Group

Meet the Team

Group photo. January 11th, 2019: the renovated labs are ready! Everyone helping with the move from our temporary space.

Raúl Hernández Sánchez (PI)

Curriculum Vitae
2015 Ph.D Chemistry, Harvard University
2012 A.M. Chemistry, Harvard University
2010 B.Sc. Chemistry ITESM Campus Monterrey

P o s t d o c s

Dr. Thomas H. Allen

Google scholar profile
Tom was raised in Wilmington, OH and earned a B.S. in chemistry from Ohio Northern University in 2012. Recently, Tom completed his PhD in chemistry at University of Pittsburgh under the guidance of Professor Dennis Curran exploring B-H insertion reactions of NHC-boranes. Soon after, he accepted an offer to start in the HS group as a postdoctoral researcher. In his free time, Tom enjoys scrutinizing baseball sabermetrics, listening to dream-pop, and reading Frank Herbert’s ecologically-minded Dune franchise.
tha14@pitt.edu

Dr. Edison Castro

Google scholar profile
Dr. Edison Castro will start as a postdoctoral researcher in the HS group in September of 2018, where he will be conducting research on a new class of molecules termed tubularenes. Originally from Nariño-Colombia, he obtained his BSc from the Universidad de Nariño, Pasto-Colombia in 2008, his M.Sc. degree from the Universidad del Valle, Cali-Colombia in 2011, and his Ph.D. from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 2017 under the supervision of Prof. Luis Echegoyen. He spent 7 months as a postdoctoral researcher at UTEP working in Dr. Echegoyen's carbon nanomaterials group. At UTEP he worked on the synthesis of new fullerene derivatives for biological and optoelectronic applications.
eac106@pitt.edu

G r a d u a t e S t u d e n t s

Omri Abarbanel

Omri was born in Israel and moved to the United States in 2011. He got his BS in Chemistry from CUNY Hunter College in 2017, and did a research internship on second harmonic generation imaging of peptide self-assembly structures with Dr. Rein Ulijn at CUNY Advanced Science Research Center. After that, he moved to Pittsburgh in 2018 to start his graduate program in Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. If Omri had free time, he would enjoy baking and cooking, as well as learning new skills just for fun.
oda6@pitt.edu

Mohammad Azizur Rahman (Jewel)

Jewel is a 1st year graduate student at the department of chemistry at University of Pittsburgh. Jewel is currently working to develop novel well-defined nanoclusters. These nanoclusters have potential applications in energy storage and electronic devices. Jewel obtained a BSc in Chemistry from the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh, and a MSc in Chemistry from Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS-39759, USA.
mar358@pitt.edu

Saber Mirzaei

Google scholar profile
Saber was born in Iran and received his BSc in chemistry from Razi University under the supervision of Prof. Taherpour. Then he moved to the United States to continue his graduate career. Saber earned his MSc degree from Marquette University in the spring of 2019 while he was working on the synthesis and computational analysis of macrocyclic arenes under the supervision of Prof. Rathore and Prof. Timerghazin. He came to the University of Pittsburgh in the summer of 2019 to pursue his PhD degree in Chemistry.
sam444@pitt.edu

U n d e r g r a d u a t e S t u d e n t s

Addison Averill

Addison Averill is a sophomore majoring in Chemistry and Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh. In her previous experience, she has worked as a research associate in emergency medical trials, and has served as a volunteer firefighter and EMT. In her free time, she runs a vegan activism club at Pitt and enjoys spending time outdoors.
ama253@pitt.edu

Madison N. Keating

Madison Keating is from Harrison City, Pennsylvania, and is currently a junior at the University of Pittsburgh pursuing a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a minor in mathematics. Madison is an active member of the American Chemical Society. After graduation, Madison plans to continue exploring the world of chemistry through research.
mnk18@pitt.edu

Emily A. Nicola

Emily was born in Ohio and moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2008. She is currently a senior at the University of Pittsburgh, studying to earn a B.S. in Chemistry. She is a member of the American Chemical Society and plans to work in the chemical industry after graduation. In her free time, she enjoys baking and going to amusement parks.
ean24@pitt.edu

Group Alumni
Undergraduate
Nicolas D'Annunzio (BS 2019)
Ryan W. McLane (BS 2019)

Group members