The Milner Group, Winter 2023
Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. Reum Scott Reum Scott received his Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and Master of Science from Howard University. Under the guidance of Dr. Lara Estroff in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) at Cornell, he completed his PhD studying the mechanism of sol-gel combustion to produce crystalline calcium phosphates and the application of sol-gel combustion in the production of bio-inspired composites to mimic the structure of bone. Currently, he is jointly advised by Phill and Julia Dshemuchadse in MSE to bridge coarse-grain simulation and experimentation. Can simulation be used to predict MOF assembly?
Dr. Jiachen He Jiachen earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Henan University, where she conducted research under the mentorship of Prof. Qiuxia Han, focusing on the applications of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) in photocatalysis. She then pursued her PhD in the Department of Chemistry at Indiana University Bloomington, under the supervision of Prof. Silas Cook. Her PhD research centered on harnessing radicals in trifluoromethylation, borylation, and anti-Markovnikov hydroesterification. In the Milner lab, Jiachen will focus on leveraging MOFs to develop innovative approaches to pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals with fluorinated gases. Outside of lab, she enjoys hiking, playing video games, and watching movies.
Graduate Students
Sijing (Zoe) Meng
I’m from Jinan, a beautiful city in China with 72 springs (thus called “spring city”). I chose to study abroad after high school. During my undergraduate study at UC San Diego, I fell in love with the beauty of the world of organic molecules (shout out to amazing Dr. Bob!!!). After I spent one year working in Theodorakis Lab and two years at Takeda as a medicinal chemistry intern, I realized I was not satisfied with what I knew. Then, here I am~ Cornell C&CB Program! In free time (do I have any?), I WANT TO learn guitar, Japanese, singing and drawing (too procrastinated to do anything). I have always been struggling to reconcile with both my “artistic” and “scientific” nature, so hopefully in the future, I am able to truly combine Art and Science (hence the name of this college…) and bring awareness about the aesthetics of science.
Ruth Mandel
Ruth received her B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in French Studies from the University of Delaware. During the summers she worked to synthesize and characterize self-assembled monolayers of azide-terminated alkanethiols on gold. Her research interests include the synthesis and characterization of metal organic frameworks with an emphasis in applications for gas capture. An avid language learner, she currently speaks French and Japanese and is planning on learning Korean and Italian in the future.
Jaehwan Kim Jaehwan fares from across the Pacific Ocean and the other hemisphere in Auckland, New Zealand. He completed his undergraduate degree in Princeton University with an A.B. (yes, Princeton was so pretentious that they had to abbreviate the Latin instead) in Chemistry, doing his senior thesis on modelling various hybrid photosynthesis schemes and predicting their maximum efficiencies at converting solar power into fuel compounds with Professor Andrew Bocarsly and Professor Buz Barstow (currently in Cornell), his summer work with Professor José Avalos on optogenetic control of yeast growth and his junior work on CO2 reduction with gallium with Professor Bocarsly. He took a year off after his graduation in 2018 to reflect on what he wanted to do with life while working with Dr. Jonathan Kitchen at Massey University on functionalising self-assembling monolayers as anion detectors. He currently focuses on making novel organic battery materials and exploring ways to make Covalent Organic Framework (COF) versions of them. While Jaehwan’s not trying to explore every chemistry field during his research career, he likes to swim, hike and listen to musicals (talk to him about Next to Normal or Dear Evan Hansen maybe? Or Les Mis). He tried to learn to dance with the Cornell Ballroom club before COVID hit, but hopefully he’ll pick it back up. He would also like to volunteer at the SPCA shelter in the near future. If you see him around, feel free to talk to him. He won’t bite…
Ronald Jerozal
Ron was born and raised in Buffalo, New York and received a BS in Chemistry and a BA in Mathematics from the University at Buffalo. While attending the University at Buffalo he worked to synthesize photochromic co-crystals and metal-organic frameworks and then study them by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. His current research interests involve bimetallic metal-organic frameworks and their role as catalysts and reagents. When not thinking of chemistry, he enjoys playing the bass guitar, gaming, cooking, watching movies, playing pool and socializing with friends. Also for the summer, he enjoys hiking, camping, fishing, boating, and exploring the great state parks near Ithaca.
Tyler Azbell Tyler hails from Columbus, Ohio and earned his B.S in Chemistry with a minor in Film Studies from Purdue University in 2019. While at Purdue he worked under the supervision of Dr. Tong Ren to synthesize novel metal-alkynyl complexes, which served as model molecular wire compounds. Tyler’s research interests are now focused on trapping reactive species in open metal site MOFs. Outside of the lab, Tyler passes the time running throughout beautiful Ithaca, snowboarding when the winter hits, playing the guitar, watching movies, and religiously following Cleveland sports.
Tristan Pitt
Tristan grew up in Boise, Idaho-a great place with lots of mountains and state parks to enjoy. He attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and received a BA in chemistry with minors in Arabic and Middle East Studies. As an undergraduate, Tristan researched 2D thin-film mixed metal oxide semiconductors for photoelectrochemical water splitting applications. After graduating, he worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory for non-aqueous redox flow batteries, among other projects. In the Milner group, he is currently studying N2O capture and utilization in open-metal-site MOFs, and conductivity in N-heterocyclic carbene-based 2D MOFs. Outside of lab, Tristan enjoys spending time outdoors, cooking, reading, listening to music, playing piano and petting his cat.
Kaitlyn Keasler
Kaitlyn grew up in a small, rural town in northern NJ. She received an A.B. in Chemistry and a certificate in Materials Science and Engineering from Princeton University. In undergrad, she studied transition metal-catalyzed C(sp2)–H functionalization in the Chirik group. At Cornell, she joined the Milner group to leverage MOFs as a strategy to explore poorly understood transformations in organic chemistry. Aside from chemistry, she loves learning about religion and Biblical Hebrew. In her free time, she greatly enjoys cooking new foods, hiking, spending time with friends and family, and cuddling with cats (or dogs!). Since her apartment has a no-pet policy, she volunteers at the Sciencenter and hangs out with lizards, snakes and horseshoe crabs instead!
Jianheng (Allen) Ling
Allen attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and earned a B.S. in Biochemistry. While at Purdue, he first conducted undergraduate research with Prof. Jeremy Lohman, studying enzymology and synthesizing inhibitors for the study of substrate specificity and mechanism of acyltransferases. After spending two years dealing with different types of proteins and learning how to think like an experienced biochemist, he decided to explore research in organic chemistry, and joined the lab of Prof. Christopher Uyeda, studying azo ring-opening metathesis polymerizations. Here at Cornell, Allen is interested in making new COFs and using them as porous materials for potential applications in energy storage, catalysis, and chemical separations.
Emily Stacy Emily grew up in Hunterdon County, New Jersey and earned her B.S. in Chemistry and B.S in Biochemistry from Virginia Tech. As an undergraduate researcher, she worked in the Carlier group on the synthesis of betacarboline amides for use as antimalarial drugs. In the Milner lab, Emily will be working on a variety of MOF catalysts. Outside of the lab, she enjoys skiing, reading (especially books in the magical realism genre), and spending time with her cat Fig.
Yihuan Lai Yihuan was born and raised in China and received a B.S. in Chemistry from Nankai University. While at Nankai she worked under the supervision of Dr. Dazhen to develop iron-catalyzed oxidative coupling reactions. She also did a lot of synthetic organic chemistry during her undergraduate study. In her junior year, she was a visiting student in Prof. Song Lin’s group at Cornell University for half a year, then She liked Cornell very much and tried to pursue a higher degree here. After graduating from Nankai University, she worked as a research assistant at Peking University in China. During that year, her major goal is to develop recyclable polymer materials by ring opening and ring closing reactions of lactones. Her current research interests include electrocatalysis and redox active materials. Outside of Chemistry, Yihuan enjoys drawing, cooking and hiking.
Bayu Ahmad Bayu (by-you) is originally from the metropolitan area of Jakarta, Indonesia but found some comfort in the countryside during his undergraduate study at Middlebury College, Vermont. He studied chemistry alongside minors in computer science and global health and conducted his thesis work on synthesizing a ruthenium-complexed molecular wire monomer with Professor Jeff Byers. He also interned for Professor Tim Cernak at the University of Michigan doing total synthesis and at Merck contributing to discovery chemistry projects. In the Milner group, he seeks to explore the untapped potential of MOFs for catalysis. Outside lab, Bayu is an avid coffee drinker who likes to spend time with his cuddly cat, game, volunteer, ponder over the existence of free will, and do long-distance overland travel. His other passions include advocating for LGBTQ rights and environmental justice.
Mary Eaton Mary was born and raised in sunny Oldsmar, Florida and received her B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Florida. As an undergrad in Prof. Leslie Murray’s research group, Mary studied how multiple transition metal centers can work in concert to activate and functionalize energy-relevant small molecules such as N2, CO2, CO and H2. In the Milner lab at Cornell, she will be working on the application of MOFs in selective C-H activation. In her free time, Mary enjoys soaking up nature, reading a good book, traveling, and learning about wine.
Alexandra Lim Alexandra was born and raised in Washington State and received her B.S. in chemistry from Rice University. While at Rice, she worked on the deuteration of unactivated alkenes using cooperative hydrogen atom transfer (cHAT) under the supervision of Dr. Julian West. In the Milner lab, Alexandra will be working on CO2 capture with -OH based materials. Outside of lab, she enjoys baking, hiking, and listening to music.
Daniel Nakamura Danny grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Rochester. During his time there, he investigated nickel-catalyzed olefin difunctionalization by transposition of amides. In the Milner group, he looks forward to working with MOF catalysts and exploring their unique reactivity. Outside the lab, he spends his time reading, baking, and being terrorized by his cats (Jimmy and Fern).
Undergraduate Students
Donovan Cho I’m Donovan and I am an undergraduate student from New York City studying Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering. I am interested in the intersection between research in organic materials like MOFs and the sustainability field. Outside of lab and classroom, I love playing ultimate frisbee, listening to music, and watching YouTube videos.
Elena Chen I am currently an undergraduate student pursuing a chemistry major in the College of Arts and Sciences and I was originally from the Bay Area in California. I am interested in synthetic organic research that is applicable to the medicinal fields. Outside of research, I enjoy reading, watching Korean dramas, and spending time with friends.
Julia Pitolaj My name is Julia and I’m from Rochester, NY. I’m studying chemistry in the College of Arts & Sciences and I look forward to exploring the use of MOFs in organic synthesis as part of the Milner Lab. In my free time, I enjoy playing piano, listening to music, watching TV shows and spending time with friends.
Zayim Jamil My name is Zayim Jamil and I am an undergraduate student from Southborough, Massachusetts pursuing a chemistry major and a psychology minor in the College of Arts & Sciences. I am interested in the applications of MOFs and related compounds in environmental sustainability and drug development. Outside of research, I enjoy spending time with friends, learning obscure facts, competing in esports tournaments, and obsessing over the color green.
Ian Lillie My name is Ian, and I’m an undergraduate from San Diego, California studying Materials Science & Engineering in the College of Engineering. I’m interested in the synthesis of novel materials such as polymers and COFs, and their applications in human health and sustainability. Beyond my academic interests, I’m super outdoorsy and go running every day, rain, sleet or shine! I also love to downhill and cross-country ski, backpack, hike, and have recently taken an interest in rock climbing.