Recent Group News

May 2025: Congratulations to UI undergraduate Cade Hoambrecker for receiving the Department of Chemistry ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry Award.  Also best wishes on your fall 2025 adventures in the Ohio State University Chemistry Ph.D. chemistry program!

April 2025:  The Gillan Group receives a Research Laboratory Excellence in Safety Award from the UI Laboratory Safety Committee.  Great job everyone!  As important it is to do significant science, it is even more important to do it safely!

April 2024:  Congratulations to Cade Hoambrecker for receiving a departmental 2024 Summer Undergraduate Research Award and a John and Elsie Mae Ferentz Research Award in spring 2024. 

August 2023:  We are happy to report that Ishanka Liyanage has earned her Ph.D. degree and is heading off to postdoctoral opportunities at the FDA in DC.  Ishanka's productive research studies will keep us busy for years to come!

May 2023:  Well-deserved Ph.D. in Chemistry degrees were awarded to Matt Lovander (co-advised with Leddy) and Janaka Abeysinghe.  Our SSM metal boride program exists because of Janaka's creativity and our electrocatalysis knowledge rests squarely on Matt's shoulders.  We will greatly miss their expansive group expertise in materials synthesis and electrocatalysis but wish then the best on their new adventures!  

April 2023:  We send best wishes to two former NSF-REU summer research students who are continuing their chemistry careers in graduate school: Anna Kolln (Chemistry at Stanford University) and Hala Soliman (Chemistry at Colorado State University).

May 2022:  We welcome Hala Soliman into our summer research program form the Nanoscience REU.  She will be working on metal phosphide electrocatalysts with Ishanka.

November 2021:  Hannah Barmore (summer REU undergrad researcher working with Ishanka on metal phosphide electrocatalysts and fall 2021 UI research assistant) has been awarded a John and Elsie Mae Ferentz Research Fellowship that provides support and encouragement to undergraduate students who conduct research under the guidance of a tenured or tenure track faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  Congratulations Hannah!

December 2020: Suparno Nandi (co-advised with Prof. Mishtu Dey) earns his Ph.D. and heads to a postdoctoral position at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.  Happy trails!

August 2020: Nate Black (Ph.D. 2019) begins his professional career as a lab safety staff member at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California.  That is some smart leveraging your inorganic expertise with long service on our student-led departmental safety committee!  Hopefully the pandemic lets you get out of the house soon.

April 2020:  Ashley Flores (M.S. 2018) finishes her research and lab instruction here and heads to a lab manager position at sunny University of California, Santa Barbara.  Enjoy the Pacific Ocean and beach lifestyle!

March 2020:  Ali Razzaghi (co-advised with Prof. Mishtu Dey) earns his Ph.D. and heads to an exciting postdoctoral position across the river in Biochemistry.  Best wishes on your new biochemical challenges!

January 2020:  Dr. Majid Nada is starting a permanent position as an environmental lab scientist at the State Hygeinics Laboratory at the University of Iowa - that is great news and we look forward to staying in touch.

December 2019:  Congratulations to Nate Black for earning his second degree from Iowa - his Ph.D. in Chemistry with a focus on botanical templating for synthesis of porous inorganic materials!

August 2019:  Matt Lovander (co-advised with Prof. Johna Leddy) landed a great college teaching opportunity in at the Sioux Falls Community College associated with University of South Dakota! 

July 2019:  Majid Nada (co-advised with Prof. Sarah Larsen) earns his Ph.D. for mechanochemical and hydrothermal synthesis of nanoscale silica zeolites.  Congratulations!

May 2019:  Welcome to Anna Kolln who joined our group from the Nanoscience REU program.  She will be working with Janaka on metal boride electrocatalysis.

March 2019:  Janaka Abeysinghe wins first place for his paper and poster in the math, physical, and engineering sciences section at the University of Iowa Grad College's Jakobsen Conference, great job!

January 2019:  Dr. Tony Montoya (Ph.D. 2018) heads off to a great postdoc position at Argonne National Labs, congrats and best wishes on your new research adventures!