Current Postdocs and Graduate Students
Dr. Santu Sarkar (sasarkar21@vt.edu)
- Current Postdoctoral scholar
- Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education & Research
- M.S. in Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology
- B.S. in Chemistry, The University of Burdwan
Current Research Objectives: H2S-releasing small molecules and polymers
Dr. Rajnish Kumar (rajnish@vt.edu)
- Current Postdoctoral scholar
- Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology
- M.S. in Chemistry, Patna University
- B.S. in Chemistry, Magadh University
Current Research Objectives: H2S-releasing materials
Samantha Scannelli (sams24@vt.edu)
Education:
- Pursuing Ph.D. in Chemistry
- B.S. in Biochemistry, Virginia Tech
Current Research Objectives: Tapered bottlebrush polymer synthesis
Sarah Swilley-Sanchez (sarahswilley@vt.edu)
Education:
- Pursuing Ph.D. in Chemistry
- B.S. in Polymer Science, The University of Southern Mississippi
Current Research Objectives: Synthesis of H2S releasing macromolecular systems
Yumeng “Jackie” Zhu (yumengz@vt.edu)
Education:
- Pursuing Ph.D. in Chemistry
- B.S. in Chemistry, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Current Research Objectives: Synthesis of peptide-based materials
Zhao Li (zhaoli92@vt.edu)
Education:
- Pursuing Ph.D. in Chemistry
- M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida
- B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University
Current Research Objectives: Synthesis of peptide-based materials
Abby Chinn (abigailchinn@vt.edu)
Education:
- Pursuing Ph.D. in Chemistry
- B.S. in Chemistry, Murray State University
Current Research Objectives: Synthesis of polymers containing polysaccharides and/or polypeptides
Clark Vu
Education:
- Pursuing Ph.D. in Macromolecular Science and Engineering
- M.S. in Chemical Engineering, the University of Florida
- B.S. in Chemistry Engineering, the University of Texas at Austin
Current Research Objectives: Synthesis of bottlebrush polymers for novel applications
Anna Steele (aqsteele@vt.edu)
Education:
- Pursuing Ph.D. in Chemistry
- B.S. in Chemistry Engineering, UMass Amherst
Current Research Objectives: Synthesis of sustainable, degradable polymers
Ishani Sarkar (ishani@vt.edu)
Education:
- Pursuing Ph.D. in Chemistry
- M.S. in Medicinal Chemistry, Pune University
- B.S. in Chemistry, University of Calcutta
Current Research Objectives: H2S-releasing small molecules
Daniela Samaniego (samaniegod@vt.edu)
Education:
- Pursuing Ph.D. in Chemistry
- B.S. in Chemistry, Wofford College
Current Research Objectives: Bottlebrush block-copolymer self-assembly
Current Matson Group Undergraduate Students
Lucas Aparicio
Henry Kirby
Noah Williams
Evan Zajkowski
Former Matson Group Graduate Students and Postdocs
Tamalika Paul
Tamalika is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in biomedical and veterinary sciences with co-advisors Prof. Vlaisavljevich and Prof. Allen at Virginia Tech.
Dr. Sarah Blosch
Ph.D. in Macromolecular Science and Engineering, 2022
Sarah is a research investigator working at Dupont on high performance materials.
Dr. Mohammed Alaboalirat
Ph.D. in Macromolecular Science and Engineering, 2022
Mohammed is working at Saudi Aramco focusing on polymers for use in crude oil emulsions.
Dr. Anastasia Volokhova
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2022
Anastasia is a packaging R&D engineer working on photoresistant lamination at Intel.
Dr. Kearsley Dillon
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2021
Kearsley is a senior R&D chemist at Afton Chemical.
Dr. Ryan Carrazzone
Ph.D. in Macromolecular Science and Engineering, 2021
Ryan is currently working at Intel as a packaging R&D engineer.
Dr. Yin Wang
Postdoctoral scholar, 2017-2020
Yin is now an associate professor at the School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, focusing on developing supramolecular smart materials for drug delivery. Yin’s website here.
Jeffrey Weaver
M.S. in Chemistry, 2020
Dr. Kuljeet Kaur
Ph.D. in Chemsitry, 2019
Kuljeet is a postdoctoral researcher at EPFL, Switzerland, working on surface-grafted polymers. Her work focuses on understanding the properties of polymer brushes under aqueous conditions.
Dr. Mingjun Zhou
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2019
Mingjun is currently a assistant professor at Yantai University in China.
Dr. Yun Qian
Ph.D. in Macromolecular Science and Engineering, 2019
Yun is a process development scientist at Levena Biopharma focusing on antibody drug conjugation.
Dr. Chadwick Powell
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2019
Chad is a research scientist at Solvay Specialty Polymers working on high performance materials.
Dr. Kyle Arrington
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2018
Kyle works at Intel focused on thermal material challenges in semiconductor assembly.
Dr. Jeff Foster
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2017
After completing his Ph.D., Jeff spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow and group leader with Prof. Rachel O’Reilly at the University of Birmingham in the UK. He now works at Sandia National Labs in organic materials science.
Dr. Scott Radzinski
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2017
Scott is a Senior Polymer Chemist at Secant Group focusing on improving the synthesis and properties of novel biomaterials for implantable medical devices as well as working on enhancing cell care products using material science.
Matson Research Group 