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Group Members

Shiv.tiff

Postdoctoral researcher

Shivshankar R. Mane

  • Hometown: Latur, India

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  • Education: 

    • Postdoc: University of Delaware, Newark

    • Postdoc: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

    • Postdoc: Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany

    • Ph.D: Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, India

    • M.Sc: Dr. B. A. M. University Aurangabad, India (Chemistry Department)

    • B.Sc: Dr. B. A. M. University Aurangabad, India 

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  • Favorite Molecule: Norborene.

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  • Brief Bio: In my free time I like to listen to music and play cricket. I also spend plenty of time reading.

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 Postdoctoral Researchers

Graduate Researchers

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Graduate researcher

Emile Morin

  • Hometown: Paris, France

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  • Education: B.S in Chemistry at Emory University (2022)
     

  • Favorite Molecule: Glutamic Acid (Umami)

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  • Brief Bio:  While you will usually find me in the lab listening to EDM music, in my free time I enjoy experimenting with cuisine and brewing kombucha. Otherwise, I spend my time reading science fiction novels, and playing a variety of board, video, and card games, such as Magic the Gathering. I also have a grey cat named Feta who is very cute, but not the brightest.

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Graduate researcher

Kyle Brown

  • Hometown: Oktaha, Oklahoma

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  • Education: Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma

 

  • Favorite Molecule: Aerobactin

 

  • Brief Bio:  In my free time I enjoy baking breads and cooking, strategy games, and old Japanese monster movies. I’m also a big fan of pugs, so please introduce me if you have one.

 

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Graduate researcher

Elana Muzzy

  • Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colorado

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  • Education: B.S. in Bioengineering at UC Santa Cruz

 

  • Favorite Molecule: Dopamine

 

  • Brief Bio:  In my free time I love doing absolutely anything outside especially trail running and swimming in the ocean.

 

​Undergraduate Researchers

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Undergraduate Researcher

Matthew C. Smith

Hometown: San Diego, California

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Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (Physics Dept.)

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Favorite Molecule: banana borane (9-BBN)

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Brief Bio: In my free time I love exploring math puzzles, programming games, and learning about aviation. I also enjoy swimming, skiing, hiking, and teaching others. Some of my favorite classes to tutor are Linear Algebra and Calculus.

 

email: matthewcsmith@ucsb.edu

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Undergraduate Researcher

Erica Barandica

Hometown: San Jose, California

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Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (Chemistry & Biochemistry Dept.)

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Favorite Molecule: capsaicin

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Brief Bio:  I'm a third-year Undergraduate interested in Materials Science and biotechnology. My free time is spent drinking yerba mate and listening to all kinds of music.

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email: ericabarandica@ucsb.edu

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Undergraduate Researcher

Andrew Johnson

Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara

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Favorite Molecule: methyl salicylate

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Brief Bio: My favorite sports are swimming and frisbee. A hobby I have recently picked up is reading manga by recommendation from friends.

 

email: a_johnson663@ucsb.edu

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Undergraduate Researcher

Lauren Madan

Hometown: Castro Valley, California

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Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (Pharmacology Dept.)

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Favorite Molecule: hyaluronic acid

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Brief Bio:  I love cosmetic science, I’m an officer of UCSB’s Society of Cosmetic Chemists and I am an ambassador for the skincare brand Starface!

 

email: lmadan@ucsb.edu

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Undergraduate Researcher

Aurora de Tagyos

Hometown: San Diego, California

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Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (Biochemistry Dept., College of Creative Studies)

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Favorite Molecule: any DASA photoswitch

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Brief Bio: I enjoy hiking, photography, and cross stitching in my free time. I also study a minor in German and would like to be fluent someday.

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email: auroradetagyos@chem.ucsb.edu

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Undergraduate Researcher

Nathan Nasseri

Hometown: San Diego, California

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Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (MCDB Dept.)

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Favorite Molecule: beta-alanine

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Brief Bio:  In my free time I enjoy being active. I love being outdoors, discovering new music, and reading a good book (and yes I’m taking any and all recommendations).

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email: nsnasseri@umail.ucsb.edu

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Undergraduate Researcher

Christian Teixeira

Hometown: Fillmore, California

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Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (Chemistry & Biochemistry Dept.)

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Favorite Molecule: dopamine

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Brief Bio:  I enjoy cooking, finding new music and working out. I am an active person and love watching sports with family and friends.

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email: cteixeira@ucsb.edu

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Undergraduate Researcher

Esteban Ortiz

Hometown: West Covina, California

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Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (MCDB Dept.)

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Favorite Molecule: penicillin G

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Brief Bio: I am currently a third year undergraduate student. I enjoy traveling, playing soccer, watching movies and jamming out on my guitar.

 

email: estebanortiz@ucsb.edu

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Undergraduate Researcher

Miranda Luzanilla-Zetina

  • ​Hometown: Long Beach, California

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  • Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (Chemistry & Biochemistry Department)

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  • Favorite Molecule: caffeine 

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  • Brief Bio: Outside of class I love reading, watching movies, and drawing! I could talk about Marvel, horror movies, and sci-fi for hours. 

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Undergraduate Researcher

Kimi Rubino

  • Hometown: Irvine, California

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  • Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara

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  • Favorite Molecule: penguinone

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  • Brief Bio: In my free time I enjoy playing soccer, reading, and baking. I’m always down for taking a walk on the beach and watching the sunset.

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Undergraduate Researcher

Lucas Ruggeri

  • Hometown: Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

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  • Undergraduate Education: University of California Santa Barbara (Biochemistry and molecular biology dept).

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  • Favorite Molecule: Lactose.  

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  • Brief Bio: I am a third year undergraduate student who enjoys exercising with my friends and playing sports.  I love playing/listening to music as well as traveling as much as I possibly can!  

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Undergraduate Researcher

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Natasha Cao

  • Hometown: Antioch, Ca

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  • Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (MCDB Dept.)

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  • Favorite Molecule: petrolatum

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  • Brief Bio: I like staying active in my free time and trying new skincare!

  • email: natashacao@ucsb.edu

Undergraduate Researcher

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Ian Maskiewicz

  • Hometown: Redlands, Ca

 

  • Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (Chemistry & Biochemistry Dept.)

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  • Favorite Molecule: N-methyl-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)propan-2-amine

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  • Brief Bio: I like skateboarding and making manganese heptoxide. I also love hiking in Los Padres National Forest!

  • email: ianmaskiewicz@ucsb.edu 

Website Manager

Website Manager and Undergraduate Researcher

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Ben Krey

  • Hometown: Lafayette, California

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  • Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (Chemistry & Biochemistry Dept.)

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  • Favorite Molecule: Chromyl chloride

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  • Brief Bio: I am a third year undergraduate interested in pharmaceutical chemistry. In my free time I am a member of the powerlifting team at UCSB and I'm learning how to code in Python.

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Alumni

 Undergraduate Researcher

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Haoxiang Chang

  • Hometown: Yinchuan, China

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  • Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (Chemistry and Electrical Engineering Dept.)

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  • Favorite Molecule: Water

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  • Brief Bio: I love visiting different parts of this world. When at home, I enjoy reading, cooking, and chatting.

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  • email: h_chang@ucsb.edu

 Undergraduate Researcher

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Sam Garcia

  • Hometown: Fresno, California

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  • Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara

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  • Favorite Molecule: rubisco

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  • Brief Bio: In my free time I like to watch movies, listen to music, and play guitar. I also spend plenty of time cooking and reading.

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  • email: samuelgarcia@ucsb.edu

 Undergraduate Researcher

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Sean Hwang

  • Hometown: Seoul, South Korea

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  • Undergraduate Education: University of California, Santa Barbara (Pharmacology Dept.)

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  • Favorite Molecule: adrenaline

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  • Brief Bio: I like to play video games in my free time. I play Valorant and League of Legends. In addition, I like to take naps!

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  • email: sunghyun_hwang@ucsb.edu

 Postdoctoral Researcher

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Yaniv Schlosberg

  • Hometown: Kfar-Saba, Israel

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  • Education: 

  • Postdoc: University of California, Santa Barbara (Chemistry dept.)

  • Ph.D: Technion – Israel institute of technology (Energy dept.)

  • M.Sc: Technion – Israel institute of technology (Chemistry dept.)

  • B.Sc: Bar–Ilan University(Chemistry dept.)

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  • Favorite Molecule: NADH.

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  • Brief Bio: In my free time I like Capoeira, Samba, Yoga, and Afro-Brazilian dance.

  • ​

  • email: yaniv@ucsb.edu

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