Our group has plenty to be proud of after a number of milestones were reached this past month.
Andrew Ruttinger kicked off the month by passing his admission to candidacy exam (A exam) at Cornell University. During his presentation he highlighted his previous work on uncovering the reaction mechanism of quantum dot synthesis, controlling the kinetics of the thiol-Michael addition, and predicting optimal extractants for lithium in geothermal brine. Then, with the skills he developed in hand, Andrew went on to give an in-depth outline for his upcoming thesis project on understanding the assembly of capsule materials around phase change materials for improved thermal energy storage.
This first achievement was followed up by 3 successful MS thesis defenses. First, Seun Romiluyi gave a convincing talk on his insight into iodoplumbate complexes in metal halide perovskite solutions. Next, Aaron showed his mastery of his research through his discussion of engineering solvents in small-molecule organic semiconductors. Lastly, Meng showed his significant progress on modelling Covalent Organic Framework (COF) materials and their ability to separate materials, using the uptake a dyes in the COF as a case study. Both Seun and Aaron will rejoin the group as Ph.D. students at Johns Hopkins University, continuing their work in their respective research areas.
Please join us in congratulating these students on their well-deserved successes!
Andrew Ruttinger 
Aaron Chen 
Meng Min 
Seun Romiluyi