Graduate Advising Contacts

 Assistant Professor Jeremy Mason 
Graduate Program Chair
Admissions Chair
2005 Kemper Hall
jkmason@ucdavis.edu
Cohort: Fall 2021 

Professor Mason received his B.S. in Physics and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After several postdocs, three years in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Bogazici University, and one year in the Department of Mathematics at Ohio State University, he finally joined UC Davis in 2017. He has spent the last few years developing an undergraduate course on bicycle materials and design, and will occasionally play the ney (a Middle Eastern reed flute) under duress. He views student mentoring as one of the essential duties of a faculty member, and diligently encourages his own graduate students to become both accomplished researchers and upstanding members of the scientific community. He believes that he has a responsibility to help the program's students develop into graduates he would be happy to have as colleagues himself.

Associate Professor Roopali Kukreja                    
Graduate Advisor
2013 Kemper Hall
rkukreja@ucdavis.edu
Cohort: Fall 2018 

Professor Kukreja received her B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 2008, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University in 2011 and 2014, respectively. She arrived at UC Davis in 2016. She loves how bike-friendly both the university and the City of Davis are. Through her experiences as a doctoral student and postdoctoral scholar, Professor Kukreja understands the importance of mentorship and hopes all of her advisees successfully transition to graduate school and beyond. Her decision to pursue an academic career was greatly inspired by her own graduate mentor, who encouraged free-thinking and allowed her to make her own mistakes and discoveries. In her free time, Professor Kukreja enjoys cooking. She tries both old and new recipes, though they don’t always turn out as well as she would like.

Professor Klaus van Benthem              
Graduate Advisor
2007 Kemper Hall
benthem@ucdavis.edu                              
Cohorts: Fall 2017, Fall 2019

Professor van Benthem earned his bachelor's and M.S. degrees in Physics from the Westfälische Wilhelms University in Münster, Germany, and his Ph.D. in Materials Science from the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart, Germany. Before joining UC Davis in 2008, he was a postdoctoral fellow and then an R&D Staff Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Professor van Benthem enjoys mentoring and collaborating with graduate students from many disciplines to explore new and exciting materials phenomena. In his free time, he enjoys travelling with his wife, riding one of his road bikes or scuba diving. He has yet to find an opportunity to do all at once. 

Professor Sabyasachi Sen                               
Graduate Advisor
3011 Ghausi Hall
sbsen@ucdavis.edu
Cohorts: Fall 2016, Fall 2020

Professor Sen received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Presidency College in Calcutta, India before moving to the U.S. to complete another M.S. degree at the University of Houston. Though he started his Ph.D. at Princeton University, he moved to California after his first year and finished the degree at Stanford University. He joined UC Davis in 2004 after two years in academia in the U.K. and six years in industry. He greatly enjoys the department’s collegial, collaborative and friendly work environment. Graduate mentoring is very important to Professor Sen. He thinks it is the most effective way of sharing knowledge with young minds and preparing future generations to meaningfully contribute to human knowledge. Though he says he is not familiar with the concept of spare time, his hobbies include gardening, reading and traveling

Assistant Professor Seung Sae Hong                               
Graduate Advisor
2017 Kemper Hall
sshong@ucdavis.edu
Cohorts: Fall 2022

Professor Hong received his B.S. in Physics from Seoul National University and Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University. He joined UC Davis in 2019 after completing his postdoctoral research at Stanford University and the SLAC national accelerator laboratory. He is interested in helping students to student explore and develop their own careers via the graduate program. In his free time, he spends time with his family and loves to see his kids growing up.

Ryan Gorsiski
Student Services Manager 
3049 Ghausi Hall
chms-gradadvising@ucdavis.edu
530-752-7952

Ryan was born in Petaluma, California and raised in towns around the Bay Area. He is a proud alumni of Sacramento State after transferring from Santa Rosa Junior College. He graduated with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and then with an M.A. in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies. He previously worked as an advisor at Sacramento State’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and as the Undergraduate Programs Coordinator for the Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering Departments at UC Davis. Ryan is passionate to work with Engineering students by providing them with the tools and resources for self-discovery and pursue of their degree. Fun Fact: Ryan owns a one-eyed cat named Odin.

Maria Arellano
Graduate Programs Coordinator 
chms-gradadvising@ucdavis.edu
530-752-6038

Maria was born in Mexico and her family immigrated when she was very young. She grew up in the tiny town of Tulelake in Northern California. Maria is a first-generation college student and proud alumna of UC Davis. She graduated with a double major in International Relations with an emphasis on peace and security and Spanish. Maria is passionate about assisting students in their pursuit, transition, and journey through UC Davis and to provide them with the tools and resources to start and continue their education and careers. Fun fact: Maria traveled to Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2011.