Elaheh Ahmadi
Ahmadi’s research is focused on design, fabrication and characterization of novel (ultra)wide bandgap materials and devices for high power and high frequency applications as well as quantum applications. Ahmadi joined UCSB as an Associate Professor in 2025. Prior to that, she was an Associate Professor at UCLA (2023-2025), and an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan (2018-2023). She has received several awards, including the Young Investigator Award in 2020 from both the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. In 2021, she received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award and DARPA Young Faculty Award. She also received the International Symposium on Compound Semiconductors Young Scientist Award. Very recently, she received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers. Ahmadi was a postdoctoral researcher at UC Santa Barbara prior to her faculty appointment at the University of Michigan. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the Sharif University of Technology in Iran. In 2015, she received her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from UC Santa Barbara.
Ph.D Students
Ph.D.
Sorena Shadzinavaz
Sorena received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Iran and completed his M.S. in Electrical Engineering at UCLA in 2025. He has held research internships at École Polytechnique in Paris and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research focuses on semiconductor device fabrication and characterization.
Ph.D.
Oguz Odabasi
Oguz received his dual bachelor’s degree in both Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering and MS degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Bilkent University in 2018 and 2021, respectively. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCLA and his research is focused on Fabrication and characterization of N-polar high electron mobility transistors. He joined the group in the Fall of 2021.
Ph.D.
Sunil Choudhary
Sunil Choudhary earned his B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in 2021, and completed his M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at UCLA in 2025. His research centers on the epitaxial growth and characterization of nitrides. Outside the lab, he enjoys hiking, playing tennis, and spending time at the beach.
Ph.D.
Navid Kafi
Navid received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Physics from the Humboldt University of Berlin in Germany. He started his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCLA in 2024 before transferring to UCSB in 2025. His research is focused on the MBE growth and characterization of ferroelectric Nitride films.
Ph.D.
Harsh Rana
Received his BS degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Ohio State University in 2022 and received his MS degree from UCLA in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCSB and his research is focused on Fabrication and Characterization of N-polar high electron mobility transistors. He joined the group in the Fall of 2022.
Ph.D.
Tahmid Sami Rahman
Received his BS from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and MS in ECE from the University of Maryland, College Park. He joined the group as a research and development engineer. His research is focused on molecular beam epitaxy growth and characterization of nitride films. He joined the group in Winter 2024
Ph.D.
Stefan Kosanovic
received his BS degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Ohio State University in 2020 and his MS from the University of Michigan in 2022. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCSB and his research is focused on Fabrication and characterization of nitride-based transistors. He joined the group in the Fall of 2021.
Ph.D.
Aroni Ghosh
Aroni Ghosh received her BS in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in 2023. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCSB, and her research focuses on fabrication and characterization of high electron mobility transistors. She joined the group in Fall 2025.