Group News
January 2022
Welcome to our new graduate students! – We’re excited to announce three new graduate members of the Waz Group! Welcome to Sam Tyndall, Jon Palmer and Karen Ji.
2021
August 2021
Congratulations to Michele Myong – Michele defended her thesis on August 17th. In the Wasielewski group, she studied the effects of intermolecular orientation on the excimer and exciton dynamics in supramolecular assemblies. In September, she will begin a postdoc at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the Electron- and Photo-Induced Processes Group under the supervision of Dr. Matthew Bird.
June 2021
Congratulations to Colin Tichvon! – Colin graduated in June with a B.A. in Chemistry with honors for his thesis titled “The Synthesis and Characterization of a Novel Chromophore in DNA Hairpins for Applications in Quantum Information Science” based on work he performed with the Wasielewski group. Colin will remain with the group through 2021-2022 to continue his work synthesizing new organic systems for charge transfer studies.
May 2021
Welcome to our new postdocs! – We’re excited to announce two new postdoc members of the Waz Group! Welcome to Taeyeon Kim and Asif Equbal.
April 2021
Professor Wasielewski elected to the National Academy of Sciences – Congratulations to Professor Wasielewski on his election as a member to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences. Membership in the academy is one of the highest honors given to a scientist in the United States. The National Academy of Science is a private, non-profit institution that was established under a Congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and provides science advice to the federal government and other organizations.
Congratulations to James O’Connor – James has been selected to receive the 2021 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Award. This fellowship is awarded to in recognition of his academic excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) achievements, from over 7942 applications that were received this year.
February 2021
Professor Wasielewski receives 2021 Bruker Prize – The ESR Spectroscopy Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry announced that the 2021 Bruker Prize will be awarded to Professor Michael Wasielewski for the development and application of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance to the study of photochemical and photophysical processes. Wasielewski has made pioneering contributions in the fields of artificial photosynthesis, nanoscale optoelectronics and quantum information science through his highly successful marriage of optical spectroscopy and EPR. Congratulations!
November 2020
Welcome to our new graduate students! – We’re excited to announce three new graduate members of the Waz Group! Welcome to Elisabeth Latawiec, Chelsie Greene and Hannah Eckvahl.
September 2020
Xingang Secures Postdoctoral Fellowship – After spending more than three years working in the Wasielewski group as a postdoc, Xingang start his new research journey this September. His work in the Waz group focused on the design and synthesis of new materials based largely on self-assembling singlet fission materials for solar cells. He is now a postdoctoral fellow in the Stoddart group at Northwestern University. His current research interests include the design, synthesis, and characterization of macrocyclic receptors, mechanically interlocked molecules, and molecular machines.
August 2020
Natalia Powers-Riggs receives her Ph.D. – Natalia successfully defended her thesis over Zoom on August 14th for colleagues, friends and family in the Chicago area and beyond. Her graduate work focused on the structure-function relationships of self-assembled organic chromophores, with particular focus on those that undergo symmetry-breaking charge-separation. She was able to celebrate in person with current and former members of the group before leaving Chicago for California, where she will be starting a postdoc in November in the Solution Phase Chemistry group at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. She will be working with Kelly Gaffney and Amy Cordones-Hahn studying time-resolved X-ray absorption and scattering of metal complexes.
August 2020
Eunice Bae receives her Ph.D. – Congratulations and farewell to Dr. Bae! Eunice’s thesis was successfully defended on August 10th. In the Wasielewski group at Northwestern University, she used optical- and magnetic- spectroscopy to study how excitons and spins evolve over time and space in various acene and rylene derivatives. She is now a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University, as part of o the XYZ group. Her Ph.D. research focuses on investigating the down-conversion process in organic chromophores, also known as singlet fission. As a part of the XYZ Group, she will study spin waves in 2D magnetic materials and many-body interactions in 2D TMDCs.
August 2020
Michelle Chen receives her Ph.D. – Congratulations and farewell to Dr. Chen! Michelle’s thesis was successfully defended on August 7th. Her work in the Wasielewski Group was focused on the nature of the singlet fission multiexciton state. She will be joining MIT in the fall for her postdoctoral research under the guidance of Professor Timothy Swager.
May 2020
Jonathan Schultz Awarded Northwestern Searle Center Graduate Teaching Fellowship – Congratulations to Jonathan Schultz for being selected as a Northwestern University Fellow! Graduate Teaching Fellows are a select group of advanced graduate students with a demonstrated commitment to student learning in their discipline. Well done Jon!
Paige Brown Awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship – Congratulations to Paige Brown for being selected as a NSF Fellow! NSF Graduate Research Fellow is a competitive and highly significant and national accomplishment. Well done Paige!March 2020
Eunice Bae Wins 2020 Edmund W. Gelewitz Award – Congratulations to Younjue “Eunice” Bae for being selected as the winner of this PLU award! Eunice was selected due to her “significant academic accomplishments…not just in terms of publications, but also regarding work spearheading new techniques in group and work involving device characterization and fabrication.”
November 2019
Welcome First Years! – Laura We’re excited to announce the Waz group is growing! Welcome to our new first years Leanna Kantt, Paige Brown, Oscar Huang, James O’Connor and Malik Williams. You can read more about them on our Graduate Students Page.
November 2019
Laura Bancroft Featured in Office of Research – Laura was recently featured in an article on the Office of Research’s website, “Students Play Key Part in Advancing Research Safety Excellence” related to her work as the Vice President of RSSI. In the past two years, RSSI has launched an annual Safety Awareness Week, peer-led laboratory walkthroughs, a safety designate panel, and a Safety Minute educational platform, which is delivered before department-wide meetings. “We’re hoping to serve a continually broadening population,” says Laura. Read the article here.
September 2019
Wazapalooza– September marked a major milestone: Mike Wasielewski’s 70th Birthday Symposium. Dubbed “Wazapalooza”, guests and friends celebrated Mike Wasielewski’s contributions to science, in tandem with an upcoming Festchrift from Chemical Science in his honor. Featured speakers include Dirk Guldi (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nurnberg, Atsuhiro Osuka (Kyoto University), and Hiroko Yamada (Nara Institute of Science and Technology). More information on the event is available on our website, www.wazapalooza2019.com, which includes photos and videos from the event.
August 2019
Joe Christensen Defense– Congratulations and farewell to Joe Christensen whom successfully defended this August. Joe has since accepted a role as a Research Chemist at Stepan Company, read more on our Alumni page. Goodbye to the J’s!
August 2019
Jenna Logsdon Defense– Congratulations and farewell to Jenna Logsdon whom successfully defended this August. Jenna has since accepted a role at the National Cancer Institute as a Technology Transfer fellow. Read more on our Alumni page. Goodbye to the J’s!
August 2019
Jordan Nelson Defense– Congratulations and farewell to Jordan Nelson whom successfully defended this August. Read more on our Alumni page. Goodbye to the J’s!
July 2019
Eunice Bae Announced as Ryan Fellow – Congratulations to Eunice for being selected as as 2019 Ryan Fellow in IIN! The Ryan Fellowship, created in 2007 and made possible by a generous donation from Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan, supports exceptional graduate students dedicated to the exploration of fundamental nanoscale science geared toward practical applications that benefit society. Read Eunice’s profile page here.
June 2019
Happy Birthday, Mike! – The group celebrated Mike’s official 70th birthday this month with a small celebration. Looking forward to Wazapalooza, coming soon in September! The Wasielewski research team will be celebrating this major milestone with a Symposium in Prof. Wasielewski’s honor to his many contributions to the scientific community. To learn more, visit www.wazapalooza2019.com.
March 2019
Brandon Rugg Defense – Congratulations, Dr. Rugg! Brandon’s thesis, “Quantum Teleportation via Electron Transfer in a Molecular System”, was successfully defended on March 25th. Check our Alumni page for more.
March 2019
3.14159265359 – The inaugural Waz Group Pi Day took place on, naturally, 3.14. Winners included Natalia Powers-Riggs for “Prettiest Pie” for her blueberry pie, and a double win for Joe Christensen for “Most Creative”–a sour cream & raisin pie–and best in show for his key lime with pretzel crust pie.
December 2018
Brian Phelan Defense – Congratulations are in order for Dr. Phelan, who successfully defended this December. His dissertation, titled, “Excited-State Processes in Covalent Dimers Investigated with Time-Resolved Electronic and Vibrational Spectroscopy” earned him his doctorate. We wish him well in his next adventure, a postdoctoral position at Argonne.
November 2018
Goodbye Yi-Lin! – The whole Wasielewski group got together to celebrate Yi-Lin Wu, Research Associate Professor who had been with the group since 2012. Thank you for your many years of hard work and guidance, Yi-Lin, you will be missed!
October 2018
Open House – Thanks to all that joined the Wasielewski open house that took place on Friday, October 5th. It was great to meet so many of our new first years and talk about our group’s research. Thanks to first years Jon Schultz, Laura Bancroft, and Haochaun Mao for all their efforts in organizing the event.
September 2018
Professor Wasielewski Awarded the 2018 IES Silver Medal in Chemistry – (Left to right): Prof. Aharon Blank, Technion, Israel; Prof. Thomas Prisner, J. W. Goethe University of Frankfurt, Prof. Wasielewski, Northwestern University; and Prof. Song-I Han, University of California, Santa Barbara. The International EPR/ESR Society honored Professor Michael R. Wasielewski with the 2018 IES Silver Medal in Chemistry at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, on Wednesday, September 26. The IES Silver Medal recognizes Professor Wasielewski for his many and outstanding contributions to chemistry, particularly spin chemistry studies and molecular spintronics using EPR spectroscopy. Professor Wasielewski has applied modern time-resolved EPR spectroscopy relevant to magnetic field effects to chemistry and related fields, and contributed to understanding electron transfer reactions in problems ranging from biomimetic models for the photosynthetic reaction center to fundamental approaches in molecular electronics and spintronics. He developed the first molecular systems to successfully mimic many of the key spin properties of photo-generated paramagnetic states in photosynthetic reaction centers, and he has shown how covalent donor-acceptor systems can be used to understand spin-correlated radical ion pairs and the triplet states that result from their recombination. His pioneering work in the field of molecular spintronics has used these phenomena to develop molecular systems which provide fundamental insights into the multi-spin interactions necessary to manipulate some aspects of quantum information.
May 2018
Group Productivity Down 72% As “May Day Mystery” Continues
EVANSTON, IL. The research group “Wasielewski Group” of Northwestern University is baffled as the “May Day Mystery” stretches on with no suspects and no leads at this time.
April 2018
Jordan Nelson Awarded Fellowships – Congratulations to Jordan Nelson (left) who has been named both a Graduate Teaching Fellow with the Searle Center for Advanced Learning & Teaching (2017-2018) as well as a Data Science Fellow for the Integrated Data-Driven Discover in Earth & Astrophysical Sciences (“IDEAS“) NSF Traineeship program (2018-2019).
May 2017
Professor Wasielewski receives the 2017 Royal Society of Chemistry Physical Organic Chemistry Award – The Royal Society of Chemistry announced on May 9, 2017 that Professor Wasielewski has been selected to receive the RSC 2017 Physical Organic Chemistry Award. This award recognizes his pioneering contributions to understanding electron transfer reactions and their dependence on molecular structure and spin dynamics in organic molecules. Professor Wasielewski will travel to the UK during the 2017-18 academic year to give a series of lectures in connection with this award. More
April 2017
ISEN Announces $5.5 Million Gift: Creates Ubben Program for Climate and Carbon Science – Northwestern University trustee and alumnus Jeff Ubben ’87 MBA and his wife, Laurie, have made a $5.5 million gift to the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN). Addressing a key University priority, the gift will establish the Ubben Program for Climate and Carbon Science to improve understanding of global climate system dynamics and evaluate low- and zero-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels. “The Ubben Program for Climate and Carbon Science will leverage Northwestern’s strengths in climate science and clean-energy innovation, as well as ISEN’s interdisciplinary approach to addressing global sustainability and energy challenges,” said Michael R. Wasielewski, ISEN’s executive director and the Clare Hamilton Hall Professor of Chemistry in Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. “The program will increase our understanding of these critical problems and provide novel solutions to benefit society.” More
March 2017
Michelle Chen Received Teaching Assistant Award – Congratulations to Michelle Chen for being award the L. Carroll King Award for Excellence in 300 and 400-Level Teaching. Each year, PLU recognizes excellence in student teaching through the presentation of six TA awards. These awards are distributed among graduate students teaching at all levels of the undergraduate and graduate chemistry curriculum.
July 2016
Gordon Research Conference in Newport, RI – Ten members of the Wasielewski Group attended the Gordon Research Conference on Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions in Newport, RI during the first week of August. The science at the conference was better than ever! We had our traditional group lunch with 8 members of Leif Hammarström’s group from Uppsala University and later in the week the Wasielewski Group enjoyed an afternoon kayaking together on Narragansett Sound.
April 2016
Michael R. Wasielewski
Michael R. Wasielewski Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences –Michael R. Wasielewski, the Clare Hamilton Hall Professor of Chemistry in Weinberg and executive director of the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. He has pioneered new approaches to solar energy conversion with his research on light-driven charge transport in molecules and nanoscale materials. Members of the 236th class will be inducted at an Oct. 8 ceremony at the academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Read more here.
March 2016
Michelle Chen Received Teaching Assistant Award – Congratulations to Michelle Chen for being award the L. Carroll King Award for Excellence in 100-Level Teaching. Each year, PLU recognizes excellence in student teaching through the presentation of six TA awards. These awards are distributed among graduate students teaching at all levels of the undergraduate and graduate chemistry curriculum.
September 2015
Professor Wasielewski selected to receive the Chemical Pioneer Award from AIC Professor Michael Wasielewski has been selected to receive the 2016 Chemical Pioneer Award of the American Institute of Chemists for “his pioneering contributions to understanding the fundamental relationship between molecular structure and the dynamics of electron transfer between organic molecules.”
April 2015
Kristen Brown Wins the 2015 Hoffman Award Kristen has won the 2015 Anna Louise Hoffman Award for Outstanding Graduate Research by IOTA SIGMA PI, a national honor society for women in chemistry. Congratulations Kristen!
April 2015
Wasielewski named Honda-Fujishima Award winner by JPA Professor Michael Wasielewski has received the 2015 Honda-Fujishima Award of the Japanese Photochemistry Association for his work in photochemical systems for solar energy conversion.
December 2014
Welcome First Years! Four new graduate students have officially joined the Wasielewski group this fall. They are Joe Christensen, Jenna Logsdon, Jordan Nelson, and Claire Miller. A warm Waz welcome to you all!
September 2014
Yilei Wu Named a Ryan Fellow at NU Due to his research interests, strong background, and exceptional promise as a scholar, graduate student Yilei Wu has been name Ryan Fellow. The fellowship program provides students from a variety of fields with the education and experience to assume leadership roles in academia and industry in the realm of nano-science and technology. Congrats. Yilei!
August 2014
The Donor-Acceptor Tradition Continues! In early August, four graduate students (Noah Horwitz, Rita Cook, Patrick Hatnett, and Kristen Brown) two postdocs (Marek Majewski and Vladimir Roznyatovskiy) and two research professors (Yi-Lin Wu and Ryan Young) traveled to Newport, RI, to present their latest research at the Gordon Research Conference and Seminar (GRC and GRS) on Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions. The team was among twelve current group members and alumni; a record number! July Noah Horwitz Wins Best Student Poster at RMCMR Noah was one of three to win a Best Graduate poster prize at the Rocky Mountain Conference on Magnetic Resonance in the EPR section.
February 2014
Kristen Brown Wins the 2014 Presidential Fellowship Kristen is awarded Northwestern’s Presidential Fellowship as an individuals who combines outstanding intellectual or creative ability with the capacity to play an active part in the life of the Society of Fellows. 2013 October Prof. Wasielewski Name Executive Director of the New ISEN Professor Michael R. Wasielewski has accepted the position of executive director of ISEN, effective October 1. ISEN, established five years ago as an Initiative, is now the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern. Read More
November 2013
Congratulations, Dr. Veldkamp! Brad V. successfully defended his thesis on November 15th. We wish him all the best in his new career. Congrats, Brad!
May 2013
Sam Eaton selected as a Burwell Summer Scholar Waz Group grad student Sam Eaton, has been selected as a Robert L. Burwell Summer Scholar for 2013. Named for one of NU’s most distinguished Physical Chemistry faculty who served in the department for over 40 years. The scholarship recognizes Sam for his excellence in physical chemistry. Congratulations, Sam!
April 2013
Katie Mauck Receives 2013 NSF Fellowship First year, Katie Mauck, was one of ten Northwestern Chemistry students to win the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Fellowship. Congratulations, Katie!
March 2013
Prof. Wasielewski Receives Humboldt Research Award Professor Michael R. Wasielewski has been named a 2013 recipient of a Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany. The award is granted in recognition of a researcher’s fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights that have had a significant impact on their own discipline to date and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future.
February 2013
Congratulations, Dr. Michael Vagnini! Mike V. successfully defended his thesis on February 20th. We thank him for all of his dedication and hard work for the group, the ANSER Center, and the Department. Without question his good nature and positivity will serve him well in his new career at Dow Chemical. Congrats, Mike!
November 2012
First Years Have Arrived Four new graduate students have officially joined the Wasielewski group this fall. They are Katie Mauck (with us since the summer), Brandon Rugg, Matt Paquette, and Yi Lei Wu. A hearty Waz welcome to you all!
October 2012
Seeking the BEST In early October, graduate student Mike Vagnini attended the Dow Chemical BEST Symposium as one of 27 attendees selected from across the country. BEST — which stands for Building Engineering and Science Talent — introduces doctoral and postdoctoral scientists from underrepresented minority groups to the wide range of careers in industrial research, as well as equips them with skills in project management and in communicating research.
September 2012
The Donor-Acceptor Tradition Continues! In early August, four graduate students — Kristen Brown, Dan Gardner, Leah Shoer, and Mike Vagnini — traveled to Newport, RI, to present their latest research at the Gordon Research Conference and Seminar (GRC and GRS) on Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions. Kristen gave one of the ten featured research talks at the GRS, and the team was among eleven Wasielewski Group students and alumni at this biennial event!
August 2012
First Years Arriving This fall the newest corhort of chemistry students will be joining the department. The Waz Group has already had the pleasure of Katie Mauck an incoming first year who has worked with us over the summer.
May 2012
Noah Horwitz and Rita Cook Receive DOE Fellowship First year, Noah Horwitz, and second year, Rita Cook both received the Department of Energy’s Graduate Fellowship. Congratulations, Noah and Rita! The Group Welcomes New Postdoc Ann Woys The group would like to welcome Dr. Ann Marie Woys who joins us after completing her PhD at UofW Madison.
April 2012
Noah Horwitz Receives 2012 NSF Fellowship First year, Noah Horwitz, was one of twelve Northwestern Chemistry students to win the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Fellowship. Congratulations, Noah!
February 2012
The Group Welcomes New Postdoc Ryan Young The group continues to grow as it welcomes Dr. Ryan Young who joins us after his most recent stint at UofC Berkeley Chemistry.
December 2011
Welcome First Years! It’s official. Four first year graduate students are now part of the Waz Group. We welcome Eric, Noah, Rebecca, and Patrick into the fold.
October 2011
The More Postdocs the Merrier! Three more Postdocs join the Waz Crew. We welcome Dr. Lukas Kobr, Dr. Won-Sik Han, and Dr. Vladimir Roznyatovskiy.
September 2011
Hooray for Vickie G, Mike C, & Sheela! Vickie Gunderson successfully defended her thesis August 17th, followed by Michael Colvin on August 24th and Sheela Ramanan September 12th. We wish them the best of luck and cheer their success. Professor Michael R. Wasielewski wins the 2012 Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award of the American Chemical Society for discovering fundamental insights into the relationship between organic supramolecular structure and the dynamics of energy and electron transfer.
August 2011
Welcome New Postdoc & Visiting Scholar The group would like to give a warm welcome to Greg Kusmanich and Matthias Wenninger who joined the group this month. –August 2011
July 2011
Outstanding! PLU awarded Fourth-year Mike Vagnini the Gelewitz Outstanding Graduate Student Award for his service to the department and community, as well as research progress.
June 2011
Kristen Brown Receives Teaching Award. For Excellence in 200-Level Teaching for undergraduate organic lab, First-year Kristen Brown received the Allen S. Hussey Award for Excellence. New Zero Years. The Group is happy to welcome three new graduate students to the university. David Weinberg, Eric Margulies, and Noah Horowitz begin their graduate careers by working with the Wasielewski Group for the summer.
Investiture Celebration honoring Prof. Wasielewski and two other faculty for their endowed chairs Friday, January 14th, 2011. Wasielewski Journal of Physical Chemistry Festschrift issue published. See the issue… Professor Wasielewski named Clare Hamilton Hall Professor of Chemistry Recent Research on Artificial Photosynthesis featured in the Accounts of Chemical Research.