Chemistry Personnel

Orion Staples – was born and raised in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He attended the University of New Mexico, where he obtained his B.S. in Chemistry. While at New Mexico, Orion conducted research under the mentorship of Dr. Richard A. Kemp. Orion investigated the use of spectroscopically distinct coordination compounds for the monitoring of subterranean fluid flows in geothermal and shale-oil wells. Additionally, he investigated the chemistry of redox active PNP ligands and their unique coordination compounds with copper and bismuth. This work was presented at the ACS national meetings in both San Francisco and Washington D.C. In conjunction with his undergraduate research at New Mexico, Orion spent 2 years working for Dr. Andrew Sutton at Los Alamos National Lab. Here, he investigated the catalytic upgrading of bio-derived feedstocks to synthetically relevant platform chemicals and high energy-density liquid fuels. Through his research ventures, Orion was awarded the LANL distinguished student award in 2017 and 2018 as well as the 2017 ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry award for undergraduate research. He subsequently presented this research, conducted with Dr. Sutton, at the ACS national meeting in New Orleans. In addition, Orion was actively involved with the ACS UNM student affiliate throughout his undergraduate studies, and was the president of the organization during his senior year. He looks to continue to develop his fervor for outreach throughout graduate school. In the fall of 2018 Orion began his pursuit of a doctoral degree in Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania in the Mindiola Group.