U of A Students

I am originally from Vancouver, British Columbia and I completed my B.Sc. in Chemistry at the University of British Columbia in 2018. The University of Alberta hosts some of the field leading faculty in materials science and I’ve since moved to Edmonton to join the Veinot group. I’m interested in developing silicon nanoparticles as materials for alternative ion-based battery anodes and metamaterials. I enjoy traveling, board games and playing ice hockey on the Chemistry Graduate Student team.

Email: kmoconno[at]ualberta.ca

I grew up in Macau SAR, China and completed my bachelors degree at the University of Alberta. I am continuing my graduate studies in the Veinot group (joined Sept 2018) because of the great people and the accessible resources (e.g. NanoFab, ATUMS, etc.). I am interested in studying applications of nanomaterial hybrids. When not in the lab, I enjoy cooking with friends and traveling to learn about different cultures.

Email: iteng[at]ualberta.ca

I was born in Changsha, Hunan, China and I finished my B.Sc. Degree at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou. I think UofA is a great university to study and pursue my Ph.D. degree. I joined the Veinot group in 2019 and my previous research revolved around nanomaterials especially perovskites. Now I want to explore more in the area of nanomaterials and solid-state NMR. Besides chemistry, I like playing sports and games with my friends.

Email: cn2[at]ualberta.ca

I’m Riley and I am a joint PhD student in the Michaelis and Veinot research groups. I am originally from Wallaceburg, a small town in southern Ontario, and obtained an Honors Chemical Biology degree at the University of Western Ontario in 2019. I spent some time in the Veinot and Michaelis groups in 2017 in my undergrad as part of the Inorganic Chemistry Exchange, and decided to come back as a graduate student this year. I have previously worked on applying solid-state NMR spectroscopy to Silicon Nanoparticles to understand the atomic structure of these particles and will continue to investigate different syntheses or functionalization methods using ssNMR.

Email: rhooper[at]ualberta.ca

My name is Jonathan Trach, and I joined the Veinot group in 2020. I was born in Calgary but moved to Edmonton to do my BSc with Specialization in Chemistry at the University of Alberta. As a graduate student, I am looking into functionalizing and cross-linking Si/Ge nanosheets and studying their properties. When I'm not doing chemistry, I enjoy playing board games with friends or reading a good book.

Email: jtrach[at]ualberta.ca

I was born in Kelowna, B.C. and raised in Sherwood Park, Alberta. I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta due to it’s prestige and convenient location to my family. I chose to stay here for my graduate studies because of my familiarity with the location as well as the cutting-edge research that is performed here. Working in the Veinot group I will be focusing on altering silsesquioxanes for different applications such as 3D printing, aerogels and more! In the Winter I enjoy watching hockey and once it warms up I try to take advantage of the nice weather.

Email: cbutler[at]ualberta.ca

I am Cemre Mertoglu, and I am from Turkey. I completed my undergraduate and master’s degree in chemistry at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey. I wanted to start my PhD studies at the University of Alberta because it is a high-ranking research university, and I joined the Veinot group as a PhD student in Fall 2021. As a graduate student, I am interested in the synthesis of silicon nanocrystals, and their applications as sensors. In my spare time, I enjoy swimming,travelling, watching movies, and spending time with my friends.

Email: mertoglu[at]ualberta.ca

I was born in Bangladesh. I earned my B.Sc. (Hon’s) and M.Sc. in chemistry from Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh and started my career in academia as a lecturer in the department of chemistry at Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET). I completed my M.Phil. program in chemistry at BUET alongside my lecturer job. Pursuing a PhD degree from a Canadian university was always my dream and I decided to come to the University of Alberta since it is one of the Canada’s top universities and the Department of Chemistry offers excellent research facilities. In September 2019 I joined the Gibbs group and my research project will focus on the synthesis of self-healing and self-replicating nanomaterials for application in solar cells/batteries. During my free time I enjoy reading novels, watching movies, and visiting new places.

Email: nakter[at]ualberta.ca

I was born in Hyderabad, India. I completed my undergraduate degree at Osmania University and received my M.Sc. in Organic Chemistry from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University(JNTU) in 2018. I then completed an internship for one year at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) before coming to Canada to pursue my dream of obtaining my Ph.D. at North America's top universities. I chose the U of A because it is well known for its research infrastructure and interdisciplinary research which will help me improve my personal and technical skills. My interests in bio-analytical chemistry led me to join the Gibbs group and my research focuses on developing isothermal self replication strategy for identifying viral RNA targets. In my free time I love reading Sci-fi books, doing yoga, biking, and hanging out with friends.

Email: ealeswar[at]ualberta.ca

I am originally from Tianjin, China. I received my undergraduate training at University of Alberta and I chose to continue studying at U of A for my PhD degree because I had an enjoyable time during my undergraduate studies. My research interests are focused on electrolyte and cathode components for Li and Na-ion batteries, and synthesis inorganic material using solid-state synthesis methods which is why I am currently studying in Prof. Mar’s group. Now that I am living in Edmonton, Canada my hobby has shifted from watching NBA to NHL so I am now an Oilers fan. Go Oilers! .

Email: fwen[at]ualberta.ca

I was born and raised in Russia and after graduating high school I moved to Germany to study chemistry. I completed my bachelor’s degree at the University of Muenster in 2017 and my master’s degree at the University of Erlangen in 2019. My research interests lie in the area of computer-aided solid-state chemistry. Driven by my aspiration, I applied to the Ph.D. program at the Chemistry department of the U of A, seeking supervision from Dr. Mar and Dr. Michaelis due to their multilateral approach to the study of solids. In my spare time, I like fiddling with my PC and various gadgets, as well as occasionally walking or hiking in YEG and around.

Email: pominov[at]ualberta.ca

I attended the University of Alberta where I obtained an undergraduate degree in Astrophysics and a Masters degree in Physics. I am now a PhD student, and my research focuses on experimentally investigating light-matter interactions. I grew up in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and with nature at my doorstep I grew to enjoy hiking, camping, photography and woodworking.

Email: cjensen[at]ualberta.ca 

I was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. I moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia for a change of scenery and completed my undergraduate degree in physics at Dalhousie University. I decided to pursue my graduate studies at the University of Alberta because of the University's many different branches of physics, and to take the opportunity to immerse myself in different aspects of science. Particularly, I joined the Hegmann group to learn more about metals and semiconductors and to have the chance to work in terahertz scanning tunneling microscopy. Outside of academics I enjoy archery, camping, and playing board and video games. 

Email: hsimpson[at]ualberta.ca

I was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba and received my undergraduate degree in Physics from the University of Manitoba. I joined the Ultrafast Nanotools lab at the U of A because of my interest in THz science and studying ultrafast processes in materials. Particularly, I am interested in the dynamics of superconducting materials at the nanoscale and plan to study that during my graduate studies. Outside of the lab I enjoy video games, sports, working on my car and I hope to explore more of Alberta during my time here. 

Email: refvik[at]ualberta.ca

I grew up in China and I also graduated from Shandong Normal University. The reason that I choose the UofA to continue my higher education is that I can find suitable projects and nice professors. My research is mainly about optics and lasers. I am very interested in this field.

Email: hui9[at]ualberta.ca

I grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where I received my Undergraduate and Graduate degrees in Physics at University of Dhaka. My research interest is mainly in the field of Condensed Matter Physics. The reason for choosing U of A for my higher studies is the opportunities for interdisciplinary research and versatile faculty members. I joined the Meldrum Research Group in Fall 2019, where I will be working in the Methane Sensing Project. Outside of the lab, I enjoy music, reading, visiting new places and spending time with my family.

Email: tmehreen[at]ualberta.ca

I grew up in Harbin, China, and completed my Bachelor's degree in applied mathematics at the University of Alberta. I chose to continue studying at the U of A because I had a very good time in my undergraduate research (URI) experience - it was fun doing physics experiments and I love everyone in our group. I am interested in fluorescent polymers and will be working on their optical properties in my project. Outside of the lab, I like music very much; I play bamboo flute and am learning guitar.

Email: xiaoyuan[at]ualberta.ca

I grew up in Tumakuru, Karnataka, India and pursued a Bachelor's degree in Telecommunication Engineering at the Siddaganga Institute of Technology.  I gained valuable research experience as a Project Assistant at the Indian Institute of Science while I completed my Masters in Nanotechnology at The National Institute of Technology. I joined the University of Alberta for my Doctoral studies because of the cutting edge research facilities available, especially in the area of Nanotechnology.  I am currently a graduate student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering under Professor Karthik Shankar where I am working on Photovoltaic and Optoelectronic devices.

Email: hrajashe[at]ualberta.ca

I was born and raised in Karnataka, India. I completed a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication from the Maharaja Institute of Technology and a Masters in Technology  from the National Institute of Engineering. The research experience from my master's project as well as a project assistantship from the Indian Institute of Science propelled me towards research and in January 2020 I joined the Shankar group as a Ph.D. student. I chose the UofA in order to expand my scientific knowledge and my current research is focused on metal oxide semiconductor photocatalysis.  When not in the lab I enjoy playing badminton, doing yoga, painting, travelling, camping and watching movies.

Email: vrushabe@ualberta.ca

I was born in Nepal and grew up at Sathya Sai Shiksha Sadan in Kathmandu. At the age of 17, I moved to India where I cherished my high school days at Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School in Prasanthi Nilayam. The ambience of this place persuaded me to stay more, and luckily I was admitted into an integrated program [B.Sc. (Hons.) and M.Sc.] in Chemistry at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. I then worked in the industrial sector for 6 years. When I turned 29 years old in 2019 I decided to come to Canada and pursue the thrill of mysterious chemistry and study exotic nuclei under the tutelage of Prof. Vladimir K. Michaelis. When I’m not in the lab, I search for opportunities to volunteer at University of Alberta.

Email: mc13[at]ualberta.ca

I’m Riley and I am a joint PhD student in the Michaelis and Veinot research groups. I am originally from Wallaceburg, a small town in southern Ontario and obtained an Honors Chemical Biology degree at the University of Western Ontario in 2019. I spent some time in the Veinot and Michaelis groups in 2017 in my undergrad as part of the Inorganic Chemistry Exchange, and decided to come back as a graduate student this year. I have previously worked on applying solid-state NMR spectroscopy to Silicon Nanoparticles to understand the atomic structure of these particles and will continue to investigate different syntheses or functionalization methods using ssNMR.

Email: rhooper[at]ualberta.ca

I am Diganta, and I come from Naxalbari, a small town in West Bengal, India. I received my BSc (Hons) and MSc degree in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 2020. During my fourth year of undergraduate studies in 2019, I visited the UAlberta as a UARE summer intern, and I was truly amazed by the cutting-edge research facilities available in the university. So, I decided to come back here as a Ph.D. student and joined the Michaelis research group in Fall 2020, where the primary focus of my doctoral studies will be the synthesis and characterization of the next-generation energy materials with Solid-state NMR as the main analytical tool. In my free time, I love playing musical instruments, visiting new places, spending time with family and friends, and watching movies and sports.

Email: dsarkar[at]ualberta.ca