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The Team

Research team of people.
RostLab, 2024-2025. Back row, left-to-right: John Barber, Gerald Bejger, Dr. Rost, Sarah Muhlenberg, David Medina. Front row, left-to-right: Andrew Titus, Lauren Anderson, William Deary.

Primary Investigator

Christina M. Rost, Ph.D.
Dr. Rost hails from a small town in southwestern Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on understanding atomic-level disorder in materials and its impact on properties. When not in the lab or teaching, Dr. Rost enjoys DIY projects, gaming, hanging out with her husband and the corgis, and travelling.

More about the P.I. here.

Graduate Students

John Barber
John is a Ph.D. student from Barboursville, VA. He earned his B.S. in Physics with minors in Materials Science and Mathematics from James Madison University in 2023. John's project focuses on the synthesis of and integration of thin film oxides for pyroelectric applications. When he's not analyzing data or reading, he enjoys spending time in the gym, in the woods, or on the river.
David Medina
Franky is a graduate student in MSE from Murfreesboro, TN. He received B.S. degrees in Math, Physics and Chemistry from King University in 2024. Franky's research will involve studying the inversion tunability in high entropy spinel oxides. When not in the lab, Franky enjoys wrestling, gaming, and occasionally shooting pool.
Gerald Bejger
Jerry is a Ph.D. student originally from Clearwater, FL. He received a B.S. in Physics from James Madison University in 2023. His current research is on the local structure of high entropy oxides and on metastable phase nucleation in amorphous materials. When not engaging in science, he enjoys relaxing, watching sports, and gaming.
Sarah Muhlenberg
Sarah is an M.Eng. student from Chantilly, VA. She received her B.S. in Physics from George Mason University in December 2019 and previously worked as a Systems Engineer for a DoD contractor. Her interests are in nanofabrication and quantum dots. Her current research is on spinel structure and analysis. Outside the lab, you can find her playing games, going to ren faires, or lounging at home with her cat.

Undergraduate Students

William Deary
William is an undergraduate student raised in Bristow Virginia. He obtained an Associates of Engineering from Northern Virginia Community College. Currently, he's working on high entropy oxide research and exploring relationships between particle size and phase stability. When not researching ceramics, he enjoys climbing them at the New River Gorge but most days you can find him at the climbing gym.
Andrew Titus
Andrew is an undergraduate student in Materials Science and Engineering from Leesburg, Virginia. He is working on the synthesis and integration of thin film oxides for pyroelectric applications. Outside of the lab, Andrew likes learning about animals, playing games, and going to the gym.
Lauren Anderson
Lauren is an engineering freshman from Charlottesville, Virginia. Outside of the lab, she enjoys watching Phineas and Ferb and going on hikes.

Support Staff

Wednesday
Wednesday is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, and older sister of Pugsley. Her interests include alligator rolling on anything she can, begging for treats, destroying toys, judging her brother, and melting hearts. She is a sweet angel baby who never does anything wrong.
Pugsley
Pugsley is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, and younger brother to Wednesday (only by a few minutes). He enhances the emotional well-being of students, faculty, and staff on his visits with Dr. Rost to Holden Hall by demanding all of the love and attention. He enjoys running after balls, begging for treats, cuddles from everyone, and "baroo"-ing.

Former Members

  • Michael Gerhart, B.S. Applied Physics, James Madison University, 2022-2023.
  • Melvin Chicas-Espinoza, B.S. Physics, James Madison University, 2022-2023.
  • John Barber, B.S. Applied Physics, James Madison University, 2021-2023.
  • Gerald Bejger, B.S. Physics, James Madison University, 2021-2023.
  • Tyler Valentine, B.S. Physics, James Madison University, 2021-2022.
  • Daniel Rossi, B.S. Physics, James Madison University, 2021-2022.
  • Kristen Johnson, B.S. Applied Physics, James Madison University, 2021-2022.
  • Gabriela Niculescu, Shenandoah Valley Governor's School & University of Virginia, 2020-2022.
  • Daniel Schmuckler, B.S. Physics, James Madison University, 2019-2021.
  • Zachary Kennedy, B.S. Mathematics, James Madison University, 2019-2020.
  • Andrew Giles, James Madison University, 2019.

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