Aiden Kuhls is a senior undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Merced. With plans to continue his education through graduate study before transitioning to industry, his interests include clean energy generation, electric vehicles, space exploration, and medical technologies.
For over six months, Aiden has been a research assistant at Baykara Lab, where he uses the team’s atomic force microscope (AFM) to image atomic-scale defects of emerging materials. Currently, his research focus involves the characterization of surface defects on MoS2, a thin transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) with promising applications in energy storage, transistor technology, and optoelectronics. Through the VISION PREM program, this work contributes to the shared goal of realizing next generation quantum and photonic technologies.
Outside of academics, Aiden enjoys weightlifting, spending time outdoors, and learning new things.
