P o s t d o c s
Xiangquan (Eric) HuGoogle 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. [email protected] |
Hormoz KhosraviGoogle 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. [email protected] |
Hong-Lei XuGoogle scholar profile
Hong-Lei was born in Shangqiu, He’nan province, China. He obtained his B.S. degree in Chemistry from Beijing Technology and Business University. During his M.S. training, he worked in Prof. Yue Chen group (Nankai University), involving the synthesis and modification of natural products with biological activities, such as the BE-43547A2 and Cyclotheonellazole A. Next, Hong-Lei pursued his Ph.D. in the lab of Prof. Zhong-Ming Sun in Nankai University, which he received in June 2022. His research topic is mainly focused on the synthesis of new types of Ge/Sn cluster anions with unusual metal-metal bonding. After that, Hong-Lei continued his research as a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Prof. Jianwei Sun at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. In November 2023, Hong-Lei joined Rice University. [email protected] |
G r a d u a t e S t u d e n t s
Victor Espinoza CastroVictor 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.
[email protected] |
Nghi LaNghi 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.
[email protected] |
Saeed MirzaeiGoogle 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. [email protected] |
Odunola OregeOdunola hails from Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. She earned her B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Her M.Sc. thesis was in the removal of amoxicillin from aqueous media using silver nanoparticles-maize leaf composite under the supervision of Prof. F.A. Dawodu.
Odunola joined Rice University in the fall of 2023. [email protected] |
Manasseh OseiManasseh 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.
[email protected] |
Jorge RodasJorge was born in Houston, Texas and received his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Biophysics from Amherst College. He was a member of Dr. Anthony Bishop’s lab where he worked on synthesizing, characterizing, and testing novel organic inhibitors for SRC-Homology-2-Domain containing PTP-2. He joined Rice University in the fall of 2023 in pursuit of a PhD in Biochemistry.
[email protected] |
Lul SharifLul 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.
[email protected] |
Valeria StevensValeria Stevens was born and raised in McAllen, Texas. She received her bachelor's of science at the University of Houston. As an undergraduate student, she worked for Professor Olafs Daugulis where she synthesized multiple copper catalysts for C-H activation. She also worked on a new route to develop alpha-diimines. She joined Rice University Summer 2023 to pursue her Ph.D.
[email protected] |
U n d e r g r a d u a t e S t u d e n t s
Mohammad BilalMohammad 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.
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Charlotte LawrenceCharlotte is from Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, and is a Hanszen freshman and expects to graduate in 2027 with a degree in Chemistry. Before starting at Rice, Charlotte ran both the Science and Health Occupations (HOSA) clubs at her high school. At HSG, Charlotte is working under the mentorship of Saeed. Charlotte is thrilled to be a part of the Hernandez Sanchez Lab and gain new knowledge as she pursues a future in chemistry and medicine.
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Yehjune MoonYehjune Moon was born in Haenam, South Korea, and grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana before studying at Rice University. He is a freshman at Duncan College, expecting to graduate in 2027 with a degree in Chemistry. Yehjune joined the HSG group in 2024 and is currently working under the mentorship of Hong-Lei Xu in the synthesis of metal clusters.
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Raúl Paredes Noroña (TRREx)Raúl was born in Ambato, Ecuador, where he lived before beginning his undergraduate studies at Tecnológico de Monterrey. Currently, he is enrolled in the Tec-Rice Research Experience (TRREx) program at Rice University and is set to participate in another program at Purdue University. Raúl is expected to graduate with a B.S. in Nanotechnology Engineering by June 2025 and has previously participated in an electrochemistry research program. At HSG, he is working under the mentorship of Valeria on tubularenes research.
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Ava Grace Slobin (NSF RLEAD)Ava Grace is a rising junior studying chemistry and Spanish at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She intends to receive her BSc in May of 2026 and will study cobalt electrocatalysts under the mentorship of Dr. Jason Shearer until then. She is thrilled to join the Hernandez Sanchez group through Rice’s Research and Leadership Enabling Discoveries in Chemical Nanoscience REU program (RLEAD). This summer with the HSG, Ava Grace will research how doping can tune the fluorescent properties of tubular molecules alongside her mentor, Victor. Back at her home university, she spends time with her cat and works as a university tour guide, organic peer tutor, and volunteer at a local elementary science club.
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Agustin VallesAgustin 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.
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V i s i t i n g S c h o l a r s
Prof. Natalia Gonzalez-PechDr. 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.
[email protected] |
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
Victor Caycedo
Mira Goldstein
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
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
Victor Caycedo
Mira Goldstein
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. [email protected]
© 2018 HS group
344 and 348. [email protected]
© 2018 HS group