Principal Investigator
Roger Tipton, PhD
Research Associate Professor
Dr. Roger Tipton is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC), where he leads the Performance Materials Lab (PML). He seamlessly integrates decades of diverse industry leadership with rigorous academic research and teaching.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science
Sustainable Materials – Clean Water – Thin Films – Composites
Doctoral Students
Md Shah Nawaz Arafin
Ph.D. Student (2024 – Present)
He obtained his B.Sc. from the prestigious Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), where his research focused on computational fluid mechanics (CFD), solid mechanics, and instrumentation.
When he’s not in the lab, Arafin enjoys hitting the open road for scenic adventures. He’s also a big fan of the beautiful game – soccer!
Masters Students
Maxwel Sommer
Masters Student (2026 – Present)
Max is an early entry master student working on the next generation of biocomposite materials.
Undergraduate Students
Paul Travers
Undergraduate Research Associate
Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science
John Tran
Undergraduate Research Associate
Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science
Alumni
Masters Students
- Md Shah Nawaz Arafin, M.S. 2025 – Bioconcentration of PFAS from trans Arctic locations
Undergraduate Students
- Ava Parks, B.S. 2028 UNC Chapel Hill – Flexible Wearable Sensors
- Shrushti Gandas, B.S. 2027 – Wearable Flexible Sensors for Injury Prevention and Performance Management
- Samual Phillips, B.S. 2026 – Using Data Science to Model Oceanic Microplastic Transport
- Bhagavana Mehul Jammannagari, B.S. 2026 – Cellulose Composite Material Adhesion
- Madhava Aditya Bharadwaj Pinapati, B.S. 2026 – Enhancing the Strength and Sustainability of Olefin Plastics Using Cellulose Fibers
- Franck Banuani, B.S. 2025 – Global Microplastic Pollution
- Tejashri Panchal, B.S. 2025 – Using Data Science to Model Oceanic Microplastic Transport
- Spencer Carpentier, B.S. 2025 – Flexible Wearable Sensors
- Moreno Briceno, S. B.S. 2025 Georgia Tech – Low Surface Energy Ceramic Coatings – PEMEX
- Jackson Maynor, B.S. 2025 University of Georgia – Thin Film Ceramic Coatings Materials – Hyak Motorsports