Meet the Team

Apr 22nd, 2023. Updating the group's photo (Agustin is missing in these photos).

Raúl Hernández Sánchez (PI)

​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

Xiangquan (Eric) Hu

Google scholar profile
Eric was born in Jinan, Shandong province, China. He obtained his B.S. degree in Chemistry from Shanxi University. During his undergraduate studies, Eric worked in the lab of Dr. Bin Liu, conducting research on synthesizing near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probes. Eric pursued his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Missouri, which he received in 2022. His doctoral research, under the guidance of Professor Jerry L. Atwood, focused on the construction of metal-organic assemblies and molecular cavitands. After completing his Ph.D., Eric continued his research as a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Atwood's lab. In the summer of 2023, Eric joined Rice University.
eh65@rice.edu

Hormoz Khosravi

Google scholar profile
Hormoz was born in Gilan-e Gharb, Iran and received his BSc in chemistry from the Razi University in Kermanshah. In 2014, he began his MSc in polymer chemistry with Dr. Ali Rostami at the Shahid Beheshti University, where he worked on "squaramide as a hydrogen-bonding catalyst for the synthesis and investigating of ring-opening polymerization of cyclic carbonates". In 2022, Hormoz completed his doctoral degree at K. N. Toosi University of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Saeed Balalaie, which he worked on the development of domino reactions of enynes such as enynals and 1,3-diene-5-ynes that had shed light on 8π-electrocyclization with alkynes experimentally and computationally. During his PhD, he received two scholarships to join the Prof. Bernhard Breit research group at the Albert Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, which he focused on "electrophilic allyl metal precursors in transition metal catalysis". In August 2023, Hormoz joined Dr. Raúl Hernández Sánchez’s research group as a postdoctoral researcher.
hk61@rice.edu

G r a d u a t e   S t u d e n t s

Victor Espinoza Castro

Victor was born in Sinaloa, Mexico but grew up in Los Angeles, CA. He earned his B.S. degree in Chemistry at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). As a McNair Scholar at CSUF, he worked in the lab of Dr. Peter de Lijser and studied the reactive intermediates that form from the photooxidation of oxime and oxime ethers. These intermediates can potentially provide a novel synthetic route for the formation of isoindole heterocycles. Over the Summer of 2019, he worked in the lab of Dr. Alina Schimpf at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego). At UC San Diego, he synthesized polyoxovanadate clusters and frameworks in order to form thin films using polyethylene glycol. He came to the University of Pittsburgh in the Summer of 2020 to pursue his PhD in Chemistry.
vme2@rice.edu

Nghi La

Nghi is originally from Vietnam and earned her B.S degree in Chemistry at Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, TX). During her undergraduate studies, Nghi worked in the lab of Dr. Jeff Coffer, where she did research on synthesizing perovskite-loaded materials and studying their optoelectronic properties for the fabrication of new LEDs. She came to Rice University in the fall of 2021 to pursue her PhD in Chemistry.
nnl1@rice.edu

Saeed Mirzaei

Google scholar profile
Saeed is from Iran and received his BSc in chemistry from Razi University under the supervision of Prof. Taherpour. During his BSc, Saeed has carried out a couple of projects investigating mechanisms of various organic/inorganic reactions using computational techniques. More recently, in collaboration with Prof. Wentrup (The University of Queensland), he studied the mechanism of hydrocarbon rearrangements. He joined Rice University in the fall of 2022 to pursue his PhD degree in Chemistry. 
mm232@rice.edu

Manasseh Osei

Manasseh is originally from Ghana and received his bachelors from KNUST in Ghana. He worked in the lab of Prof. Evans Adei and Dr. Richard Tia, where he did quantum chemical calculations on trimethylenemethane and the effects of the installation of heteroatoms on reactivity patterns in the singlet and triplet spin states.
mko5@rice.edu

Lul Sharif

Lul is from Minnesota and received her bachelors in chemistry at Swarthmore College. She worked in the lab of Dr. Kathryn Riley to develop electrochemistry techniques to quantify the dissolution kinetics of LiCoO2 nanoparticles. At Rice, Lul hopes to continue using chemistry to address environmental concerns. In her free time, she likes to play ultimate frisbee, run, and bake. She came to Rice University in the summer of 2022 to pursue her PhD in Chemistry.
ls107@rice.edu

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

Mohammad Bilal

Mohammad was born in Tartous, Syria, where he lived before starting his undergraduate studies at Rice University. He is now a sophomore at Brown College, and he expects to graduate in May 2025 with a degree in Chemistry. Prior to joining Rice’s international community, Mohammad was a member of the Syrian International Chemistry Team, where he competed at the International Chemistry Olympiads in 2019 and 2020 in France and Russia. He later went on to coach younger Syrian competitors and develop chemistry content and study tools in Arabic. These experiences sparked his interest in pursuing chemistry research and joining the HSG. He is working with Victor expanding on the synthesis of tubularenes. Mohammad is looking forward to learning from the team at HSG and hopes to eventually pursue graduate studies in chemistry.

Victor Caycedo

Victor was born in Houston, Texas and is a junior at Jones expecting to graduate in 2025 with a B.S. in Chemistry. Prior to enrolling at Rice he competed in the Chemistry and Science Olympiads at the regional level, as well as coached other students for the same competitions. Since enrolling at Rice he has conducted research in the lab of Dr. Angel Marti, where he worked on synthesizing and studying the photophysical properties of Ru and Os metal complexes. In the HSG, he is currently working with Manasseh on the synthesis of organometallic clusters. After graduation Victor plans to pursue a PhD program in chemistry.

Agustin Valles

Agustin was born in El Paso, Texas and grew up in the bordering city of Juarez, Mexico. He is now a sophomore at Sid Richardson, and he expects to graduate in May 2025 with a degree in Chemistry. Prior to starting his undergraduate career, Agustin competed in the Chemistry Olympiad and founded a Chemistry Club at his high school. He is working with Victor to explore the use of C–H hydrogen bonding anion hosts as electrocatalysts during carbon dioxide reduction.

V i s i t i n g   S c h o l a r s

Prof. Natalia Gonzalez-Pech

Dr. Natalia Gonzalez-Pech is originally from Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico. She received her B.S. in Chemistry from Monterrey Tech (ITESM). In 2016, Natalia completed her Ph.D. in Chemistry, in Rice University. Her doctoral research focused on nanomaterials synthesis and characterization, and their applications in water processes. Dr. Gonzalez-Pech did her postdoctoral research at UCSD. Her research focus is in the characterization of metal-containing nanoparticles formed in industrial processes with an emphasis on understanding their health-related effects. Currently, she is an assistant professor at Hope College. Her research group focuses on the development of nanomaterials for water remediation and energy-related applications in a sustainable manner.
ng60@rice.edu

Group Alumni
Former postdoctoral associates
Dr. Edison Castro - Scientist I @PCT Therapeutics, Inc.
Dr. Thomas H. Allen - Senior Development Chemist @Boron Specialties, LLC

Former graduate students
Saber Mirzaei - Postdoctoral researcher in the Yaghi group at UC Berkeley
Swati Arora - Scientist III Process Chemist at Thermo Fisher 
Brett Lucht - Graduate student in the Transue Group (Pitt) 
Keren Lee - Graduate student in the Hutchison Group (Pitt)
​Mohammad Azizur Rahman - Graduate student @WVU
Omri Abarbanel - Graduate student in the Hutchison Group (Pitt)

Former undergraduate students
Nicholas Figueroa (REU)
​Nicole Imming
Gabriella Prieto
​Gabriella Belsito
​Addison Averill
Emily Nicola
Derek Lamb (BS 2021) - Lab Assistant @Center for Blood Oxygen Transport & Hemostasis, University of Maryland
Bridget Glessner (BS 2020) - Raw Materials Chemist @Eurofins
James Dages (BS 2020) - Quality Control Analyst @Polysciences, Inc.
Madison Keating (BS 2020) - Forensic Scientist @Atlantic Diagnostic Laboratories
Nicolas D'Annunzio (BS 2019) - Research Associate @Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Ryan W. McLane (BS 2019) - Product Optimization Specialist @Thermo Fisher Scientific

Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005. +1 (713) 348-5694. Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering Science
 344 and 348. ​raulhs@rice.edu 
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