolyzers, and graduated with a PhD in Applied Chemistry in 2022. Sarah received her BA in Chemistry from Lawrence University in 2017.

Contact: sarah_zaccarine @ avs.org