Graduate Students

 
Chun-Yuan Lo
Contact: cylo [at] udel.edu
Chun-Yuan, a PhD candidate in Chemistry, got his MS in Chemistry in 2014 from National Taiwan University. He is working on controlling the properties of PEDOT:PSS by synthesizing precise PSS polymers and block copolymers to optimize mixed ionic-electronic conduction and on plastic upcycling of polystyrene. Outside of the lab, he likes to play basketball and enjoys cooking and traveling.

Mandy Dan-My Nguyen
Contact: danmy [at] udel.edu
Mandy, a PhD candidate in Chemistry, completed her B.A. in Chemistry from St. Olaf College in 2018. She is working on understanding the molecular mechanism for reversible crosslinking in redox-active materials and on plastic upcycling. She was a Studio Art major in her freshman year of college and finally graduated with a major in Chemistry and a concentration in Media Studies. She is currently doing a six months internship at Meta Reality Labs.

Vidhika Damani
Contact: vdamani [at] udel.edu
Vidhika, a PhD candidate in Materials Science and Engineering, got her BTech in Surface Coating Technology from Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India in 2019. Her project is based on synthesizing stimuli-responsive and conducting block polyelectrolyte complexes for bio-sensing of neurological disorders. She is passionate about fine arts and dancing and enjoys learning new languages.

Elorm Awuyah
Contact: eawuyah [at] udel.edu
Elorm Awuyah, a graduate student in Chemistry, got his B.A. in Chemistry and in the History of Science and Technology from Johns Hopkins University in 2019. He is developing degradable conducting polymers from biomass-derived starting materials. He does not, in fact, play basketball, but he does like to work out and cook.

Tulaja Shrestha
Contact: shrestha [at] udel.edu
Tulaja is a PhD candidate in Chemistry and Biochemistry. She got her BSc from Caldwell University in 2017. She then worked at Infinium, a petrochemical company, for 3 years. In the Kayser Lab, she is now working on plastic upcycling. Outside of lab, Tulaja enjoys hiking, reading and learning new things.

Allison Koopman
Contact: koopman [at] udel.edu
Allison is a graduate student in Materials Science and Engineering and joined the Kayser Lab in 2021. She graduated with a B.A. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2019. Her research project involves synthesizing conducting polymers for detection of Alzheimer’s Disease biomarkers. Allison spends her spare time sewing, writing, and watching Law & Order.

Peter Osazuwa
Contact: posazuwa [at] udel.edu 
Peter, a graduate student in Materials Science and Engineering, holds an MS in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Tartu, Estonia, and an MS (Tech) in Analytical Chemistry from Åbo Akademi University, Finland. He is working on the design and characterization of block polyelectrolyte complexes that are ion-selective organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors. He enjoys hiking, traveling, and watching soccer.

Ai Nin Yang
Contact: ainin [at] udel.edu
Ai-Nin, a graduate student in Chemistry, got her B.A. in Chemistry from National Taiwan Normal University in 2020. Her undergrad research work is based on electroactive MOFs as counter electrodes for DSSCs. She is now working on functional bottlebrush polymers for organic electronics. She is a foodie.

Kelsey Koutsoukos
Contact: kkoutsou [at] udel.edu

Kelsey (he/him/his) is a graduate student in Materials Science and Engineering. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Outside of work, Kelsey enjoys lifting weights, traveling, learning languages, reading queer lit, and chilling with his dog, Pike!

 

Alexa Gomez
Contact: gomeza [at] udel.edu

Alexa is a graduate student in Chemistry and Biochemistry, and a CBI and Unidel fellow. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry from The College of New Jersey in 2022 where she completed undergraduate research in organic photochemistry. She now works on new methods for functionalizing polymers. Outside of lab, Alexa likes to read, do yoga, and play with her cat, Oreo.

Undergraduate Students

Julian Alberto
Julian is an undergraduate student in Chemical Engineering at the University of Delaware and a RISE scholar. He worked with Vidhika on thermo-responsive conductive polymers and now has his own independent project in the lab.

Marina Hastings

Marina is a senior undergraduate student in Materials Science Engineering at the University of Delaware. She studies how the size distribution of PSS affects PEDOT:PSS electronic properties

Ethan Mackey: Ethan is a sophomore in Chemistry at UD. He works on copolymers to increase ion transport in PEDOT:PSS.

Giana Alepa: Giana is a senior in Chemistry at UD. She works with Vidhika on thermo-responsive OMIECs

 

Rotation Students and Alumni

Ashlyn Cantrel: successfully completed her CBI rotation in the Kayser Lab in January 2020. She is now a graduate student in Joseph Fox’s laboratory.

Harrison Goehrig: Harrison joined the Kayser Lab for the summer 2022 to work as an CPI REU student on plastic upcycling with Tulaja. He is now finishing his undergrad at Bucknell University.