Banashree Gogoi – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Bill Petuskey/Terry Alford
Processes and Properties Refinement of Photovoltaic Hybrid Perovskites and Their Integration into Solar Cells
“Banashree’s time as a graduate student in both Profs. Alford’s and Petuskey’s laboratories was a model of confidence, maturity and leadership among her colleagues. This was particularly amplified by the trust that people placed in her due to her pleasant demeanor and reliability. Her research on the chemical and microstructural refining of hybrid perovskite thin films has led to the improved performance of next generation photovoltaic devices.” -Bill Petuskey and Terry Alford
Minxi Hu – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Quan Qing
Electric Field Modulation of Cells: From Signaling Pathway to Physiological Behaviors
“Minxi is a dedicated researcher who explored the interdisciplinary field of physics and biology. She investigated the interesting coupling and rich dynamics between alternating electric fields and membrane-initiated cell signaling pathways. Her work establishes a new way to precisely control the amplitude and frequency of cell signaling pathways at single-cell level for re-programming cell behaviors and fate. We want to thank her for years of hard work and congratulate her on her graduation.” -Quan Qing
Hao Liu – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Petr Sulc/Hao Yan
Programming Nucleic Acid Systems through Computation Design: from Dynamic Reaction to Complex Self Assembly
“Hao Liu was an extremely talented and hardworking member of Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, and one of the very few students who was able to successfully combine computer modeling skills with carrying out the experiments as well. He contributed to three theoretical papers with his modeling, and was leading two major experimental studies, One studied the kinetics of DNA and RNA strand exchange reaction, a fundamental principle in active nanotechnology. His second project, by far the most impressive, was realization of tetrastack lattice using DNA nanotechnology. It was first time ever that such structure was realized at nanoscale, and has significant implications for creation of optical metamaterials. Hao carried the whole project himself, mastering all the difficult experimental techniques along the way, and it was only through his determination and persistence that it was eventually successful” – Petr Sulc
Sohini Mukherjee – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Stuart Lindsay
Single Molecule Protein Conductance Measurements: Novel Methods of Experimental Data Analysis
“Sohini helped the group launch a new program in protein electronics – using measurements of the electronic conductivity of a single protein molecule to monitor its fluctuations. These signals are stochastic and, of course, entirely new in character, so Sohini had to develop statistical analysis packages from the ground up. She also diagnosed a significant source of error in scanning tunneling microscope signals from single molecules, and put together the code to eliminate it. As a grand finale, there was a campus-wide internet outage just as she started to defend her thesis (with two of her committee members being remote). She showed remarkable composure as we looked for a spot with a data connection and continued using phone data. She got through the presentation on time and with aplomb!” -Stuart Lindsay
Thai Pham – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Jia Guo
Highly Sensitive and Multiplexed Single Cell In-situ Protein Imaging with Cleavable Fluorescent Probes
“Thai is a dedicated, talented and creative scientist. He has developed several generations of spatial proteomics technologies, which has orders of magnitude higher sensitivities than other existing methods. As a result, his method is so far the most reliable and robust approach for multiplexed protein imaging in patient samples. His contribution to the field has a great impact on our ability to understand complex diseases and to stratify patients for precision medicine.” -Jia Guo
Shaun Sutton – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Scott Sayres
Interactions Between Formic Acid Clusters and Femtosecond Light Pulse(s)
“Shaun has developed into a very talented experimental ultrafast laser spectroscopist. He made several discoveries related to atmospheric chemistry, including the first ever experimental detection of the CO trication, which challenges our notions of the chemical bond. His work on the ultrafast dynamics in formic acid clusters has resolved a long-standing debate about the mechanism for double proton transfer and has broad application to both biological systems and acid/base chemistry. Congratulations Shaun!” -Scott Sayres
Yue Tang – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Hao Yan
Rational Design and Application of DNA Origami Tessellation
“’Science is beautiful!’ This is a comment from one of the reviewers of JACS manuscript we submitted with Yue as a First Author. Yue’s diligence and dedication truly demonstrated the beauty of using DNA origami to create tessellation tiling patterns.” -Hao Yan
Johanna Vandenbrande – Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Tim Long
Refining and Designing Photoactive Polyimide Precursors for Additive Manufacturing
“Johanna has pioneered the design of nanoporous polyimides with the synthesis of diamine macromonomers of poly(ethylene oxide) that upon pyrolysis lead to the formation of porous structures. These discoveries have resulted in low density printed objects with superior mechanical performance and thermal resistance for harsh environments. Johanna also uncovered fundamental understanding in the base catalysis of imidization reactions, thus leading to lower temperature processes that avoid concurrent degradation pathways.” -Tim Long
Cody Weyhrich– Chemistry PhD
Mentor: Tim Long
3D Printing of Fully Aromatic High-Performance Polymers: Considerations for Advanced Manufacturing Techniques
“Cody pioneered a new direction in the 3D printing of polyimides coupled with fundamental understanding of the Michael reaction in the design of photo-reactive precursors. This research has resulted in new families of printed polyimides with all-aromatic structure that has remained unattainable until his discovery of new families of photo-reactive polyimide precursors. His latest research has culminated with the discovery of printing three-dimensional carbonaceous objects with micron scale resolution from water to provide next generation catalysts, electrodes, and purification membranes.” -Tim Long
Janellekate Gomez – Chemistry MS
Mentors: Shirly Montero/Pierre Herckes
Analysis of Retroreflective Glass Beads in Soil Samples for Forensic Investigations
“Janelle's interest in forensic sciences led her to increase our understanding of the prevalence and spatial distribution in soil evidence of the retro-reflective glass beads used for road markings. Janelle's results supported the hypothesis that the concentration of these beads in soil samples, as well as their chemical composition can be discriminating features for evidence taken at different locations. She has been a constant presence in our lab since she was an undergraduate and she will be missed.” -Shirly Montero