The Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) continues to strengthen its mission of innovation and discovery by bringing onboard dedicated professionals who streamline operations and connect groundbreaking research with industry. Two recent additions to the team exemplify MRL’s commitment to excellence.
Matthew Lewis joined MRL as an Admin Assistant in the Fall of 2025. As Administrative Assistant III, he supports the laboratory's day-to-day operations, manages the complex calendar of MRL Director and POSCO Professor in Metallurgy C. Cem Tasan, and supports the planning and coordination of major events, including Materials Day.
Matthew’s career is defined by a knack for understanding organizations and finding ways to streamline them. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Event Management (with a minor in theatre) from Fitchburg State University—a unique combination that perfectly paved the way for his professional journey. He spent four years with the Blue Man Group at the Charles Playhouse, climbing the ranks from a seasonal worker to Operations Manager. When theater productions halted during the COVID-19 pandemic, Matthew successfully pivoted to full-time event management, leveraging his experience in concert and convention marketing to land a role with the MIT Alumni Association as an Administrative Assistant II. There, he quickly made an impact by developing a highly efficient system for ordering and tracking major event assets for Tech Reunions and Family Weekend.
Now at MRL, Matthew is already applying his event management experience and innovative mindset to his role. Following his first Materials Day at MRL, he and Director Tasan have begun discussing ideas for reimagining future events.
Matthew enjoys the dynamic environment at MRL. “My job at the MRL is to be consistently flexible with whatever tasks we have at hand,” he says. “Every single week looks different, and that is refreshing. I work with some of the smartest people in the world, and I never take that for granted. It is so cool to be around people who only want to discover and create.”
While Matthew optimizes daily operations and events administration, MRL is also expanding its capacity for external engagement through targeted strategy roles.
Laura Mehrmanesh joined the Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) as an Industry Collaboration Strategist in May. In this role, she will bridge the gap between MIT's cutting-edge academic research and external industry needs. Her primary objective is to help both sides discover opportunities and foster synergistic collaborations.
An interdisciplinary engineer at heart, Laura thrives on solving complex problems by working across disparate fields. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in physics from Bryn Mawr College and a PhD in electrical sciences and computer engineering from Brown University, where her doctoral research focused on the interactions between nanotubes and biomolecules.
Laura brings a proven track record of facilitating technology commercialization across biology, chemistry, nanomaterials, and power systems. Earlier in her career, she served as a technology scout for the defense contractor Textron, where she identified early-stage university and startup innovations-such as advanced nanomaterials and managed seed grants to develop prototypes for aerospace and surveillance applications. Later, at the University of California, she served as a project manager for a major Department of Energy ARPA-E initiative. Over four and a half years, she successfully managed the field deployment and commercialization of advanced power grid sensors, navigating over 100 milestones while balancing relationships between university researchers, government entities, and industry partners.
At the MRL, Laura will analyze active materials science research and align it with external market trends. A core focus of her work will involve collaborating with MRL's new Pilot Centers to match novel discoveries, like light-activated polymers, with pressing industry challenges.
"I would like to help MRL by giving its Pilot Center researchers unexpected, cross-disciplinary examples of how their technology could be used," Laura says, "and I'd like to help industry by bringing their attention to potential solutions already in progress. That's what I think is fun!"
By driving both internal efficiency and vibrant industry partnerships, these new team members support the mission of MRL to serve as a dynamic hub for interdisciplinary research. Ultimately, this ensures that MIT’s world-class research moves seamlessly to real-world applications, meeting global industrial needs and delivering lasting impact.