B.S. Chemical Engineering, Seoul National University, 2018

Minju received her B.S. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Seoul National University in 2018. As an undergraduate, Minju worked in Prof. Kookheon Char’s group studying inverse-vulcanization of elemental sulfur with a dual-reactive monomer such as Allyl Glycidyl Ether. She also studied the synthesis of sulfur copolymer nanoparticles via interfacial polymerization in water. Minju is currently studying the selective electrochemical oxidation of olefins. Minju is a recipient of the Kwanjeong Educational Foundation scholarship.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016

Nathan received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2016. As an undergraduate, Nathan worked in Dr. Jean-Luc Brédas’ lab studying the electronic and vibrational properties of donor-acceptor molecular crystals using ab initio quantum mechanical computations. He also spent one summer as a process engineering intern for Dow Corning. His current research focuses on developing catalysts which can operate in new architectures for the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide. Nathan is a recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

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B.Eng. Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware, 2016
B.S. Chemistry, University of Delaware, 2016

Nik received a B. Eng. in Chemical Engineering and a B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Delaware in 2016. Nik received a B. Eng. in Chemical Engineering and a B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Delaware in 2016. As an undergraduate, he worked with Dr. Joseph Fox studying catalytic interconversion of tetrazines and dihydrotetrazines. He also spent a summer as a process engineering intern at DuPont. Nik is currently developing new catalysts for electrochemical reduction of nitrogen to ammonia, with the support of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, UC Berkeley, 2016

Aditya received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley in 2016. Aditya received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley in 2016. As an undergraduate, he worked with Prof. Paul Alivisatos on modeling the mechanical properties of polymer-nanocrystal composites, and later on studying the catalytic properties of bimetallic platinum-gallium nanocrystals. Prior to starting his graduate studies, Aditya worked for two years as a Scientific Associate at D. E. Shaw Research. There, he developed high-accuracy force fields for molecular dynamics simulations of protein-ligand complexes. Aditya is co-advised by Prof. Adam Willard and is working on formulating improved models of chemical dynamics at electrode interfaces. His work is supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 2017

Joseph received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University in 2017. Joseph conducted undergraduate research with Professor Matteo Cargnello in the Chemical Engineering department  at Stanford University studying palladium-cerium based heterobimetallic complexes. He used these as controlled precursors for the synthesis of atomically dispersed methane oxidation catalysts. Later, he studied nickel-cobalt bimetallic nanoparticles to reduce coke formation in the dry reforming of methane. Joseph is currently studying the selective electrochemical oxidation of methane to more valuable products such as methanol. Joseph is the recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. In 2019, he was also awarded a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship.

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B.S.E. Chemical Engineering, Princeton University, 2016

Zachary received a B.S.E. from Princeton University in Chemical and Biological Engineering with minors in applications of computing and materials science. As an undergraduate, he worked with Prof. Craig Arnold studying the coupling of mechanics and electrochemistry in lithium ion batteries. He also spent a summer simulating the dispersion of bioagent releases using an emergency preparedness toolkit at Sandia National Laboratories. Zachary currently is studying the electrochemical reduction of nitrogen for ammonia production, with support from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program and an MIT Energy Initiative Fellowship.

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B.S.E. Chemical Engineering, Case Western Reverse University, 2019

Katherine received a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University with minors in Environmental Studies and French. As an undergraduate, she worked in Professor Rohan Akolkar’s lab studying electrochemical reaction kinetics in resistive deep eutectic solvents, and was a Think Energy Fellow. She also spent a summer as an intern in Procter & Gamble’s Feminine Care R&D division. Katherine is currently studying electrocatalytic reduction of nitrogen to ammonia with the support of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Alabama, 2016
B.S. Chemistry, University of Alabama, 2016

Kindle received her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering with majors in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry from the University of Alabama in 2016. She was a member of the Computer-Based Honors Program. As an undergraduate, Kindle worked on the organic synthesis of molecular electronic components with Dr. Stephen Woski and studied heterogeneous catalysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison withProfessor James Dumesic. In graduate school, Kindle has studied the effect of gas impurities on electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction. She is now working on organic electrosynthesis reactions. Kindle is a member of the GSAB and also completed Practice School in Fall of 2017. She is the recipient of the 2018 William C. Rousseau Award in Leadership and Ethics in Chemical Engineering Practice, the 2020 Rock Award, and a 2020 MIT ChemE Individual Citation, honoring her leadership on key issues in our department.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 2017

Joy received a B.S in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University in 2017. As an undergraduate, she worked in Prof. Bruce Clemens’ lab and studied GaAs nanowires coated with protective and catalytic metal oxide layers for solar water splitting applications. She has also spent a summer interning at Shell Oil and a summer interning at Sila Nanotechnologies, a battery materials startup. Joy is now studying molecular complexes for the electroreduction of carbon dioxide. She is an MIT Energy Fellow and a recipient of a Mathworks Engineering Fellowship .

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B.Tech. Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 2020
M.Tech. Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 2020

Simar received her B.Tech + M.Tech (Dual Degree) in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 2020. She has worked with Prof Shantanu Roy (IITD), as a part of her M.Tech thesis, to study hydrodynamics and heat transfer in Corning Advanced Flow Reactors (microreactors). She has also worked as a Research Intern at WashU with Prof Pratim Biswas’s group on characterization of low cost air quality monitors. She is enthusiastic about sustainable technologies and her current research is focused on lithium mediated electrochemical ammonia synthesis.

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B.S. Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019

Trent Weiss received a B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with a minor in Economics from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2019. As an undergraduate, he worked in Dr. Michael Filler’s lab studying selective surface chemistry and polymerization techniques to develop area selective patterning methodologies on nanowires. Trent also spent two summers interning for ExxonMobil at their Baytown Technology Engineering Complex. Before attending graduate school, he spent one year working in ExxonMobil’s Supply Chain Optimization group. There he developed mathematical models to analyze and improve decisions made by schedulers, traders, and refinery coordinators. Trent’s research will focus on the role of blended electrolytes in oxygen atom transfer reactions.

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B.Eng. University of Minnesota, 2020

Sayandeep received a B.Eng in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics for the University of Minnesota in 2020. As an undergraduate, Sayandeep worked with Dr. Alon McCormick focusing on optimizing ammonia separation using silica supported metal halide absorbents. He has also worked with Dr. Qi Zhang and focused on developing inverse optimization techniques for surrogate modelling. Currently, Sayandeep is researching ways to develop sustainable electrochemical processes to generate C-N bonds.

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B.S. National Taiwan University, 2019

Fang-Yu received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University in 2019. As an undergraduate, Fang-Yu worked in Dr. Kuo-Chuan Ho’s lab synthesizing electrocatalysts applied in dye-sensitized solar cells. He also spent six months working as a research assistant in the same group, synthesizing novel organic electrochromic materials. His current research focuses on developing electrochemical reactions to produce acrylic acid.

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B.S. Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, 2010
Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, 2017

Hee Jo received his B.S. and Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Seoul National University. His research interests involve the design and synthesis of nanomaterials for electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices. As a graduate student, Hee Jo developed pyrophosphate-based nanomaterials for sodium-ion batteries under the supervision of Professor Seong-Hyeon Hong. During his postdoctoral research in Professor Dong-Wan Kim’s group at Korea University, Hee Jo developed electrocatalysts for water-splitting. In the Manthiram Lab, Hee Jo is currently focused on the electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction to ammonia.

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B.S. Chemistry, University of California Irvine, 2016
Ph.D. Chemistry, University of California San Diego, 2021

Glen received his B.S. in chemistry from the University of California Irvine (UC Irvine) in 2016. He obtained his PhD in chemistry in 2021 working with Professor Guy Bertrand at UC San Diego. During his PhD, Glen studied how molecular electronic structure governs reactivity through the synthesis and application of low-valent and low-coordinate main-group compounds, like carbenes, phosphinidines, borylenes, aminoboranes, phosphorus ylides, ketenes, and organometallic complexes. Going forward, he will apply these lessons towards electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction.

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Jess is an undergraduate at MIT, majoring in Materials Science and Engineering. She would like to minor in Energy Studies and French. She went to Spackenkill High School and worked in Dr. Hailiang Wang at Yale University for 3 years on bifunctional catalysis for carbon dioxide reduction. She is a Graduate of Distinction, Regeneron Scholar, Dutchess County Science Fair winner, and ISEF fourth place winner.

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Michal was an undergraduate in Chemical Engineering at MIT, minoring in computer science and chemistry. He graduated from high school in Poland having represented his country at the International Chemistry Olympiad twice. Freshman year Michal did research under Prof. Richard Schrock on dinitrogen reduction during his Freshman year and spent a summer at the Shell Technology Center in Bangalore using machine learning in new materials discovery. He worked in the Manthiram Lab for three years on the electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from dinitrogen. Michal was supported by the SuperUROP program at MIT. He is currently a graduate student at Stanford, where he is a Knight-Hennessey Scholar.

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Kelly Wu is an undergraduate majoring in Chemical Engineering at MIT. She graduated from Memorial High School in Madison, Wisconsin, where she spent two summers researching drop-in biofuel synthesis at UW-Madison. At MIT, Kelly is involved in the MIT Energy Club, including as the director of the 2020 EnergyHack. She has previously interned at Acciona and ExxonMobil, and is interested in decarbonizing the electricity and manufacturing sectors. She is currently working on developing models of the chemical industry of the future. Kelly is supported by the SuperUROP program at MIT.

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Alex Liu is an undergraduate at MIT, majoring in Chemical Engineering and pursuing a minor in Atmospheric Chemistry. He graduated from Montgomery High School near Princeton, NJ, and spent a summer working with Dr. Jing Li at Rutgers University on synthesizing luminescent inorganic-organic hybrid materials. He was recognized as a Siemens Competition Regional Finalist for his work. At MIT, Alex developed interest in carbon capture and sequestration technology, conducting projects with Dr. Zachary Smith on synthesizing hybrid membranes for energy-efficient CO₂ separation and modeling transport in polymers with high fractional free volume. He is currently working with Joy to develop a more rigorous statistical framework for fitting kinetic parameters in CO₂ electroreduction.

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B.S. Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University
Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, 2017

Kyoungsuk received his B.S and Ph.D in Materials Science and Engineering from Seoul National University, under the supervision of Professor Ki Tae Nam. During Ph.D course, he developed bio-inspired Mn based water oxidation electrocatalysts and investigated oxygen evolving reaction mechanism. His research in the Manthiram lab focused on the development of new electrocatalysts for oxygen atom insertion reactions. Kyoungsuk completed a Post-Doc in 2020 and is currently an Assistant Professor at Korea University.

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B.S. Chemistry, Lanzhou University
B.Eng. Computer Science, Lanzhou University
M.S. Chemistry, Lanzhou University
Ph.D. Chemistry, Queens University

Dengtao received his BSc in Chemistry, BEng in Computer Science and Master in Chemistry from Lanzhou University, PhD from Queen’s University in 2017 under the supervision of Prof. Suning Wang. His PhD research focused on the transformation of boron (B), nitrogen(N)-heterocycles driven by external stimuli, such as heat, light and excitons in OLEDs. His research in the Manthiram lab focused on organic electrosynthesis to generate chemical feedstocks. Dengtao completed a Post-Doc in 2020 and is currently an Assistant Professor at Northwestern Polytechnical University.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, MIT, 2019

Sierra completed her undergraduate research in the Manthiram Lab in 2019 and is currently a graduate student in Chemical Engineering at UT Austin, working in the Alper Lab.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University, 2011
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Lehigh University, 2017
Postdoctoral Research Associate, MIT, 2018

Minghui obtained his B.S. from Zhejiang University in 2011, and his Ph.D. from Lehigh University in 2017 under the supervision of Prof. Israel E. Wachs. His Ph.D. research focused on in situ/operando spectroscopy study of heterogeneous catalysis for various applications (high temperature water gas shift reaction, selective catalytic reduction of NOx, conversion of ethanol to butadiene, etc.). His research in the Manthiram lab focused on atomically precise catalysts for carbon dioxide reduction. Minghui completed a Post-Doc in 2018 and is currently an Assistant Professor at East China University of Science and Technology.

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PB.S. Chemistry, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2012
Ph.D. Chemistry, Rice University, 2017
Postdoctoral Research Associate, MIT, 2018

Ruquan received his B.S from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (2012), under the supervision of Prof. Ben Zhong Tang, and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Rice University (2017), under the supervision of Prof. James M. Tour. His Ph.D. research focuses on the synthesis of nanomaterials in diverse dimensions, from 0D graphene quantum dots to 3D graphene, and their use in fluorescence and electrochemical reactions. His research in the Manthiram lab focused on electrocatlaysts for alcohol oxidation. Ruquan completed a Post-Doc in 2018 and is currently an Assistant Professor at City University of Hong Kong.

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B.A. Chemistry, Harvard University, 2021

Thu received a B.A. in Chemistry from Harvard University in 2021. As an undergraduate, she worked in Prof. Jarad Mason’s lab and studied the assembly of porous frameworks composed of metal nanocrystals bridged by organic linkers. She has also spent a summer studying the self-assembly of block copolymers using dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) in Prof. Alexander-Katz’s group. Thu is currently studying methods of functionalizing organic molecules with carbon dioxide.

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B.S. Chemistry, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, 2021

Channing received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in 2021. As an undergraduate, she worked with Prof. Ian Tonks on the synthesis and characterization of Ti-based catalysts for making heteroaromatic rings. She also worked as a peer tutor and volunteered for ChemFoundations providing extra help to students struggling with general chemistry. Currently, she is developing proton donors for more efficient lithium-mediated electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen.

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B.S. Chemistry, University of British Columbia, 2020

Chenyu received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia in 2020. As an undergraduate, she worked in Prof. Jennifer Love’s lab and studied carbon-carbon bond formations from Pt(IV) complexes. She presented her research in a poster session at the 102nd Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition in June 2019. She also spent a summer working with Prof. Ian Tonks at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities as a LANDO/NSF fellow to explore the effect of dative directing groups on the regioselectivity of Ti-catalyzed alkyne hydroamination.Chenyu’s current research is focused on electrochemical conversion of aliphatic olefins into oxygenated products, such as ketones, using water as the O-atom source.

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B.S. Mechanical Engineering, ETH Zürich, 2020

Florian did his undergrad in mechanical engineering at ETH Zürich, Switzerland before temporarily joining Climeworks to work in their plant and process engineering teams. During his master’s degree at ETH he did projects in the Electrochemical Energy Systems Laboratory of Prof. Maria Lukatskaya and Energy and Process Systems Engineering Group of Prof. André Bardow. Bacteria and biochemical interfaces have quickly become a passion of his. Here at Caltech, his 6-month research project focuses on bioelectrochemical cell design to study charge transfer from electrodes to bacteria via bacterial nanowires.

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B.S. Engineering Chemistry, Queen’s University, 2017
Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, University of Toronto, 2022

Rachel received her B.A.Sc. in Engineering Chemistry from Queen’s University in 2017. While at Queen’s, Rachel worked with Professor P. Andrew Evans on the development of metal-catalyzed allylic amination reactions. She obtained her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Toronto in 2022 under the supervision of Professor Mark Lautens. Rachel’s graduate research involved the exploration of cyclopropene reactivity in rhodium-catalyzed cyclopropanation reactions. In the Manthiram group, Rachel will be applying her experience in domino chemistry to electrochemical carboxylation reactions.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 2016
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Princeton University, 2021

Wes received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University, where he worked with Professor Daniel Steingart developing a new operando ultrasonic characterization technique for lithium metal batteries. He is currently applying his understanding of battery interphases to lithium-mediated nitrogen reduction as the Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow, before he starts his own group in Sep 2023 as an Assistant Professor at Drexel University.

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Erin is an undergraduate student from the University of Cambridge studying Chemical Engineering via Natural Sciences. Her previous experience includes a summer internship at Imperial College London with Professor Nilay Shah conducting a feasibility study on sustainable fuel sources as an end-of-life option for mosquito nets in collaboration with BASF, as well as a scoping study on the renewable energy capacity of Lao PDR. She has also spent a summer developing a high-resolution P-wave tomographic image of the mantle beneath the Canadian-Alaskan border with Bullard Laboratories at the University of Cambridge. Her summer research project at Caltech focuses on electrolyte engineering for optimal lithium morphology in Li-mediated electrochemical ammonia synthesis.

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B.A. Chemistry, Wesleyan University, 2020

Grace received her B.A. in chemistry from Wesleyan University in 2020. As an undergraduate, she worked with Prof. T. David Westmoreland on the synthesis and characterization of manganese (II)-based MRI contrast agents. She also spent a summer as a WAVE fellow at Caltech working with Prof. Ryan Hadt on investigating the quantum coherence of oxovanadium (IV) and copper (II)-based molecular qubits for quantum information science. Grace is currently studying electrochemical CO₂ reduction in non-aqueous electrolytes and will also be working on studying solid-state proton conductors for electrochemical oxidation of olefins.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of California-Los Angeles, 2021

James received his B.S in Chemical Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles in 2021. As an undergraduate, he was first an NIH Research Fellow and then an Amgen Scholar, working on both the biosynthesis of non-ribosomal peptides and mechanistic studies in the areas of computational biology and organic chemistry. In our group, he’s applying that expertise to a new area: eliminating the dependence of bacteria on expensive sugars by supplying them with electrically-driven energy.

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B.S. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Tech, 2015
Ph.D. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2022

Jason conducted his undergraduate studies at Georgia Tech under Prof. Bill Koros, elucidating the morphology of silica and carbon molecular sieves for gas separations. He then began his graduate studies at UIUC under Prof. David Flaherty in 2016. Here, he conducted fundamental studies into the mechanism of H2O2 formation from H2 and O2 over noble metal nanoparticles, combining reaction engineering, in situ spectroscopy, density functional theory calculations, and comparisons to electrochemical measurements. In the Manthiram Lab, Jason will use similar strategies to design catalytic materials and study the mechanism for the electrochemical oxidation of propylene on both the anode and cathode.

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B.E. Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, 2017
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, 2022

Haochen received his B.E. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2017 and 2022, respectively. While at Tsinghua, Haochen worked on developing efficient catalysts for CO2/CO electroreduction and alkane electrochemical activation employing electrokinetics, DFT calculations, and spectroscopy under the supervision of Professor Qi Lu. Herein the Manthiram Lab, Haochen is currently focused on interfacing electrodes with microbes.

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B.S. Material Science and Engineering, University of Arizona, 2017
Ph.D. Physical Chemistry, University of Notre Dame, 2022

Jeff received his B.S. in Material Science and Engineering from the University of Arizona in 2017, beginning research on the synthesis and assembly of colloidal nanoparticles with Dr. Jeffrey Pyun. He then moved to the University of Notre Dame to complete his PhD with Dr. Prashant Kamat in the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory. There, he utilized spectroscopic and electrochemical methods to study electron/energy transfer interactions in photocatalytic and photovoltaic materials. In the Manthiram Lab, Jeff will be applying advanced microscopy techniques to better understand interactions at the electrode-cell interface for bio-electrocatalysis. Jeff has been awarded the Resnick Pioneer Postdoctoral Fellowship, Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the Chen Postdoctoral Scholar Innovator Grant Award. 

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B.S. Materials Science and Engineering, POSTECH, 2017
M.S. Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST, 2019
Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST, 2023

Gangsan received his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from POSTECH, Republic of Korea, in 2017, and then moved to KAIST to pursue his graduate studies. Under the supervision of Prof. Sang Ouk Kim at KAIST, he began his research on solution-processable 2D materials, including graphene oxide and transition metal carbides (MXenes). He earned his M.S. degree in 2019 with a study on the interfacial adhesion engineering of 2D materials. He continued his Ph.D. study in the same group, expanding his research area to interface engineering of 2D materials and their electrochemical applications. In 2022, he joined the Manthiram lab as a visiting student researcher, where he explored the air-electrolyte interface in lithium mediated electrochemical ammonia synthesis (LiMEAS). After completing his Ph.D. at KAIST with dissertation award honor, he joined the Manthiram group again as a postdoctoral researcher. In the Manthiram lab, he will be applying his expertise in interface engineering and nanomaterials to understand interfaces and improve kinetics in LiMEAS. Gangsan has been awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Washington, 2022
B.S. Mathematics, University of Washington, 2022

Michael received two bachelor’s degrees in Chemical Engineering and Mathematics from the University of Washington in 2022. As a Mary Gates scholar at the University of Washington, he utilized dynamical analysis to accelerate molecular dynamics simulations. He also collaborated with the University of Western Australia to design a new cost-effectiveness metric for wave energy converters. In industry, Michael worked with Boeing to study methods of utilizing recycled carbon fiber for aerospace applications and interned with Phillips 66 as a process engineer. In our group, he is collaborating with John Gregoire’s high-throughput experimentation team to accelerate the discovery of lithium-mediated electrochemical ammonia synthesis processes.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2022

Spencer received a B.A. in Chemical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2022. As an undergraduate, he worked in Prof. Martin Z. Bazant’s lab, studying Multiphase Porous Electrode Theory (MPET) for the simulation of lithium-ion batteries. He has also spent a summer developing green chemistry software in Prof. Klavs F. Jensen’s lab.  Spencer is now studying electrochemical hydroformylation mechanisms through the exploration of substrate, electrolyte, and solvent scopes. He is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. In his free time, Spencer enjoys cooking and painting.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of California-Berkeley, 2022

Anukta received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2022. As an undergraduate, she worked with Prof. John Arnold on the synthesis and computational characterization of novel transition-metal complexes for the purpose of small molecule activation and catalysis. At Berkeley, she was also the President of a student organization ChemE Car, and volunteered as a peer tutor and advisor. Currently, she is developing an aqueous route to synthesize ammonia via a lithium mediated nitrogen reduction reaction.

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B.S. Chemistry, University of Kansas, 2022

Emma received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Kansas in 2022. As an undergraduate, she worked in Prof. James Blakemore’s lab and studied families of rhodium complexes with redox active ligands for hydrogen evolution. As a recipient of the Goldwater Scholarship, she also studied how to tune the redox potential of europium and samarium complexes using Lewis acids. Emma’s current research will focus on catalyst and support design for electrification of thermochemical reactions. Emma is a fellow of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships Program.

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Þorfinnur is an undergraduate student from the University of Iceland studying Chemical Engineering. He has work experience at the Rio Tinto aluminium smelter at Straumsvík Iceland where he worked within the R&D department. Among other things, Þorfinnur initiated an ongoing project to improve the continuous stack emission measurement of metals and sulfur oxides etc. In a separate landmark project Þorfinnur was part of the team that is developing innovative methods to capture CO2 from the relatively dilute smelter emissions for use in one of Iceland’s international renowned projects – Carbfix for sequestration or renewable methanol synthesis from CO2. His summer research project at Caltech focuses on rational catalyst and support design for electrochemical hydroformylation.

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Nuren is an undergraduate student from Mercer University studying Chemistry and Math. At his home institution, Nuren researches how lixiviant mixtures — used to isolate gold in artisanal and small-scale gold mining — solvate other heavy, toxic metals such as Hg, As, and Cd. Additionally, Nuren participated in the WAVE fellows program at Caltech with Professor Nathan Lewis to study efficiency-reducing pinhole defects in GaAs anodes used in solar water-splitting cells. His summer project at Caltech focuses on optimizing and elucidating the mechanism of the electrochemical carboxylation of aryl aldehydes.

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Yamilet is currently pursuing a BS in Chemical Engineering and a certificate in Environmental Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Her ongoing research at UPRM with Prof. David Suleiman studying sulfonated polymer membranes for aqueous urea separations introduced her to the greatness of exploring the unknown in a laboratory. At the 2022 AIChE Annual Student Conference, she presented her summer research performed at the University of Notre Dame on charged membrane functionalization for multivalent ion solutions. Alongside her studies, she eagerly tutors undergraduates on Mass and Energy Balances with UPRM’s local AIChE association, where she also serves as their secretary. At Caltech, she researches thin film electrocatalysts for the epoxidation of olefins by using water as the main oxygen donating atom.

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Brooke is an undergraduate studying Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at UC Berkeley. She works with the Energy Conversion Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to investigate the role of water absorbed in polymers for the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to value-added products. Brooke’s current research at Caltech will focus on scaling and optimizing the epoxidation reaction by designing and 3D printing an electrochemical cell.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, Bucknell University, 2016
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, 2023

Evan is the Manthiram lab’s research scientist, whose work lies at the intersection of electrochemistry, catalysis, biochemistry, and systems biology. He plays a key role in guiding the group’s scientific direction, conceptualizing new research efforts, critically evaluating experimental strategies, and ensuring scientific rigor and creativity throughout the lab’s work.
Evan’s research investigates the electrochemical sensitivity of complex systems, including catalytic interfaces, redox active proteins, and living cells. He is particularly interested in understanding how microscopic, molecular-scale electron transfer events manifest in macroscopic, system-scale function. Leveraging these multi-scale relationships, research efforts aim to design new modes of sensing, control, and catalysis in abiotic and biological settings.
Evan earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Bucknell University, where he studied low-temperature methods for upcycling plastic waste into polymer composites with Dr. Kat Wakabayashi. He completed his Ph.D at the University of Pittsburgh as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, studying hydrogen intercalation and catalysis in metal oxides with Dr. James McKone and Dr. Giannis Mpourmpakis. Before assuming his current role, he completed a postdoc with the Manthiram group at Caltech, where he studied and engineered redox-regulated gene expression.

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B.A. Chemistry and Statistics, Amherst College, 2021

Clara received a B.A. in Chemistry and Statistics from Amherst College in 2021. As an undergraduate, she conducted kinetic and mechanistic studies of titanium catalysts for the ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters in Prof. Christopher Durr’s group. After graduating, she spent two years at the National Institutes of Health with Dr. David Takeda, investigating the epigenetic profiles of plasma cell-free DNA to gain insight into the adaptive molecular landscape of genitourinary malignancies. In our group, Clara is exploring the inorganic-biological interface of extracellular electron transfer in electroactive bacteria. Beyond chemistry, she enjoys hot yoga, exploring flea markets, and hosting dinner parties.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of California-Los Angeles, 2022

After graduating with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, in June 2022, Nicholas traveled to Switzerland to study at École Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (EPFL) in the Energy Science and Technology M.Sc. program. Nicholas is completing his master’s thesis for this program as a visiting student researcher in the Manthiram Lab, where he is researching changes in protein structure as a function of redox potential. Previously, Nicholas conducted research on electrochemical phosphate recovery from wastewater in the Morales-Guio group at UCLA and on glycerol electrooxidation for simultaneous hydrogen and useful chemical production as part of EPFL’s LRESE.

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B.S. Bioengineering, University of California-Berkeley, 2016
Ph.D. Bioengineering, Rice University, 2023

Josh received his B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley. During his time there, he worked in the lab’s of Prof. Liwei Lin and Prof. Michel Maharbiz on 3D printed microfluidics and bioelectronics. After being inspired to go into neural engineering from a summer spent at the University of Washington, he worked at Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) shortly after graduating Cal. He then moved to Houston, TX and began his PhD in Bioengineering in the lab of Prof. Jacob Robinson. With the help of the NSF GRFP, he developed magnetoelectric materials for wireless rice-sized bioelectronics. His work in part laid the foundation for a startup Motif Neurotechnologies. Since finishing his PhD, Josh was selected as a Schmidt Science Fellow, funded by Schmidt Future and the Rhodes Trust, and was awarded the Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship from Caltech, where he is now working on developing living sensors to monitor human health in the labs of Prof. Mikhail Shapiro and Prof. Karthish Manthiram.

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M.S. Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), 2018
Ph.D. Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, 2023

Kalipada completed his Masters Degree at Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad under Prof. Devendra Deo Pathak, developing magnetic iron nanoparticle for multi-component heterogenous catalysis. He then began his Ph.D. studies at IISER Kolkata under Prof. Rahul Banerjee in 2018. Here, he designed different synthetic methodologies for nanotubular organic materials. He further concentrated on the self-assembly, thin film fabrication and chemical rearrangements of these nanotubes. After completing the doctoral degree, he joined the Banerjee lab as Research Associate where he developed metal-free synthetic routes for semiconducting polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.  In the Manthiram Lab, Kalipada will use organic synthetic expertise to design catalytic materials for electrochemical oxidation of olefins and study their mechanism at the electrode interface.

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Alexis is a freshman at Caltech planning on studying Chemical Engineering with a concentration in materials. In high school, Alexis conducted research at the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine. She also helped TA for COSMOS students learning about hydrogen fuel cells and their potential integration with solar panels to provide energy for hydrolysis. Currently, she will be working with Channing on researching heterogeneous nitrogen reduction for a more sustainable ammonia synthesis pathway.

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Dagemawi is an undergraduate at Caltech planning to study chemical engineering and business. He is currently working in the Manthriam lab as a research intern. In his free time, Dag enjoys playing basketball, listening to music, and playing video games. He also likes to play a good game of chess.

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B.S. Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, 2014
Ph.D. Chemistry, Imperial College London, 2020

Ben was awarded his PhD in 2020, working in the group of James Durrant, studying photocatalytic materials for water splitting using transient diffuse reflectance at Imperial College London. Following post-doctoral work developing automated optical spectroscopies for electrochemistry with Prof. Ifan Stephens, Ben was awarded a Schmidt AI in Science Fellow at the iX institute at Imperial College London, working with Prof. Aron Walsh to develop new algorithms to analyse operando spectroscopies In the Mantiram group, Ben is a Lindeman postdoctoral fellow focusing on combining interpretable machine learning algorithms with high throughput operando spectroscopies. Outside of this research, Ben is committed to the development of open-source hardware for spectroscopies, providing his designs at www.opensourcespectroscopy.com.

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B.Tech Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, 2023

Sundar earned his B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 2023. Sundar collaborated with Prof. Niket Kaisare at IIT Madras to develop an efficient catalyst for non-reductive coupling of carbon dioxide and methane, and he worked with Asst. Prof. Jithin John Varghese on DFT calculations to characterize Ceria nanoparticles. Sundar’s current research interests in the Manthiram Lab include electron transfer in enzymes.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, 2019
Ph.D. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California-Berkeley, 2024

Justin received his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at University of California, Berkeley, working with Dr. Adam Weber and Prof. Alexis Bell. At Berkeley, his research focused on the use of continuum-level theory to understand the coupling of transport and catalysis in bipolar ion-conducting polymer membranes, as well as to elucidate the influence of the catalytic microenvironment on the CO2 reduction to value-added chemical products. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University, where he worked in the Esposito Group to fabricate devices that directly convert seawater to hydrogen fuel. In the Manthiram Lab at Caltech, his work centers around developing porous electrode reactors to generate plastics and fertilizer precursors sustainably from air. He is the recipient of the NDSEG, NSF, and Goldwater Fellowships. Justin is also an incoming assistant professor at NYU, where his laboratory will develop electrochemical technologies to valorize waste and perform industrially-relevant chemical syntheses, leveraging multi-scale modeling to better understand their physics.

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B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, 2023

Luis received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez in 2023. As an undergraduate student, he worked on MBV biosensor development in Prof. Camilo Mora’s lab. He also spent a summer at Caltech in Prof. Frances Arnold’s group, working on new-to-nature chemistry involving carbene transferases. At UPRM, Luis was the president of the AIChE student chapter and the safety lead of the ChemE Car team. His current research lies in the intersection between electrochemistry and molecular biology.

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B.S. Mechanical Engineering, EPFL, 2023

Hugo received his B.S in Mechanical Engineering from EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2023.
During his studies at EPFL, he interned at rocket startup Alpha Impulsion, worked on bi-liquid rocket engines and electric pumps at EPFL Rocket Team, on a Direct Air Capture device at EPFL Carbon Team, and was a crew member on an oceanographic expedition in Greenland organized by Sailowtech, a student group he co-founded.
As part of his Master’s degree at EPFL, he is conducting a 6-month research project in the Manthiram Lab, studying protein structures at electrode interfaces.

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B.S.E. Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, 2012
Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 2021

Ana completed her B.S.E in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University in 2012, where she focused on the synthesis of artificial stone under Prof. George W. Scherer. After graduation, she gained industry experience at Polyera Corporation, contributing to the development of wearable, flexible electronics. Driven by a passion for research, she returned to school to pursue her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania under Prof. I-Wei Chen. Her doctoral work focused on understanding voltage-driven degradation in fluorite and perovskite oxides, crucial for enhancing the reliability and lifespan of various electronic devices. Following her Ph.D., Ana joined DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, initially as a postdoctoral researcher investigating Li+ ion-gated neuromorphic transistors. Currently, she is expanding her expertise in lithium-mediated electrochemical ammonia synthesis (LiMEAS) as a visiting member of the Manthiram Lab.

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Joel is an undergraduate at Caltech, majoring in Chemical Engineering in the Materials and Computational Track. In high school, Joel conducted research on electrospun nanofibers, nanodiamond synthesis and single and double network polymers across various universities in Malaysia. Joel is currently studying Cryo-EM imaging of protein structures. 

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Venus is a freshman at Caltech interested in novel engineering and nuclear fusion physics. Throughout high school she studied theoretical astrophysics with dark photon dark matter, led a gravitational wave group, and researched climate policies and technology implementation. In her free time she enjoys playing instruments, skiing and surfing, and photography. Currently, she will be researching the sustainable production of chemical precursors through the use of water, air, and light to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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Kadambari is a Chemical Engineering undergraduate at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay with a minor in Biosciences and Bioengineering. At IIT Bombay, she has worked with Prof. Pramod Wangikar on bioprocess optimization for bioreactor setups. She spends her free time enjoying books, music, and good food. Currently, she is a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow at the Manthiram Lab, working on investigating the electrochemical stability of proteins.

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Anupama Subramanian is an undergraduate chemical engineering student at the University of Texas at Austin. At UT, she works in Dr. Hal Alper’s lab performing research on alkane metabolism in yeast. She has also had the opportunity to work in Dr. Arumugam Manthiram’s lab on cathode development for next generation lithium ion batteries. Here at Caltech, she is an Amgen Scholar working on developing a gas diffusion electrode (GDE) for lithium mediated nitrogen reduction in Dr. Karthish Manthiram’s lab.

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