#  PhD students 

 



 ##  

  expand\_more  

 
  

 

  [### Brandon Chyi

 ](/people/brandon-chyi)

 Brandon is a Ph.D Student in Chemistry and Chemical Biology. He is interested in the interactions between physical structure and chemical composition in materials which give rise to color. Outside of lab he loves to cook and take care of his plants and... 

 

 

      ![Brandon Chyi](/sites/g/files/omnuum4256/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-11/WIN_20241119_04_59_44_Pro.jpg?itok=OUaJ_dVL) 

 

 

 

   [### Ben Hafner

 ](/people/ben-hafner)

 Ben is an incoming PhD student in applied physics, currently working on in-line holographic microscopy of cyanobacteria. He loves Wikipedia rabbit holes, mechanical clocks, and outdoorsy stuff. 

 

 

      ![Ben Hafner headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum4256/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/ben.jpg?h=cc11cc1a&itok=KIUr8EZu) 

 

 

 

   [### Dalilah Mostoslavsky

 ](/people/dalilah-mostoslavsky)

 Dalilah is a graduate student in the Applied Physics department. She is studying interactions between scattering and absorption in structurally colored systems. Dalilah loves baking and horror movies. 

 

 

      ![Dalilah headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum4256/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/IMG_7137.jpg?h=b459a4db&itok=iJkbm3n-) 

 

 

 

   [### Francesca Soddu

 ](/people/francesca-soddu) <msoddu@g.harvard.edu>Graduate Student

 

 

 Francesca is a graduate student in Applied Physics. She studies viral lysis of cyanobacteria. Francesca loves horses and cheese crackers. 

 

 

      ![Francesca](/sites/g/files/omnuum4256/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/manoharan/files/06ddd635-b00c-42a8-a350-48120c71a76e_1_105_c_1.jpeg?itok=lfpSvMz-) 

 

 

 

   [### Angela Tang

 ](/people/angela-tang)

 Angela is a graduate student in Applied Physics. She works on the structural color project. Angela enjoys baking and water sports. 

 

 

      ![Angela picture](/sites/g/files/omnuum4256/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/Screenshot%202025-09-24%20at%2014.56.13.png?h=4fe4d3c6&itok=aL3X-R65) 

 

 

 

   [### Kai Torrens

 ](/people/kai-torrens) [kai\_torrens@g.harvard.edu](mailto:kai_torrens@g.harvard.edu)PhD Student

 

 

 Kai is a PhD student in Physics studying short-range interactions in colloidal and biological systems. Outside his experiments and calculations, Kai likes board games, going to museums, and walking outside. 

 

 

      ![Kai headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum4256/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-01/71079757393__F6305FFA-DC0A-4E93-A64F-EABAB63266F5.jpg?itok=ePoqVI_i) 

 

 

 

   [### Audrey von Raesfeld

 ](/people/audrey-von-raesfeld) <avonraesfeld@g.harvard.edu>Graduate Student

 

 

 Audrey is a PhD candidate in Applied Physics whose research explores the structural color and optical properties of disordered macroporous photonic materials. A central focus of her work has been developing scalable fabrication methods that bring these... 

 

 

      ![audrey_headshot_2025](/sites/g/files/omnuum4256/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-12/251203_headshot.jpg?h=e1454870&itok=WbgQ1AP_)