GROUP MEMBERS
GROUP MEMBERS
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(G1) Jonathan was born in Michigan and grew up near Ann Arbor, before moving to the Pacific Northwest with his family during high school. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Washington, obtaining a B.S. in Chemistry and Applied Mathematics. While in Seattle, he studied the electrocatalytic properties of iron supramolecular cages in Professor Dianne Xiao’s lab. Now at Caltech, Jonathan is interested in exploring electron spin relaxation in transition metal qubits, and his work is supported by the NSF GRFP. On the
weekends, Jonathan loves hiking, going to the beach, playing Catan, keeping tabs on his fantasy football roster, and reading sci-fi books.jaalto[at]caltech[dot]edu
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(G2) Maria was born in Monterrey, Mexico and grew up in Austin, Texas. She did her undergraduate studies at Barnard College in New York City, where she studied chemistry and chemical engineering. While at Barnard, Maria worked in the laboratory of Prof. Rachel Austin on the kinetics of the hydrodehalogenation of fluorinated benzenes facilitated by transition-metal heterogeneous catalysts. Now at Caltech, Maria works on the reactivity of Ni-mediated photocatalyzed cross-coupling and on the Liquid Sunlight Alliance (LiSA) project. Her research is supported by the GEM Fellowship and the Presidential Graduate Fellowship. Outside of science, Maria enjoys yoga, live music, and watching horror movies.
mblankem[at]caltech[dot]edu
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(Postdoc) Stephen grew up in the mushroom capital of the world, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. He obtained his B.S. in chemistry at Temple University where he researched electrolyte systems for lithium battery technology in the laboratory of Dr. Stephanie Wunder. With an interest in renewable energy, he conducted his PhD studies with Dr. Stefan Bernhard at Carnegie Mellon University focusing on photocatalysis. Specifically, he used high-throughput experimentation and automation to understand structure-activity relationships pertaining to the photophysical properties and photochemical activity of Ir(III) photocatalysts. After completion of his PhD, Stephen began postdoctoral research in Dr. Hannah Sayre’s group at Northeastern University using transient absorption spectroscopy to understand mechanisms within metallaphotoredox catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. He then moved to the Hadt lab to work as a Liquid Sunlight Alliance (LiSA) postdoctoral researcher to understand mechanisms within light-driven energy conversion reactions. In his free time, Stephen enjoys running, grabbing coffee, exploring new places and restaurants, and walking his dog, bear.
sdiluzio[at]caltech[dot]edu
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(G2) Keon Ha was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. He completed his undergraduate and master’s studies at Seoul National University, majoring in chemical and biological engineering. During his master’s degree at Seoul National University, Keon Ha worked with Prof. Do Heui Kim on the reduction of nitrogen oxide via ammonia using vanadyl heterogeneous catalysts. In the Hadt Lab, Keon Ha is involved in the Liquid Sunlight Alliance (LiSA) and molecular spin dynamics/qubit projects. Outside of research, Keon Ha enjoys playing tennis.
khwang[at]caltech[dot]edu
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(G5) Nathanael was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He conducted his undergraduate studies at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he received a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in music. While at Calvin, he developed chemometric data processing algorithms for studying complex chemical equilibria in the lab of Prof. Douglas A. Vander Griend. He additionally spent two summers in the lab of Prof. Kwabena Bediako at UC Berkeley, where he studied strain fields in twisted bilayer graphene and ferromagnetism in 2D intercalation materials. At Caltech, Nathanael’s research seeks to use ligand field theory to understand and control spin dynamics in transition metal compounds, with applications to quantum computing and quantum sensing. His research is supported by the Hertz Fellowship and the NSF GRFP. In his free time, Nathanael enjoys complaining about the California climate, thinking up names for his future cats, and sparring with Daniel at the chessboard.
nkazmier[at]caltech[dot]edu
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(G2) Arshiyan was born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She completed her BA in Neuroscience with a Chemistry minor from Smith College in Northampton, MA. During her time at Smith, she worked with Professor Maren Buck on developing self-rolling, biocompatible PVDMA hydrogel tubes to act as nerve guidance conduits. In the Hadt group, Arshiyan is working on developing biological quantum sensors and model systems. During her free time, Arshiyan enjoys gushing over her (long-distance) cat Sushi, watching horror and Disney movies, swimming and calling her family back in Dhaka.
alaaj[at]caltech[dot]edu
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(Postdoc) Born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, Stefan moved to Switzerland to study mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich. He first came to Caltech as a visiting researcher to complete his master’s thesis on characterizing the vibrational behavior of large foldable structures for space-based solar power collectors. Interested in exploring more fundamental science, Stefan stayed at Caltech for a Ph.D. in materials science, studying thermophysical properties of metallic materials. Under the supervision of Prof. Brent Fultz, he combined different spectroscopy techniques to measure the heat absorption and entropy of phonons and magnetic disorder in iron alloys, leading to a thermodynamic explanation of the invar effect. As a postdoc in the Hadt Lab, Stefan wants to explore spin-phonon interactions and how they affect the coherency of molecular quantum bits for quantum information and sensing. Besides science, Stefan enjoys spending time in nature, practicing yoga, and making ceramic pieces.
slohaus[at]caltech[dot]edu
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(G5) Katie was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up nearby in Schaumburg. Her family relocated to Georgia, and she did her undergraduate studies at the University of Georgia (B.S. in Chemistry). There, she worked toward elucidating the structure and reactivity of carbene and mono/dithiolene-based main group complexes in the laboratory of Dr. Greg Robinson. At Caltech, Katie is an NSF graduate research fellow and works on the Liquid Sunlight Alliance (LiSA) and molecular spin dynamics/qubit projects. In her free time, Katie enjoys reading, writing poetry, and spending time outdoors (all enhanced by a glass of red wine– preferably a Malbec).
kluedecke[at]caltech[dot]edu
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(Postdoc) Jake is Barbara and John’s youngest son and Alex’s brother. He was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He obtained his B.S. degree from the University of Georgia where he studied palladium-catalyzed C-H functionalization in Prof. Eric Ferreira’s lab. Jake realized metals are the key to his heart and studied organolanthanide catalysis under the mentorship of Prof. Tobin Marks at Northwestern University, where he obtained his Ph.D. There, he discovered a new chemodivergent reaction pathway within the lanthanide series. Missing the warm weather, Jake moved to Caltech and is now in the Hadt Lab where he works on the Liquid Sunlight Alliance (LiSA) project and spin dynamics within organometallics. Besides chemistry, Jake likes playing and watching sports, doing water coloring, and moving freezers with Chris.
jrothba[at]caltech[dot]edu
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(Postdoc) Born and raised in northwest England, Erica read Physics at the University of Nottingham. After this, she received her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh under the supervision of Dr. Olof Johansson. There she worked on method development in ultrafast broadband magneto-optics and the application of this technique to study both magnetization dynamics in 2D ferromagnetic semiconductors and transient MCD spectroscopy of porphyrins. At Caltech, Erica’s research seeks to use ultrafast magneto-optic spectroscopy to directly measure spin dynamics in molecular qubit candidates. In her free time, she enjoys reading, birdwatching, and exploring California.
esutclif[at]caltech[dot]edu
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(G5) A Southern California native, Chris completed his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, where he performed research with Prof. Gregory Weiss in accelerating enzymatic catalysis. Subsequently, he obtained an MPhil in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology from the University of Cambridge, where under the guidance of Prof. Elizabeth Hall he worked on engineering biosensors. Chris is interested in how biological systems are impacted by fundamental physical processes and phenomena, especially magnetism. As a member of the Hadt group, he is studying magnetic behavior in protein active sites. In his free time, Chris enjoys reading science fiction and biographical nonfiction, listening to opera, and engaging in outdoor activities and sports.
ctotoiu[at]caltech[dot]edu
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(G1) Hailing from a francophone community in Vancouver, Canada, Juliette completed her B.S. with Honours in Chemistry at the University of Alberta. During her undergraduate studies, she worked with Dr. Yunjie Xu and Dr. Wolfgang Jaeger, using rotational spectroscopy to study intra- and inter-molecular interactions. Her projects included exploring the conformational landscape of monosaccharides and investigating how water molecules interact with terpenes during the early stages of aerosol formation. She also found an interest in cryogenics while fixing a Helium nanodroplet spectrometer. Now a PhD student at Caltech, Juliette is working on developing spectroscopic techniques to study spin dynamics, with the goal of identifying molecular qubit candidates. In her free time, she enjoys backpacking and is excited to explore the Sierra Nevadas. She also loves reading and highly recommends Project Hail Mary, L'Étranger, andThe Nightingale to anyone who will listen.
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(Postdoc) Kay was born in New York and grew up living in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing and Boston. She attended Harvard University, where she received a joint Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and Visual and Environmental Studies. Afterward, she drove across the country to study supramolecular host-guest chemistry with Professors Dean Toste, Ken Raymond, and Bob Bergman at UC Berkeley, where she earned her PhD. During her PhD, she also worked with Professor Anne Baranger on chemical education and improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the graduate chemistry program at Berkeley. Now in the Hadt lab, she is interested in investigating magnetic field effects on radical pair reactions. Outside of the lab she enjoys cuddling her four cats, hiking, knitting, and living in West Hollywood.
ktx[at]caltech[dot]edu
PAST GROUP MEMBERS
Dr. David Cagan
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2024
Current affiliation: Postdoc at Scripps Research, San Diego.
Dr. Ruben Mirzoyan
Ph.D. Chemistry, 2024
Current affiliation: Postdoc at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Thais Scott
Postdoc, 2024
Current affiliation: Assistant Professor at Bowdoin College, Maine.
Dr. Daniel Bím
Postdoc, 2023
Current affiliation: Assistant Professor at the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Czechia.
Dr. Brendon McNicholas
Postdoc, 2022
Current affiliation: Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Nathan Lopez
B.S. in Chemistry, 2023
Current affiliation: Graduate Student at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Ryan Ribson
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2022
Current affiliation: Experimental Research Associate at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (LCLS facilities).
Dr. Alec Follmer
Postdoc, 2022
Current affiliation: Assistant Professor at UC Davis.
Dr. Gautam Stroscio
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2021
Current affiliation: Postdoc at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.