Makhsud is a Canada Research Chair Tier II in Advanced Functional Materials, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Victoria. Prior to this position, he was a Banting PDF at the University of Toronto (2017-2019), a Visiting Scholar at MIT (April-July 2018), and a PDF at KAUST (2014-2016). Grown-up in Tajikistan, he received his Ph.D. from Lomonosov Moscow University (2013). Makhsud was named Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics (2021-2024) and Rising Star of Science by Research.com (2022-2024). He authored 150+ publications in peer-reviewed journals which were cited 25k+ times with an h-index of 70. Makhsud serves as an Associate Editor for ACS Photonics.

Google Scholar LinkedIn Research Gate Email: msaidaminov(at)uvic.ca

Sergey joined the group as a Research Director in April 2023. Prior to this position, he was a Senior Scientist at a commercial company (2020-2023), and a PDF at Queen’s University (2021-2023), as well as a PDF at the University of Calgary (2016-2021). He received his Ph.D. in laser physics and solid-state physics from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPI) in 2015. Currently, he is focusing on the development of cutting-edge solar cells and X-ray detectors.

LinkedIn

Emily joined the group as a PDF in 2024. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Alberta with a focus on the optoelectronic properties of silicon quantum dots. Her current research interest is developing Sn-based perovskites.  

LinkedIn

Amin joined the Saidaminov Lab as a PDF in 2025. He received his M.Sc. in Semiconductor Technology from the University of Tehran, where he worked on the development of flexible energy storage devices. He later earned his PhD in Engineering Science from Simon Fraser University (SFU), focusing on novel 2D materials-based device architectures for optoelectronic applications. Amin is passionate about advancing functional materials for sustainable energy and sensing technologies. 

LinkedIn

Aleksandra Gracheva is a Group Admin Assistant (Research Associate) at the University of Victoria, The Department of Chemistry. She graduated from National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) with a degree in Applied Mathematics. When she got her degree, she started to work for IT company related to implementing SAP software products on enterprises such as Mosgortrans and Moscow Metro. She is dedicated to her job and open-minded, and right now she is working in Saidaminov’s group.

Vishal received his B.Tech. in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India (2015), and his M.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering from Oklahoma State University, Tulsa, U.S.A. (2019). During his Master’s, he worked on perovskite and organic optoelectronic devices for near-infrared detection.

Google Scholar LinkedIn

Awais received his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan (2015) and his M.Sc. in Renewable Energy Engineering from the University of Science and Technology (KIER), Daejeon, South Korea (2020). During his Master’s, he worked on flexible CIGS thin-film solar cells. He currently has an interest in stabilizing the perovskite solar cells for industrialization.

GoogleScholar LinkedIn

Parinaz received her B.Sc in Electrical Engineering from IK international University in Iran and earned her M.Sc in Micro and Nano Electric Devices from TMU. During her Master’s thesis, she worked on Perovskite materials, particularly on their applications in light-emitting diodes. She is currently interested in light-matter interaction, and will start her Ph.D. in Fall 2021.

LinkedIn

Mohammad Reza received his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Bu-Ali Sina University, and his M.Sc. in Applied Design Mechanical Engineering from IK International University. He is an expert in the experimental and numerical analysis of severe plastic deformations on FCC metals at high strain rates and at cryogenic temperatures. His research focuses on the microstructural and mechanical property evolution of solar cell materials.

LinkedIn

Yameen Ahmed received B.Sc. in Physics from Hazara University Mansehra, Pakistan (2018) and M.Sc. in Optical Engineering from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, China (2020). During his B.Sc and Master’s, he worked on the green synthesis of nanoparticles and the fabrication of flexible perovskite solar cells.

LinkedIn

Víctor received BSc degrees in Telecommunications Engineering and Engineering Physics from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) in 2021 and the MSc degree in Physics from ETH Zurich in June 2023. He begun his doctoral studies with the group in September 2023. He is interested in perovskite tandem solar cells, given their important role in the ongoing energy transition.

LinkedIn

Augusto Amaro is a PhD student from Brazil. He did his undergraduate studies in Materials Technology with research on materials for OLED devices, and his M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering researching materials for photonics. Currently, his PhD focus on the atomic layer deposition process.

LinkedIn 

Wanlong received his master’s degree from Henan University in 2023. His current research focuses on the fabrication of large-area, high-quality perovskite solar cells.

Xingnan received his master's degree from Capital Normal University in 2020, then worked as a Research Assistant at Southern University of Science and Technology. He is currently a PhD student in the Department of ECE. Currently, he is focusing on the FAPbI3 single crystal Perovskite solar cells.

Sam received his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Victoria. He is currently working on the atomic layer deposition of ceramic oxides.

LinkedIn

Antoine received his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Victoria. During his undergraduate, he worked on integrating single crystals onto devices for x-ray detection. He is currently a MSc student and continues his journey on researching single crystal integration. He is interested in achieving reproducible high sensitivity X-ray detectors to improve the safety of commercial medical imaging devices.

Nicholas received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Victoria in 2023. His research focuses on the use of computer vision for characterizing perovskite crystal growth processes, and on the development of electronic systems to leverage the unique properties of perovskite single crystals.  

LinkedIn

Thomas is an undergraduate student majoring in chemistry at the University of Victoria. He joined the group in January 2024, and is currently working on the fabrication and optimization of single crystal perovskite X-ray detectors.

LinkedIn