Skip to content

Clemson University Graduate School

Who We Are

Postdocs have been part of Clemson's research community for over 20 years. To strengthen their experience, Clemson created the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs in 2016. In 2024, the office expanded and rebranded as PEPS, reflecting Clemson's commitment to supporting postdocs and early-career scholars. Today, we connect scholars and faculty through mentorship, training, and collaboration across all disciplines and support over 150 postdocs and early professional scholars.

Get Involved

Listserv

Join the Listserv >>

Linkedin Page

Follow the PEPS LinkedIn Page >>

PEPS Newsletter

Join the PEPS Newsletter >>

PEPS Annual Events

Scholars sitting at a coffee shop and chatting

PEPS Annual Gatherings

The PEPS Annual Gatherings are open to our PEPS and their families at the beginning of the Fall and Spring semesters. It is an event full of fun and fellowship time for our PEPS community.

Annual PEPS Research Symposium Picnic

The PEPS Research Symposium is our annual spring event, where PEPS present their current research and participate in a poster competition.

Postdoc scholar presenting their research poster to their audience
A few people sitting at a coffee shop chatting

PEPS Appreciation Week

PEPS Appreciation Week is every September where we host professional networking and social events to celebrate our PEPS and their contributions to Clemson.

PEPS Advisory Board

The PEPS Advisory Board (PEPSAB) assists with identifying needs and proposing solutions for postdoctoral and early professional scholars at Clemson University. PEPSAB is comprised of appointed PEPS representatives from colleges and facilities statewide, as well as Faculty and Staff supporting PEPS. Additionally, the PEPSAB helps plan and execute activities throughout the year that support individual PEPS professional development, foster community, and contribute to the long-term success of PEPS at Clemson, such as advising on policies to enhance the PEPS experiences at Clemson.

  • Advisory Board Members
    Head-and-shoulders portrait of a smiling person wearing a yellow shirt and black blazer against a plain light background.

    Randi Sims, College of Education

    Dr. Randi Sims earned her Ph.D. in Engineering and Science Education from Clemson University, where she studied the impacts of community integration on undergraduate research students. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the College of Education where she studies the assets possessed by rural transfer students using Quantitative Ethnography.
    Smiling woman with shoulder-length brown hair wearing a maroon sweater against a gray studio backdrop.

    Amy Schuster, CBSHS

    Amy M. Schuster, PhD, MSW, is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Clemson University. Her primary research focuses on technology use and how it relates to physical health, psychosocial, and environmental factors.
    Smiling person in a black suit with a patterned bow tie, standing outdoors by a wooden fence and holding a phone.

    Lander Besabe, College of Science

    Lander Besabe is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at Clemson University, where he works on the development and analysis of finite element methods for fluid-structure interaction problems. His research focuses on the development of robust, accurate, and efficient computational models for complex physical systems, including fluid-structure interaction and geophysical flows, using methods such as filter stabilization techniques and reduced order modeling.
    Studio-style headshot of a person with short light-brown hair and round glasses, smiling against a gray background.

    Kelly Sauskojus, CAH

    Kelly Sauskojus is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Clemson University with interests in rhetoric, technical and professional communication, and first-year writing. During their PhD at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (2019-2024), she helped begin the Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center’s partnership with Flagship high school students, and contributed to numerous local urban agriculture and community garden nonprofits (growing and distributing produce, teaching community classes, organizing volunteers, fundraising, and co-writing over $100,000 in winning grants from a variety of sectors). Today, she's enjoying similar work (supporting local food justice, community grantwriting, and interfaith community organizing) in the Upstate.
    Smiling woman with long, curly dark hair standing outdoors near leafy greenery, wearing a navy top and light cardigan.

    Devi Soman, CAAC

    Devi is a postdoctoral fellow/lecturer with the Richard A. McMahan School of Architecture. She completed her Bachelor and Master of Architecture in India along with a post graduate diploma in hospital and healthcare management and has practiced as a healthcare architect for over a decade. She recently completed her Ph.D. in Design and Built Environment from Clemson University with a focus on architecture and health.
    Smiling woman with long brown hair wearing hoop earrings and a sleeveless patterned top against a light gray background.

    Susana Cerqueira, CECAS

    Susana R. Cerqueira is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering. She holds a Ph.D. in Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine, and Stem Cells from University of Minho, in Portugal. Her research and teaching focus on the pathological mechanisms of neurotrauma, working to develop targeted, cell-specific nanotherapeutics that modulate neuroinflammation and promote neural repair.
    Smiling man in a jacket standing in a wooded area with leafless trees, including a tree marked with red paint.

    Ethan Doherty, College of Science

    Ethan is a postdoctoral scholar in both the Mathematics and Forestry department. As an entomologist and statistician, he is modeling the spread of invasive pests and simulating management scenarios to improve control of these pests and help protect our forests.
    Smiling person wearing round glasses, a gray blazer, and a white shirt against a plain gray background.

    Hao Chen, CECAS

     

    Dr. Hao Chen is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Energy-Economy-Environment (E3) Systems Analysis Group at Clemson University. He earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering and Sciences from Clemson University and holds an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on sustainability and systems analysis for emerging energy and industrial technologies, including life cycle assessment (LCA), techno-economic assessment (TEA), and decision support for energy transition, with current interests in fusion energy systems, advanced manufacturing, and industrial decarbonization.

     
    Head-and-shoulders portrait of a person wearing glasses and a light blue button-up shirt indoors.

    Shuchun Sun, CECAS


    Dr. Shuchun Sun earned his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Clemson University and currently serves as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Clemson University. His research integrates biomechanics, machine learning, and robotics to address challenges in healthcare, human movement analysis, and intelligent biomedical systems.
    Smiling person wearing glasses and a white blazer over a red patterned top, standing outdoors with a blurred green background.

    Vinita Jansari, CECAS

    Vinita Jansari is a Research Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering at Clemson University. She holds a PhD in Computer Science (AI/ML) from Auckland University of Technology, NZ, a Master’s in Management & IT from the University of St Andrews, UK, and a Bachelors in Computer Applications from MSU, India. Vinita is an interdisciplinary researcher, working at the intersection of AI, data science, engineering, and healthcare to develop practical solutions for complex problems in engineering and healthcare. Her work emphasizes creating reliable and adaptable AI systems to improve quality and efficiency in production environments. Before academia, she worked as a software developer in London for six years. Vinita has collaborated with manufacturing companies on projects applying machine learning to quality inspection and predictive maintenance. She aims to leverage her interdisciplinary research and industry partnerships to drive innovation and solve real-world challenges in industrial settings.
    Head-and-shoulders portrait of a woman with dark hair pulled back, wearing a white floral button-up shirt against a light background.

    Sonika Kumar, CAFLS

    Dr. Sonika Kumar earned her Ph.D. in Genetics and Plant Breeding, with a minor in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, in India and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences within the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences. Her research focuses on developing efficient plant regeneration and transformation systems, resulting in the identification of key morphogenic genes and the development of genotype-independent regeneration platforms through somatic embryogenesis for crops such as cotton, cucumber, peach, and pigweed.
    Scientist wearing pink safety glasses and blue gloves examines a metal apparatus in a laboratory.

    Sriparna Bhattacharya, College of Science

    Sriparna Bhattacharya is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and a Faculty Scholar at the School of Health Research at Clemson University. Her research interests include energy generation, harvesting, and energy storage, as well as chemical imaging for biomedical applications. She enjoys the outdoors, gardening and volunteering at animal shelters.
    Portrait of a woman with long brown hair wearing a black short-sleeve top, standing outdoors with trees in soft focus behind her.

    Hrishita Negi, CAFLS

    Dr. Hrishita Negi is Associate Director of Tigers United© at Clemson University, a university-led, science-based, and community-driven initiative focused on protecting wild tigers and supporting rural communities who share space with them. She earned her Ph.D. from Clemson University, where her research examined human-tiger coexistence in the Kanha-Pench Corridor of Central India by integrating human dimensions with ecological knowledge in a human-dominated, multi-use landscape. Her work also incorporates capacity building, education, technology-enabled human-wildlife conflict mitigation, and international partnerships, including prior roles with WWF-India and the Global Tiger Forum and research collaboration with RESOLVE on the TrailGuard AI camera-system deployment in tiger range areas.
    Portrait of a person wearing round glasses and a blue sweater over a white collared shirt, standing outdoors with blurred green trees in the background.

    Mengqi Zhang, College of Business

    Mengqi Zhang is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Media Forensics Hub and the Department of Marketing at Clemson University. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2025. His research focuses on microeconomic theory, particularly information design and mechanism design, and their applications to markets and other decision-making environments.