skip to main content
Ole Miss Nanoengineering Summer REU Program
The University of Mississippi

Ole Miss Nanoengineering REU Faculty

Our research focus stems from the diverse expertise of our research faculty — engineering at the nanoscale. Students have the opportunity to explore three timely, interdisciplinary research themes: (1) nanobiotechnology, (2) sustainable nanoengineering, and (3) computational nanoengineering.

Nanobiotechnology leverages innovative technologies such as nanoparticles, nanodevices, and surface coatings that can be used to study biological systems and produce novel biosensors, diagnostics, imaging agents, and therapeutics.

Sustainable nanoengineering seeks to harness unique energetic and mechanical properties of nanomaterials to provide sustainable solutions for problems in infrastructure, industrial processing, energy development, and water reuse.

Computational nanoengineering involves the use of computational tools to solve theoretical problems at the nanoscale and/or augment experimental techniques in nanoengineering.

2024 Nanobiotechnology Faculty:

Dr. Nikki Reinemann – Director

Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Affiliate Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering

Office: Brevard Hall A305

Phone: 662-915-3126

Email: dnreinem@olemiss.edu

Website: Molecular Biophysics and Engineering Lab

Research Interests: Cytoskeletal mechanics, molecular motors, microscopy

 

Dr. Thomas Werfel – Co-Director

Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Biomolecular Sciences

Affiliate Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering

Office: Brevard Hall A301

Phone: 662-915-3126

Email: tawerfel@olemiss.edu

Website: Interdisciplinary NanoBioSciences Lab

Research Interests: Drug delivery, immunoengineering

 

Dr. Adam Smith 

Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Director of General Engineering

Phone: 662-915-7023

Email: aes@olemiss.edu

Website: Interdisciplinary NanoBioSciences Lab

Research Interests: Polymeric biomaterials for drug delivery

 

 

Dr. Eden Tanner 

Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Office: Coulter Hall 179

Email: eetanner@olemiss.edu

Website: Tanner Lab

Research Interests: Drug delivery, ionic liquids, nanomaterials

 

 

Dr. Glenn Walker 

Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Professor of Electrical Engineering

Office: Brevard Hall A306

Email: gmw@olemiss.edu

Website: Walker Lab

Research Interests: Biomedical instrumentation, microfluidics

 

 

2024 Sustainable Nanoengineering Faculty:

Dr. Hunain Alkhateb 

Associate Professor of Civil Engineering

Office: Carrier Hall 210

Phone: 662-915-5368

Email: hsalkhat@olemiss.edu

Website: Alkhateb Lab

Research Interests: Nano-based composites, infrastructure development

 

 

 

Dr. Matteo D’Alessio 

Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering

Office: Carrier Hall 204

Email: matteo@olemiss.edu

Website: D’Alessio Lab

Research Interests: Environmental engineering

 

 

 

Dr. Alex Lopez 

Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering

Office: Anderson Hall 228

Phone: 662-915-1603

Email: amlopez2@olemiss.edu

Website: Lopez Lab

Research Interests: Membrane separations

 

Dr. Brenda Prager 

Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering

Office: Anderson Hall 140

Phone: 662-915-2184

Email: bhprager@olemiss.edu

Website: Prager Lab

Research Interests: Coatings, surfaces, and interfaces

 

 

2024 Computational Nanoengineering Faculty:

 

Dr. Yixin Chen

Professor of Computer and Information Science

Office: Weir Hall 207

Phone: 662-915-7438

Email: ychen@cs.olemiss.edu

Website: Chen Lab

Research Interests: Machine learning, bioinformatics

 

 

Dr. Jing Li

Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry

Office: Faser Hall 421

Phone: 662-915-1071

Email: jli15@olemiss.edu

Website: Li Lab

Research Interests: Computational chemistry and biophysics

 

Dr. Sasan Nouranian 

Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering

Office: Anderson Hall 18

Phone: 662-915-5382

Email: sasan@olemiss.edu

Website: Nouranian Lab

Research Interests: Molecular dynamics simulations of materials

 

 

 

Dr. Wen Wu 

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Office: Carrier Hall 201C

Email: wu@olemiss.edu

Website: Wu Lab

Research Interests: Modeling turbulence, COVID-19 transmission

 

 

 

Program Mentors

Dr. Viola Acoff

Dean of the School of Engineering, Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Office: Brevard Hall 229

Email: deanengr@olemiss.edu

Website: Viola Acoff

Research Interests: Materials engineering, additive manufacturing

 


Dr. Dwight Waddell

Associate Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering

Office: Brevard Hall C302

Phone: 662-915-2623

Email: waddell@olemiss.edu

Website: Waddell Lab

Research Interests: Neuromechanics