David Ciota – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Don Seo
New Synthesis of Low-Dimensional Metal Oxide Hybrids Through Destructive Exfoliation
David is a tremendously talented materials chemist, with a great personal integrity. He spearheaded our group’s discoveries of new soft chemistry of early transition metal oxides in organic solvents. We owe him deeply, as he has clarified all the confusing observations and misinterpretations of previous results, with his acute and critical analysis of experimental data and also with his creative mindsets. We expect his great career in his new position at ASM International. – Don Seo
Samantha Donovan – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Pierre Herckes
Investigation of Chloramination and its Contribution to N-Nitrosodimethylamine Formation in Drinking Water and the Atmosphere
Samantha showed great persistence and dedication during her Ph.D. Her research on nitrosamines in water and atmosphere provided new mechanistic insights on their formation. The insights gained from her research on the formation of carcinogenic disinfection byproducts, from process chemicals used during drinking water treatment, informed possible approaches to mitigate their formation. Her work found an immediate and receptive audience in the collaborating industrial partners. – Pierre Herckes
Subhadeep Dutta – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Jeff Yarger
Polymeric Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications Related to Human Health
Subhadeep was a dedicated researcher and teaching assistant who worked on a diverse range of molecular science projects at the interface of biochemistry and biomedical engineering. His research of polymeric biomaterials towards human health led to numerous biomedical applications in areas of radiation dosimetry and pharmaceutical and gene delivery systems. He worked at the intersection of fundamental molecular sciences and biomedical engineering, and skillfully showed the immediate application of fundamental chemistry and biochemistry in his research projects and publications. – Jeff Yarger
Angela Edwards – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Jeff Yarger
Molecular Structure and Dynamics in Amorphous Pharmaceuticals and Biopolymers
Angela was a diligent and resilient researcher and teacher who’s diverse range of knowledge across the molecular sciences is truly inspiring. She has completed research projects on such a broad range of topics including nucleic acids, protein based biopolymers, ionic liquids, and molecular pharmaceuticals. She was also a dedicated molecular sciences instructor and helped develop biophysical chemistry online courses. Her contributions to both research and teaching will be felt for years to come and much of her research will continue to be published over the next year or more. – Jeff Yarger
Donald Glaser – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Hilairy Hartnett
The Habitability of Hyperarid Environments: The Physico-Chemical Dynamics of Water in Extremely Water-Limited Systems
Donny is a true interdisciplinarian – he is firmly grounded in the molecular sciences and is not afraid to examine the detailed mechanistic connections between the chemical, biological, and geological parts of his experimental system. His work exploring the physico-chemical interactions between water and soils in the hyper-arid Atacama desert provide a new understanding of the active reservoirs of water in very dry places and have implications for water on Mars and the Moon. His good humor, creativity, and all-around MacGyver skills will be sorely missed! – Hilairy Hartnett
Lauren Heald – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Scott Sayres
Ultrafast Dynamics of Excited States of Molecules and Clusters
As one of the first students in the Sayres’ group, Lauren established new research directions by constructing an instrument to measure electron dynamics in small molecules and clusters following photoexcitation. Her thesis revealed how the charge transfer mechanism and the excited state properties of titanium oxide clusters change upon the addition and subtraction of every atom. Using ultrafast spectroscopy she demonstrated the formation of a unique ion-pair state is achieved in bromo-alkanes through the relaxation of a photoexcited Rydberg state within ~10 picoseconds. She has been a leader in the group and we are excited to follow her impactful scientific discoveries as a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. – Scott Sayres
Nilojan Jehanathan – Biochemistry PhD
Mentor: Chad Borges
Assays to Forensically Assess Exposure of Plasma and Serum to Thawed Conditions
Nilo is a skilled laboratorian with a unique ability to make things work. Among his many accomplishments, he succeeded in converting a mass spectrometry-based test of archived blood plasma/serum integrity to a plate reader-based format which made it much more widely accessible to the biomedical research community. Nilo’s exceptional politeness, work ethic, and generosity with his time have made him an absolute pleasure to work with and an invaluable member of the lab. – Chad Borges
Kayla Merker – Chemistry MS
Mentor: Kyle Biegasiewicz
Biocatalytic Halocyclization of Amides Enables By Vanadium Haloperoxidases
Kayla's research efforts in the Biegasiewicz Lab featured the establishment of a new-to-nature reaction for vanadium haloperoxidases in the context of a selective halooxycyclization between amides and olefins. Her work has opened an entirely new direction in the group and has already served as a launch point for numerous efforts in the group. Kayla's diligence and determination made all of this possible and she will always hold a special place in the Biegasiewicz Lab as one of the original cast members! – Kyle Biegasiewicz
Thu Thao Nguyen – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: – Ryan Trovitch
Development of Homogeneous Manganese Catalysts for Organic Transformations and Polymerizations
Thao redefined aminosilane synthesis while gaining the attention of government agencies and corporate partners. Her development of an Earth-abundant metal catalyst for the synthesis of chemical vapor deposition precursors and preceramic polymers is a significant improvement over current methods that rely on chlorosilanes. In other words, she has offered the world a sustainable route to semiconductor coatings. Thao’s leadership and experimental expertise will bring her success throughout her career as an industry scientist. – Ryan Trovitch
Jonah Procyk – Chemistry PhD
Mentors: Petr Sulc and Nicholas Stephanopoulosn
Computational Analysis & Design of Biopolymers
Jonah is a hardworking student, able to balance multiple different disparate projects. He worked on designing a new simulation model to handle DNA-protein hybrid nanostructures, and helped develop online design tool for these types of nanostructures. Simultaneously, Jonah developed new machine learning models to design novel DNA sequences that will bind to a target protein. He then tested the model prediction experimentally. Jonah's PhD work required skills as diverse as training machine learning models, programming GPU-optimized molecular simulations code, and running gels to test binding to a protein, sometimes performing all of these tasks all within one day. He has demonstrated truly versatile set of skills and ability to make original scientific contributions. – Petr Sulc