CRUS Center Faculty and Staff
Faculty
Swomitra K. Mohanty
Associate Professor, Director of Crus Center
Dr. Mohanty is an assistant professor at the U’s Chemical Engineering and Metallurgical Engineering departments. He has been the lead on developing devices utilizing titanium dioxide for sensing applications, including inexpensive point-of-care sensors for disease detection. Dr. Mohanty is a recognized expert in nanotechnology as well as MEMs (microelectromechanical systems) and bioMEMs (biomedical MEMs). Dr. Mohanty earned his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Staff
Christian Norman
Student Research
My name is Christian Norman, and I am a valley native. I am a class of 2025 Metallurgical Engineering student. I have wanted to pursue this degree and the U for many years and as such am very passionate about metallurgy and science in general. In my free time I enjoy the odd videogame and a card game called Magic the Gathering.
Jeremy Baird
Crus Center Technician
My name is Jeremy Baird. I am a senior here at the University of Utah studying Metallurgical Engineering with a focus on Physical Metallurgy. I grew up ranching buffalo in Arizona. My favorite thing to do is spending time with my wife but when I am not doing that, I enjoy making fine jewelry, welding, blacksmithing, and basically anything associated with working metal.
Kim Watts
Crus Center Manager
Kim has been a member of the Materials Science and Engineering research support staff since 2018 and has a background in Materials Characterization. In addition to managing the Crus Center, she supports department laboratories in both teaching and research capacities.
Previous Faculty
Krista Carlson
Associate Professor, Director of Crus Center
Dr. Carlson is the Director of the Crus Center, and came to the U. from Corning Inc. where as a development scientist, she became the lead on two patents involving the chemical treatment of glass to form anti-glare surface properties.* An assistant professor in the Department of Metallurgical Engineering, she also mentors several Crus Scholars each semester. Dr. Carlson earned her Ph.D. in glass science at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Dr. Carlson is now faculty of University of Nevada - Reno in Chemical and Materials Engineering.
*Corning is a manufacturer of glass, ceramics and related materials, primarily for industrial and scientific applications.
Mano Misra
USTAR Professor, Founder of Crus Center
Dr. Misra is the founder of the Crus Center. He is a professor in the Department of Metallurgical Engineering, where he earned his Ph.D., as well as in the Department of Chemical Engineering. His initial work in titanium dioxide nanotubes is the basis for the NanoSyth point-of-care sensing devices that quickly detect diseases such as tuberculosis. As a student advisor, he works with students who are involved filter development and optimization research projects. Dr. Misra is now faculty of University of Nevada - Reno in Chemical and Materials Engineering.