Thomas B.H. Schroeder, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Textile Engineering, Chemistry, and Science
North Carolina State University

schroeder (at) ncsu (dot) edu | ORCID | Google Scholar | NCSU bio | pronounce my name

Previous degrees and appointments:

• Postdoctoral Fellow/Research Associate in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering, Harvard University (advisor: Joanna Aizenberg)
• Chercheur Junior/Senior in Biophysics, Mayer group, Adolphe Merkle Institute (Fribourg, Switzerland; advisor: Michael Mayer)
• Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan
  (awarded Dec 2017; advisor: Michael Mayer)
• M.S.E. in Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan
  (awarded May 2014; advisor: Michael Mayer)
• B.A. in Chemistry, Northwestern University
  (awarded June 2012; advisor: Karl Scheidt)

Mohammed Kayes Patoary

mpatoar (at) ncsu (dot) edu | Google Scholar

Kayes obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Textile Engineering from City University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and his Master’s degree in Textile Engineering from Donghua University in Shanghai, China. He began his Ph.D. studies at North Carolina State University in Fiber and Polymer Science in fall 2022. He is currently conducting research under the supervision of Professor Schroeder on mineralization of biopolymers, crystal growth, bioinspired materials, etc.

Kawsar Ahmed

mahmed8 (at) ncsu (dot) edu

Kawsar completed his BS in Textile Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh. During his BS, he studied self-cleaning activity of TiO₂ nanoparticle coated textile fabric and their effect on durability during laundering. After that, he went on to Bilkent University, Turkey for his MS in Materials Science and Nanotechnology. His MS research focused on improving the mechanical and chemical properties of glass fibers for high performance composites applications. He joined NC State University in the Fall 2023 for Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science. He likes to make new friends and likes to know about their culture. During the weekend, he is most probably in the kitchen making his favorite dishes.

Leo Yi-ming Yuan

yyuan28 (at) ncsu (dot) edu | Google Scholar | ResearchGate

Leo Yi-ming Yuan obtained his bachelor’s degree under supervision of Prof. Min Wang in Microelectronics Science and Engineering in School of Microelectronics, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Jul 2022. From Jul. 2022 to Dec. 2023, he had been working as a research assistant under supervision of Prof. Canhui Yang in the Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, SUSTech. He recently finished an M.S. in Textile Engineering and is currently a Ph.D. student in Fiber and Polymer Science under supervision of Prof. Thomas B.H. Schroeder in Wilson College of Textiles, North Carolina State University. His current research interests include flexible ionotronic devices and phase change materials.

Leo is keen on Japanese ACG culture (especially the corresponding music). He enjoys watching videos of professional snooker players.

Direselgn (Kira) Semanie

dmsemani (at) ncsu (dot) edu | Google Scholar | ResearchGate

Kira earned his Bachelor’s degree in Textile Engineering from Bahir Dar University in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia in 2021, and his Master’s degree in Textile Engineering from Donghua University in Shanghai, China in 2024. His master’s research focused on the fabrication and characterization of a hydrothermal responsive fabric from microcrystalline cellulose-reinforced shape memory polyurethane filament.
He joined North Carolina State University as a PhD student in Fiber and Polymer Science in Fall 2025. He is currently conducting research under the supervision of Prof. Thomas B.H. Schroeder, Prof. Xiaomeng Fang, and Prof. Jessica Gluck on corneal tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, 3D printing, osteogenic differentiation, biomedical textiles, and other related areas.

Kira is interested in the Chinese language and Korean sports such as Taekwondo. He also enjoys watching football (soccer) matches.

Jake Brodnitzki

Yini Xu

Eli Halperin-Pierce

Nicole Nguyen

Kiersten Baumgartner