People

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

 
Susan A. Odom
Susan Odom is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky. As an undergraduate, Prof. Odom’s worked in the laboratory of Prof. Joseph Chappell at the University of Kentucky in the College of Agriculture from 2000-2001, assisting in the growth of modified tobacco cell cultures. Afterward she participated in an REU at Cornell University with Prof. Geoffrey Coates where she synthesized a chiral zinc-containing catalyst (2001). Working for Prof. John Anthony as an undergraduate researcher at the University of Kentucky (2001-2003) led her to organic materials chemistry. She synthesized dehydroannulene and acene derivatives and fabricated organic LEDs.

After receiving a B.S. degree in chemistry in 2003, Prof. Odom moved to Atlanta, GA, where she received a Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology under the guidance of Prof. Seth Marder and Dr. Stephen Barlow. She synthesized bis- and tris- triarylamine derivatives and studied their radical cations as mixed-valent species. A stint at the University of Oxford as a visiting student in Prof. Harry Anderson’s research group (2005) sparked a few projects on chromophores containing zinc porphyrins with squaraine or perylene diimide acceptor moieties for nonlinear optical studies and photo-induced electron transfer studies.

Prof. Odom joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky in 2011 after a position as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign where she developed self-healing electronic materials and damage-indicating microcapsules under the guidance of Prof. Jeffrey Moore. She also held a joint position at Argonne National Laboratory studying microcapsules, microspheres, and electrolyte additives in lithium-ion batteries for improved safety and extended lifetimes. Prof. Odom’s current research interests include research in organic and materials chemistry for energy storage applications and studying structure-property relationships in redox couples across mutiple states of oxidation. She teaches organic chemistry at the 200 level as well as a 500 level undergraduate organic chemistry lab. She is a member of the University Appeals Board and is the chair of the department's Academic Integrity Committee. She is a board member of the KY Ace Women's Network and is the chair of the UK Faculty Women's Sanity Club. She serves as a faculty advisor for UK's Energy Club, an undergraduate organization. In her spare time, Prof. Odom enjoys cooking, traveling, and gardening.
 
 

RESEARCH PROFESSOR

 
Aman Preet Kaur
Aman was born and brought up in India. She received her Ph.D. in from University of Kentucky, with a focus on chemical functionalization of N-doped multiwalled carbon nanotubes (N-MWCNTs) and their application as electrode materials for Li-ion batteries. She first joined the Odom group as a post-doctoral scholar in 2013 and later as a research scientist in 2019. Her research includes design of organic electroactive materials for use in energy storage, including Li-ion and redox flow batteries. In her spare time, Aman likes to travel, dance, and watch TV.
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

GRADUATE STUDENTS

 
Anton Perera
Anton joined the group in December 2018. He completed his undergraduate studies in chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon. He focuses on studying the solubility of redox-active materials using both computation and experiments. Anton is enthusiastic about new technology and computers. He enjoys music and is a member of the UK Newman Center Choir.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rahul Jha

Rahul joined the group in December 2019. He completed his master's from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal, India in May 2019. His master's research was performed under Prof. Jeyaraman Sankar, where he worked on porphyrin-BODIPy conjugates for organic photovoltaics. This work inspired him to conduct renewable energy research in graduate school. His current research focuses on the development of electroactive organic molecules for nonaqueous redox flow batteries. In his spare time, Rahul likes to travel and explore his culinary skills. 

 

 

 

 

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

 

Daniel Dailey

Daniel is an undergraduate chemical engineering major at the University of Kentucky. He has been working on high potential redox couples for overcharge protection and cathode passivation in lithium-ion batteries as well as the development of high potential reducing agents based on perfluorinated phenothiazine radical cation salts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

 

Elizabeth Elliot

Elizabeth is interested in the synthesis of redox-active materials for flow battery technologies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALUMNI - MOST RECENT (reverse chronological order by departure date)

 
 
Pawan Sitaula (postdoctoral scholar, 2020-2021)
 
Pawan was born and raised in Nepal. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Nevada, Reno where he was mentored by Prof. Wesley A. Chalifoux. His doctoral research was based on the synthesis of soluble contorted Nanographenes utilizing alkyne benzannulation reactions. He enjoys listening to music, playing volleyball, hiking and social services.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Nuwan Harsha Attanayake (graduate student, 2015-2020)

Harsha joined the group in October 2015. He received his B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. His current research focuses on developing and testing highly soluble, stable electro-active organic compounds for non-aqueous redox flow batteries, evaluating membranes/separators for non-aqueous redox flow batteries, and developing high potential redox shuttles for overcharge protection of Li-ion batteries. Harsha likes to travel, and watch movies and TV series in his spare time. 

 
 
 
 

 

 

Thilini Malsha Suduwella (graduate student, 2017-2020)

Malsha was born and raised in Sri Lanka. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree, with specialization in chemistry from University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She started her graduate studies at University of Kentucky in Fall 2017. Her research is based on synthesizing redox-active organic molecules for non-aqueous redox flow batteries and optimizing their solubility and stability to compatible with Non-Aq RFBs. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and listening to classical music.
 
 
 

Madelyn Harris (undergraduate, 2020)

 

 

 

 

Madison Kearschner (undergraduate, 2020)

Madison was a former member of the UK Softball Team. She was a BS Chemical Engineering major who studied the solubility of combinations of redox-active compounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melissa Bresenstein (undergraduate, 2020)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

George Pittman (undergraduate, 2019-2020)

George is an undergraduate student at the University of Kentucky studying for a BA in Biology. He is interested in researching the synthesis of organic molecules. George enjoys cooking, watching TV, and reading during his spare time.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dema Sami (High school student, 2019-2020)

Dema is a senior at Lafayette High School. She is working on analytical techniques to evaluate neutral and charged forms of organic redox couples. In her free time, Dema enjoys travelling to exotic locations and spending time with family and friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alexandria "Ally" Watrous (High school student, 2019-2020)

Ally is a a senior in the Pre-Engineering program at Lafayette High School. She is working on the synthesis and characterization of nitrogen-containing heterocycles as candidates for redox flow battery active materials.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walter "Walt" McGavran (High school student, 2019-2020)

Walt is a student in the Math, Science, Technology Center at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. In the Odom group, he works on the synthesis of phenothiazines with solubilizing substituents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zhiming Liang (postdoctoral scholar, 2018-2020)

Zhiming obtained his B.S. degree in Chemistry from the Sichuan University, China. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky in 2018. His research interests include photovoltaic, thermoelectric, transistors, OLED, photo-catalyst, redox flow, and Li-ion batteries. Zhiming was a group member from August 2018 to February 2020. His research focused on optimizing the performance of a non-aqueous redox flow battery prototype. In his free time, Zhiming enjoys basketball, tennis, cycling, and photography. In March, Zhiming started a position as a research associate at CU Boulder.

 
 
 
 

 

Mina Sami (undergraduate, 2019)
Mina is an undergraduate student at the University of Kentucky, and she is graduating with a B.A. degree in Chemistry. She is interested in researching the synthesis reactions of organic material. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and learning different languages. Mina is a senior at the University of Kentucky.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

William L. Eubanks (undergraduate student, 2017-2019)
Will joined the group in August 2017 and will be graduating with his B.S in Chemistry in May 2019. He was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. His research focuses on improving the efficiency and yield of synthesis reactions for electroactive organic materials, and optimizing these compounds' solubility and stability in neutral and radical cation forms. Will's hobbies include travel, camping, geocaching, aviation, and watching Stranger Things. After graduating with a B.S. in chemistry, Will joined the Chemistry graduate program at the University of Nevada Reno.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chase Smith (high school student, 2017-2018)
Chase was in our group when he was a junior at Lafayette Senior High School. He assists in the synthesis of stable and soluble electroactive compounds for non-aqueous redox flow batteries. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Feisong Qin (postbaccalaureate student, 2018)
Feisong "Song" is visited us for a few months from Jilin University in Changchun, Jilin, China. She studies the stability of electroactive redox couples by UV-vis spectroscopy. After leaving the group, Feison joined the graduate program at Jilin University in Chanchung, China.
 
 
 
 
 
 

ALUMNI - SUMMARY

Postdoctoral Fellows

Zhiming Liang (2017-2019)

Giorgio Baggi (2019)

Matthew Casselman (2014–2016)

Selin Ergun (2011–2014)

Aman Preet Kaur (2013–2017)

Pramod Poudel (2013–2014)

Rongbing Yang (2013)

 

Visiting Scholars

Subramanyam Modekrutti (2015–2016)

 

Graduate Students

Nuwan Harsha Attanayake (2015-2020)

 

Thilini Malsha Suduwella (2017-2020)

Nathaniel George (2015–2017)

John Jennings (2011–2012)

Kishore Narayan (2011–2014)

Edward Loya (2014–2016)

Nicholas Wright (2015–2016)

 

Post-baccalaureate Students

Steven Chapman (2016)

Nathaniel George (2015)

Emma Holland (2016)

Darius Allen Shariaty (2016, 2019)

 

Undergraduate Students

Bobby Barker (2012–2013)

Marissa Bressenstein (2017)

Rachael Burrows (2012–2013)

Steven Chapman (2013–2016)

Corrine Elliott (2013–2017)

William Eubanks (2017-2019)

Daniel Flores (2013–2015)

Cortney Gandy (2012)

Amanda Grass (2012)

Bryan Ingoglia (2012–2014)

Amir Kucharski (2013–2014)

Stephen Manek (2012–2014)

Anthony Marti (2012)

Austin Miller (2013)

Thuy Nguyen (2014­–2015)

Amita Patel (2013–2014)

Mina Sami (2019)

Darius Shariaty (2015–2016)

Aleksandra Vidovich (2012)

Peter Zhang (2015–2017)

 

High School Students

Christine Brandewie (2014)

Corrine Elliott (2011–2013)

Arjun Kanthawar (2018)

Henry Lin (2015)

Nelson Ng (2012–2014)

Michael Runipen (2013)

Chase Smith (2017-2018)

Elizabeth Walsh (2011–2012)

Naijiao Zhang (2013–2015)