BENJAMIN S. HSIAO
RESEARCH GROUP
Madani A Khan
PhD student
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Email: madani.khan@stonybrook.edu
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Madani received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the City College of New York. His current project involves functionalization of cellulose-based membranes to remove arsenic (III), arsenic (V) and other hard metals from drinking water.
Grenalynn C. Ilacas
PhD student
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Email: grenalynn.ilacas@stonybrook.edu
Grenalynn received both her Bachelor's degree (California State University, San Bernardino) and Master's degree (California State University, Los Angeles) in chemistry with an emphasis in biochemistry. She is currently focused on understanding the chemical and physical aspects of locally sourced biochar, as well as characterizing these samples before and after chemical activation via the nitro-oxidation process.
Noel Womack
PhD student
Email: noel.womack@stonybrook.edu
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Noel received his Bachelor's degree from Southern Connecticut State University and his Master's Degree from Stony Brook University. Noel has a background in organic synthesis and polymer chemistry. His current project involves determination and utilization of nutrients, extracted from biomass feedstocks via the nitro-oxidation process, for liquid fertilizers.
Shengyu Yu
PhD Student
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Shengyu received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Laurentian. (Sudbury, Ontario) His research focused on the application of nanoparticles to water purification using cellulose-based scaffolds.
Damian Amiruddin
PhD student
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Email: damian.amiruddin@stonybrook.edu
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Damian received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Chemistry. His current research focuses on the development of polymer membranes for both desalination and hydrogen gas production.
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2024-2025 QuADS NRT Fellowship Recipient
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Kaushanie Gunarathne
PhD student
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Email: kaushanie.gunarathne@stonybrook.edu
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Kaushanie received her bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Her current research is focussing on developing new bio-inspired construction materials using nanocellulose for extreme cold weathers.
Andrew Wright
PhD student
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Email: andrew.wright@stonybrook.edu
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Andrew received his Bachelor's degree in chemistry from Truman State University, Missouri, USA. His current research focuses on structural characterization of PFAS adsorption to develop innovative removal methods from water sources.
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2023-2024 QuADS NRT Fellowship Recipient
Mahdi Rezaei
PhD student
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Mahdi got his bachelor's in pure chemistry at Shahid Beheshti University in Iran and then went on to get his master's in polymer chemistry from the University of Tehran. Right now, he's diving into how pressure impacts Nitro Oxidation Process(NOP) and looking at ways to scale it up.
Nadege Durand
PhD student​
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Nadege received her Bachelor's degree from University of Pittsburgh. Her current research focuses on the utilization of nanocellulose to improve various growing media and observe plant health.
Rebecca Potoff
PhD student
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Rebecca received her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Binghamton University. Her research focuses on recycling food waste into nanocellulose for remediation of environmental contaminants.
Sanket Mhaskar
PhD student
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Email: sanket.mhaskar@stonybrook.edu
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Sanket received his Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from University of Mumbai and Master's degree in Physical Chemistry from Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), India. His current research focuses on using Nitro-oxidized carboxycellulose nanofibers (NOCNFs) as media to adsorb toxic metal ions (e.g., Pb and Cd) in soil and prevent their entrance into crops during growth for food safety.
Eniola Esther Arogunyo
PhD student
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Email: eniola.arogunyo@stonybrook.edu
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Eniola obtained her Bachelor’s degree in pure Chemistry from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria with a focus on synthesis, characterization, and antimicrobial studies of metal-mixed Ligand complexes. Later, she received her master’s degree in chemistry from Pittsburg State University, Kansas with research focused on the Rapid Detection of Food-borne Pathogens using biosensors. Her PhD focuses on Slow-Controlled Release/Leaching studies for Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE). When she’s not doing research, she enjoys singing, drawing, or playing badminton.
Andressa Silva Gomes
PhD student
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Email: andressa.silvagomes@stonybrook.edu
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Andressa is an abroad student and received her bachelor's and master's degrees from the Sao Paulo State University - UNESP in Brazil. Andressa has experience in vitro cell culture, nanoparticle synthesis, and surface physico-chemistry. Her current project involves the cellulose extraction from sugarcane bagasse and pinus sawdust by nitro-oxidation process to obtain the hydrogel for Cr(VI) removal from water.
Abubakar Lawal Mohammed
PhD student
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Email: abubakarlawal.mohammed@stonybrook.edu
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Abubakar's research focuses on the development and application of green and sustainable nanocellulose-based materials for the effective removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from contaminated wastewater. This research harnesses the unique physicochemical properties of nanocellulose, functionalizability, and eco-friendly nature, to design advanced adsorption systems capable of addressing the persistent and hazardous nature of PFAS pollutants. The work aims to contribute to both environmental remediation and the advancement of sustainable materials science.