Chemistry

Ian Haltom, a member of Dr. Jim Boncella’s group, will present his final defense, “Synthesis and reactivity of thorium(II) and zirconium(II) synthons featuring doubly-reduced metal-arene interactions.”

Attendees will have the unique opportunity to engage with expert perspectives on biotechnology development, explore research projects presented by talented trainees, and expand their professional community.

Dr. Ryan Pearson will share how new types of nanoparticles can help guide the immune system to respond in healthier ways. He will explain how these materials interact with immune cells—especially macrophages—to reduce inflammation in conditions such as sepsis and obesity.

Toyin Ayandokun, a PhD student in Dr. Anjali Sharma’s research group, is giving a talk about, “Multifunctional Dendrimers for Controlled Drug Delivery: Overcoming Limitations of Conventional Monofunctional Nanocarriers.”

Natalie Yaw, a PhD student in Dr. Xiaofeng Guo’s research group, is giving their final defense titled, “DRIVERS OF STABILITY IN SOLID SOLUTION NUCLEAR CERAMICS AND CRITICAL METAL MINERALS.”

Brooke Bonar, a PhD student in Dr. Kirk Peterson’s research group, is giving their final defense titled, “ACCURATE AB INITIO THERMOCHEMISTRY USING FULLY RELATIVISTIC APPROACHES.”

Dr. Trevor Hayton from UC Santa Barbara will present a seminar titled “Using NMR Spectroscopy to Evaluate Actinide–Ligand Bond Covalency.” His talk will explore how NMR spectroscopy can be applied to measure 5f covalency in actinide complexes, offering insights into designing new separation schemes for spent nuclear fuel.

Ananya Biswas, a member of Dr. Sharma Anjali’s research group, will present “Dendrimer-Mediated Corneal Drug Delivery: Bridging Anatomical Barriers to Translational Therapeutics.”

Sheng Yu, a PhD student in Dr. Jack Zhang’s research group, is giving a talk about, “Hierarchically Porous UiO-66 for Iodine Diffusion and Conversion.”

Vinny Groner, a PhD student in Dr. Jim Boncella’s research group, is giving his final defense titled, “The Stabilization of Low-Valent Uranium Complexes Featuring Bulky Terphenyl Amido Ligands.”