Thomas Darrah

Darrah and his team are focused on three primary areas of research: determining the geological processes that control the migration of fluids (e.g., water, natural gas, oil, carbon dioxide, helium) in the Earth's crust and mantle; developing geochemical techniques that constrain and improve unconventional energy exploration and extraction; and applying traditional isotope geochemistry to evaluate the potential impacts of energy extraction on the environment and human health. Darrah has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, the Petroleum Research Fund and the National Children's Study. At Ohio State, he is establishing the Water, Energy and Life Laboratory (WELL) in the School of Earth Sciences. This facility includes a state-of-the-art noble gas isotope ratio mass spectrometer, gas chromatographs and cryogenic laser ablation ICP-MS instrumentation.

Winston Ho, PhD

College of Engineering
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering

W.S. Winston Ho is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Ohio State. Before teaching, he had 28 years of industrial R&D experience in membranes and separation processes, working for Allied Chemical, Xerox and Exxon, and serving as Senior Vice-President of Technology at Commodore Separation Technologies.  He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, USA in 2002 in recognition of his distinguished contributions to engineering.  A New Jersey Inventor of the Year (1991), Ho holds more than 60 US patents, generally with foreign counterparts, in membranes and separation processes. He received the 2006 Institute Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and he was the 2007 recipient of Clarence G. Gerhold Award, one of the highest honors bestowed to those working on separations. He received the 2012 Lawrence B. Evans Award in Chemical Engineering Practice from AIChE.  In 2014, he was elected to Academia Sinica, the highest form of academic recognition in the Republic of China in Taiwan. He earned his bachelor’s degree from National Taiwan University and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, all in Chemical Engineering.

Naduparambil K. Jacob, PhD

College of Medicine
Department of Radiation Oncology

Naduparambil K. Jacob is an associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology and a member of the Translational Therapeutics program at Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Jacob Laboratory studies radiation biology and biodosimetry and develops strategies to enhance therapeutic gain by early detection and mitigation of normal tissue toxicities in lung cancer patients receiving radiation therapy. Jacob is the lead inventor of four licensed US patents that have become the basis of two start-up companies, including Capture Collective, Inc., that focuses on transitioning the biodosimetry products to the clinic and the market. Currently, Jacob serves as Principal Investigator of $10M federal grants or agreements from Department of Defense (DoD), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA). The blood microRNA biomarker-based radiation biodosimetry technology he originally developed has recently been selected by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate for developing advanced end-to-end diagnostic devices to detect radiation sickness in astronauts on long space missions. Jacob is the senior author of recent publications appearing in leading medical journals such as International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics and Science Translational Medicine. Jacob received his doctorate in Cell Biology from University of Tuebingen, Germany.

Alan Luo, PhD

College of Engineering
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Department of Integrated Systems Engineering

Alan Luo is professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Integrated Systems Engineering. He leads theLightweight Materials and Manufacturing Research Laboratory (LMMRL) and is Director of the Advanced Casting Research Center (ACRC) at Ohio State.He is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), a fellow of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS), Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE), andAmerican Society of Metals (ASM). Prior to joining Ohio State in 2013, Luo was a technical fellow at General Motors Global Research and Development Center with 20 years of industrial experience. An internationally recognized expert in lightweight materials and manufacturing, Luo has served as a technical leader in two National Network for Manufacturing Innovation institutes, The REMADE (Reducing EMbodied-Energy And Decreasing Emissions) Institute and LIFT (Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow) Institute. Luo has 21 patents and more than 340 technical publications on advanced materials and manufacturing. He has received many awards including TMS Bruce Chalmers Award, Light Metals Technology Award and Research to Industrial Practice Award, ACRC Merton Flemings Award for Scientific Achievements, General Motors John Campbell Awards and Charles McCuen Awards, as well as several best paper awards and application awards from TMS, SAE, CALPHAD journal, American Foundry Society (AFS), International Magnesium Association (IMA),and North American Die Casting Association (NADCA).