Graduates
Amy Metlay
was raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She attended the University of Chicago where she graduated with a B.S. in chemistry with honors in 2019. While at UChicago she conducted polymer research under the mentorship of Professor Stuart Rowan at the Institute of Molecular Engineering. Specifically, she synthesized and characterized dynamic liquid crystal networks containing disulfide bonds. Following the completion of her undergraduate studies, Amy began her graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Here she has a joint mentorship from Professor Dan Mindiola and Professor Tom Mallouk. Amy is interested in energy storage and is looking forward to see where her experience at UPenn takes her!
Jacob Mohar
was raised in Germantown, Wisconsin and attended college at Michigan Technological University. There, he worked in the research labs of Marina Tanasova and Loredona Valenzano-Slough in addition to working in the Chemistry Learning Center as the organic chemistry and general chemistry supplemental instruction leader. He ultimately found his passion in inorganic synthesis through pursuit of research endeavors at Argonne National Laboratory working under the direction of Massimiliano (Max) Delferro. There, he worked in synthesis of first row heterogeneous catalysts learning surface chemistry and synthetic inorganic techniques. Jacob also spent a semester at Leiden University in the Netherlands performing research under the direction of Lies Bouwman in palladium catalyzed isocyanate production using CO. He graduated from Michigan Technological University in May of 2019 and spent the following summer at Los Alamos National Laboratory working at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnology under the direction of Jen Hollingsworth. There, he looked at the synthesis spinel metal oxide nanoparticles and metal organic frameworks. Jacob came to the University of Pennsylvania in August of 2019 and joined the Mindiola research group. He will be continuing work in early transition metal catalysis and starting a new research focus in uranium chemistry and catalysis. Outside of the lab, Jacob enjoys cooking, board games, hiking, and road trips.
John Russell
was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and grew up outside the city in the small town of Arnprior, Ontario. He attended the University of Toronto, where he obtained his B.Sc. in Chemistry in 2020. John spent two years doing research in the laboratories of Professors Robert Morris and Douglas Stephan. In the Morris lab, John researched the reactivity of complexes bearing ligands designed from a novel phosphonium dimer, Acetaldehyde, 2-(Diphenylphosphino)-Phenyl Phosphonium Dimer. During his time in the Stephan group, he investigated Cyclic Aryl Amido Carbenes as potential Lewis bases in frustrated Lewis pair chemistry. In addition to his research, John successfully launched his own Chemistry themed start-up called SoluSave in 2019. SoluSave is a company that aims to reduce chemical waste generated in laboratories and in a like manner make laboratories more sustainable. In September 2020, John started his graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the Mindiola group where he is researching transition metal-catalyzed reactions targeting cyclic polymer formation. In John’s spare time he likes going for runs, playing sports, or yelling at sports teams on the TV screen.
Matthew R. Mena
was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. He attended New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces, New Mexico where he graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry and a minor in Physics as an NIH MARC Fellow. He worked under the guidance of Dr. Jessica P. Houston on contrasting mitochondrial metabolism with glycolysis in cancer cells with time-resolved flow cytometry. During his time at NMSU, he spent the summer of 2017 at the University of Missouri working under Dr. Heather K. Hunt on the synthesis of silica films for the inhibition of biofilm formation in joint replacement coatings. After graduating in 2018, he went on to Arizona State University to work under Dr. Ryan J. Trovitch on exploring small-molecule activation utilizing earth-abundant metals featuring redox non-innocent ligands. Following his time at ASU, Matthew moved to the University of Pennsylvania July of 2021 to continue his education and research in metal-ligand multiple bonds under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Mindiola.
Post-Doctorates and Visiting Scholars
Mrinal Bhunia
was born and raised in Haldia, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India. Mrinal received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Tamluk College, Vidyasagar University in 2010. After that he moved to Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi for completing his master’s degree in chemistry. During that time, he joined the M.Sc. project under the supervision of Prof. Ajai Kumar Singh to synthesize palladium organometallic complexes for Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions. Motivating from catalysis, he moved Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata in 2012 and joined under the supervision of Prof. Swadhin Mandal to pursue a Ph. D. There he took the challenge to develop earth-abundant metal based complexes comprising abnormal N-heterocyclic carbene (aNHC), cyclic alkyl(amino) carbene (cAAC), and redox active phenalenone ligands in homogeneous catalysis. Toward the end of his doctoral studies, he investigated how redox equivalent stored in the phenalenone backbone in the form of a C–H bond and transfers catalytically to perform multi-electron reduction which closely mimics nature’s strategy of using organohydride in the form of NAD(P)H. This study encouraged him to move the Mindiola group in fall of 2019 at University of Pennsylvania to carry out the research on the coordination chemistry of titanium, zirconium and hafnium for nitrogen transfer reactions towards challenging bonds. Outside of the lab, Mrinal enjoys playing cricket, football as well as spending time with friends and cooking.
Samuel Veroneau
grew up in Virginia and received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago. At Chicago, Sam researched the application of metal-organic frameworks to renewable energy in the group of Prof. Wenbin Lin. He returned to the East Coast and received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University in 2024 under the guidance of Prof. Daniel Nocera. His graduate studies focused on the electrochemistry of water splitting catalyst for green hydrogen production. His postdoctoral research will explore reactive nitrogen-based compounds as alternative fuels under the supervision of Profs. Tom Mallouk and Daniel Mindiola. Outside of chemistry, Sam enjoys making soup stocks, doing puzzles, and camping.