Graduate Research Highlights

The Department of Chemistry offers a collaborative research environment where graduate students take part in cutting edge research. These highlights showcase the creativity, rigor and impact of our graduate community.

Featured research projects

Designing and characterizing semiconductor–molecular heterostructures for photocatalytic CO2 reduction, with an emphasis on charge-transfer dynamics and band alignment.
2/27/26
Udani Wijethunga
Developing electrolyte additives and studying their influence on the performance of liquid and solid-state rechargeable batteries (Na-ion and Li-ion).
2/27/26
Pratahdeep Gogoi
Structure-guided design and functional characterization of small-molecule inhibitors targeting oncogenic kinases.
2/27/26
Surbhi Chitnis
Exploring porphyrins and tellurium chromophores as catalysts for small molecule activation.
2/27/26
Nayanika Kalita
Designing, synthesizing and analyzing paramagnetic Fe(III) and Co(II)-based macrocyclic complexes and metal-organic polyhedral cages as potential MRI probes, with the aim of improving T1 and paraSHIFT sensitivity for magnetic resonance imaging.
2/27/26
Aruni Dissanayake
Detecting and degrading major contaminants, specifically PFAS. Developing analytical approaches for PFAS detection in water, human blood, and fish using tools like LC-MS/MS, LC-IMS/QToF, ICP-MS, etc.
2/27/26
Mindula Kaumadi Wijayahena
Synthesis of doped-quantum dot/MVO heterostructures and characterization of their photoinduced interfacial charge-transfer dynamics for applications in photocatalytic CO reduction and hydrogen generation.
2/27/26
Karoline Garcia-Pedraza
Density functional theory and crystal structure prediction to explore new materials, as well as establish surface chemistry behavior.
2/27/26
Morgan Redington