Rafael earned his M.Sc. in 2013 and his Ph.D. in 2019 in ultrafast spectroscopy under the supervision of Prof. Jorge Peon at UNAM, Mexico City. From 2019 to 2024, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Chemistry and Materials Science department at Northwestern University, working with Prof. Emily Weiss and Prof. Mark Hersam. During this time, he specialized in designing and installing optical instruments to study the spectral properties of low-dimensional materials. In April 2024, Rafael joined the Sargent Lab, where he now manages the laser lab and has an interest in researching the excited state dynamics in hole-transporting layers on perovskite solar cell devices and quantum-confined materials.
Dr. Yuxia Shen
Senior Research Associate
Yuxia Shen received her Ph.D. degree from Beijing University of Chemical Technology under the supervision of Zhong-Zhen Yu. From 2017 – 2022, Yuxia was a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Sefaattin Tongay’s group at Arizona State University, with a research interest in quantum materials and two-dimensional polymers. Yuxia joined the Sargent group at Northwestern University in January of 2023 as a senior research associate and the director of laboratory operations. Currently, Dr. Shen is working on lab management and construction, as well as exploring new directions involving catalytic carbon upgradation, quantum materials, and new energy sources.
