REU

Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)

Partnering since 2021 with the NSF-REU Site: Integrated Design of Materials in New York City!

SUMMER 2024 - in partnership with IDMinNYC REU Site

  • Reynaldo Barreto Sanchez, Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Donna McGregor

"Histidine and Aspartic Acid Tripeptides as Proton Conducting Materials"

  • Laura Beaubrun, Louisiana State University, Louisiana, was mentored by Prof. Rein Ulijn

"Dipeptides as Biocatalysts"

  • Josue Dedos, Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Xi Chen

"Evaluation of Crystallization Conditions for Leucine-phenylalanine (LF) Dipeptides"

  • Isabella Diaz, Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Donna McGregor

"Histidine and Aspartic Acid Tripeptides as Proton Conducting Materials"

  • Isabella Escutia, University of San Francisco, California, was mentored by Prof. Yuemei Ye

"Remediation of Short-Chain PFAS from Drinking Water with MIPs Hydrogel Microbeads"

  • Tess Mantineo, College of Wooster, Ohio, was mentored by Prof. Vinod Menon

"Fourier imaging to map transition dipole moments in nanomaterials"

  • Benjamin Mitnick, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Nebraska, was mentored by Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar

"Improving the Modification of Hydrolyzed Glass Slide Surfaces with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES)"

  • Miriam Ramirez Ramos, SUNY Stony Brook, New York, was mentored by Prof. Dorthe Eisele

"Inspired by Nature: How does Hierarchical Assembly Impact the Robustness of Frenkel Excitonic Materials under Extreme Temperature Fluctuations?"

  • Adrian Rua, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Maria Tamargo

"Structural and Electrical Characterization of (Bix, Sb1-x)2Te3"

  • Estella Shklyar, Vassar College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Matthew Sfeir

"Ultra-Wideband Terahertz Detector Development"

  • Jessica Shpigel, Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Columba De La Parra

"The Role of Genistein in Reversing Tamoxifen Resistance Through microRNA Regulation"

  • Justyne Smith, Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Benjamin Burton-Pye

"Persistently Luminescent Particles for Bio-Imagining"

  • Brandon Tang, SUNY Binghamton, New York, was mentored by Prof. Lynn Francesconi

"UV induced Reduction of Tc(VII) in Phosphates"

  • Gabriela Torres, Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Carlos Meriles

"Optical Properties of NV Centers at Low Temperature"

  • Ricardo Zamora, Santa Monica College, California, was mentored by Prof. Vinod Menon

"Emission Dipole Orientation in MoWS2"

SUMMER 2023 - in partnership with IDMinNYC REU Site

  • Fabian J Albertorio, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Rein Uljin

"Metal Peptide Frameworks"

  • Isabelle Bautista, Saint Peter's University, New Jersey, was mentored by Prof. Alexander Khanikeav

"Production and Optical Characterization of Monolayer and Few Layer Graphene"

  • Brandon Bosch, The University of California, Berkeley, California, was mentored by Prof. Raymond Tu

"Unraveling the Conformational Landscape of Tripeptides at a Surface"

  • Anthony Calderon, Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Matt Sfeir

"Electrochem Study of Bipyridine Metal (Ir, Ni, Pd) Complex Functionalized with Singlet Fission"

  • Philip Colman, Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Steve O'Brien

"Control of Calcium Zincate Morphology"

  • Genesis Fermin, Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Dorthe Eisele

"Cryogenic TEM Imaging: Supramolecular Phase Transitions in Frenkel Excitonic Nanotubes"

  • Fatima Lariz, The University of Texas at El Paso, Texas, was mentored by Prof. Carlos Merilles

"Optimization Of A Low-Field 13C NMR Hyperpolarized Via Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers In Diamond"

  • Jorge Malave, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Benjamin Burton-Pye

"Beyond Solids and Liquids: Investigating Chemistry in Molten Salts"

  • Denny Martinez, City College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Xi Chen

"Inducing Conductivity of B. mori Silk"

  • Nidhi Noble, Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Maria Tamargo

"X-ray and Raman Studies of Defects in (MnSb2Te4)x (Sb2Te3)1-x"

  • Ashika Prakash, Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Gustavo Lopez

"Cracking The Water Polymorphism: A Computational Study of Trehalose-Water Mixtures"

  • Yan M Rigual-Rosado, Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Xi Chen

"Characterization Of Water Responsive Crystals In Water And Heavy Water"

  • Justine Rogers, Smith College, Massachusetts, was mentored by Prof. Donna McGregor and Lynn Facnesconi

"Investigating Technetium in the Presence of Phosphates in PUREX-like Extraction Conditions"

  • Daniel Ruiz de Castilla, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, was mentored by Prof. Andrei Jitianu

"Cyclopentane Substituted Siloxane Melting Gels Synthesis and Thermodynamic Analysis"

  • Luna Silva Esquinas, City College of New York, New York, was mentored by Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar

"PDMS Stamping Device for Double-sided Janus Particels"

  • Amelia Volpe, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, was mentored by Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar

"Photocatalytic Nanomotors for Renewable Hydrogen Generation: Investigating TiO2 Rutile Coated with Gold"

SUMMER 2022 - in partnership with IDMinNYC REU Site

  • Philip Colman, Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Stephen O'Brien

"Synthesis of Calcium Zincate and Barium Zincate For Rechargeable Alkaline Zn-Ni Batteries"

  • Adrienne Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, was mentored by Prof. Gustavo Lopez

"Cryopreservation of Ubiquitin in Glassy Water"

  • Theodore Edwards, The City College of New York, New York, was mentored by Prof. Vinod Menon

"A Tunable Microcavity"

  • Ivette Evangelista, Baruch College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Xi Chen

"The Effects of Heating on RYF Crystallization"

  • Adrian Figueroa, University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Donna McGregor

"Vanadium Polyoxometalates for Technetium-99 Waste Remediation"

  • Karla Garcia, University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Adam Braunschweig

"Photoconductivity of Diketopyrrolopyrrole"

  • Bibi Khan, Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Gustavo Lopez & Prof. Nicolas Giovambattista

"Nuclear Quantum Effects in Hexagonal Ice: A computer simulation study using the q-tip4p-f model"

  • Amy Lopez, College of Staten Island, New York, was mentored by Prof. Maria Tamargo

"Effect of Hydrogenation on Sb2Te3 Topological Insulators Thin-Films"

  • Jorge Malave, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Benjamin Burton-Pye

"Investigation of Mesoporous SiO2 as Nano-sized Reaction Vessels for theSynthesis of Persistently Luminescent Phosphors"

  • Onyinyechi (Winner) Obineche, The City College of New York, New York, was mentored by Prof. Rein Ulijn

"Peptide Nanostructures for Biomedical Imaging"

  • Taheerah Parks, Medgar Evans College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Xi Chen

"Macroscopic response of F-crystal using mylar as substrate"

  • Diego Rivera, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico at Metro, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Raymond Tu

"Surface Assembly of HYF tripeptides on Polystyrenenanoparticles"

  • Coralys Romero, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Milan Begliarbekov

"Photoconductivity of Diketopyrrolopyrrole"

  • Adrian Rua, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Maria Tamargo

"Characterization of (Sb2Te3)1-x(MnSb2Te4)x with Enhanced Curie Temperatures"

  • Ben Sanders, William & Mary College, Virginia, was mentored by Prof. Carlos Meriles

"Building a Solid-State Laser for Quantum Sensing Based on Spin-to-Charge Conversion in NV centers"

  • Jessica Shpigel, Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Rein Ulijn

"Fabrication of Synthetic Keratin Peptides For Use as Lacquer Base"

  • Mellany Smith, Wellesley College, Massachusetts was mentored by Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar

"Fabrication of Dumbbell-Shaped Janus Particles using a Microfluidic Chip"

  • Cassandra Vallon, Sacred Heart University, Connecticut, was mentored by Prof. Benjamin Burton-Pye

"Introduction of Carbon Dots as Light Antenna For Lanthanide Luminescence"

GRADUATE PROGRAM RECRUITMENT

  • Lesley Tolentino, REU 2021 Participant, joined the Chemistry Doctoral program at The City University of New York

Summer 2021 - in partnership with IDMinNYC REU Site

  • Theodore Edwards, from City College of New York, New York, was mentored by Prof. Vinod Menon

"Higher Harmonic Generation in active bulk transition metal dichalcogenide resonators"

  • Adrian Figueroa, from University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Matt Sfeir

"Vanadium Polyoxometalates for Technetium-99 Waste Remediation"

  • Jonathan Gao, from Hunter College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Adam Braunschweig

"Thiol-Initiated Radical Photopolymerization in Water"

  • Estephanie Garcia & Edward Moreira, from Lehman College (New York) & University of California Berkeley, were mentored by Profs. Melissa Deri & Prof. Benjamin Burton-Pye

"Observing Titanium-Ligand Complexes for Potential Nuclear Medicine Imaging"

  • Anna Geissmann, from Hunter College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Rein Ulijn

"A Novel Approach to Modeling Ligand Targeted Peptides: Mining the Protein Data Bank to Study Amino Acid Distribution Around Adenosine Triphosphate

  • Jesus E. Hernandez-Guerrero, from University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Carlos Meriles

"Towards Fabrication of Electrodynamic Traps for Confining Free Charge Carriers in Semiconductors"

  • Stephanie Jimenez, from University of California Davis, California, was mentored by Prof. Adam Braunschweig

"Biomimetic Hydrogels"

  • Jaylan Jones, from Texas Southern University, Texas, was mentored by Prof. Xi Chen

"Silk application as water-responsive material"

  • Mehnoor Khan, from The College of Staten Island, New York, was mentored virtually by Prof. Raymond Tu

"Exploring the Interactions Between Metal Ions and Peptide Self-assemblies"

  • Michelle Manzanillo, from Hunter College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Milan Begliarbekov

"Microfluidic Technology for Protein Crystallization"

  • Christopher Martinez-Tiru, from University of Puerto Rico Cayey, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Rein Ulijn

"Investigation of metal-ion induced dynamic reaction network of self-assembling peptides: Interaction of metal ions to histidine-containing dipeptides"

  • Zoe McIntyre-Gonzalez, from Interamerican University Metropolitan, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar

"3D-printed microfluidic device for the fabrication of dumbbell-shaped Janus particles

  • Alexis Morales-Arroyo, from University of Puerto Rico Humacao, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Maria Tamargo

"Exfoliation Techniques Applied to Topological Insulator Materials Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE)

  • Yajaira Orellana, from Montclair State University, New Jersey, was mentored by Prof. Gustavo Lopez and Prof. Nicolas Giovammbatista

"Preservation of Biomolecules at Cryogenic Temperatures"

  • Andrea Rodriguez Quinones, from University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, was mentored by Prof. Swapan Gayen

"Spectroscopic & Gain Properties of II-VI Heterostructures for Semiconductor Disk Laser (SDL) Application"

  • Jordan Smith, from Howard University, Washington DC, was mentored by Prof. Elizabeth Biddinger

"Recovery of Critical Materials from Waste-to-Energy Ash"

  • Lesley Tolentino, from Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Donna McGregor

"POM Applications for Fuel Cell Catalysis: Synthesis & Characterization"

GRADUATE PROGRAM RECRUITMENT:

  • Gilbert Reyes, REU 2019 Participant, joined the Biochemistry Doctoral program at The City University of New York
  • Joseph Cruz, REU 2017 Participant, joined the Physics Doctoral program at The City University of New York

Summer 2020

  • Christopher Chan, from Cooper Union, New York, was mentored by Prof. Adam Braunschweig and Andrew Levine

"Polymorphic Methyldiketopyrrolopyrole Crystal Structure Analysis Using Mercury and UV/Vis Spectroscopy"

  • Joshua E Chaparro Mata, from University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Maria Tamargo and Candice Forrester

"X-Ray Reflection Characterization of Topological Insulator Thin Films and Superlattices Grown by MBE"

  • Krystal David, from Queens College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Vinod Menon and Rezlind Bushati

"Characterization and Simulation of Bic Modes within a TMD-Based Photonic Crystal"

  • Eric Hagerman, from Howard University, Washington DC, was mentored by Prof. Pouyan Ghaemi and Cody Youmans

"Locating zero-energy states of topological mechanical metamaterials through numerical analysis"

  • Zoe McIntyre-Gonzalez, from Interamerican University Metropolitan, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar and Baseemah Rucker

"Novel Janus Particle for targeted drug delivery in cancer therapy"

  • Isabella Pillay, from Ithaca College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Carlos Meriles and Richard Monge

"The Detection Diamond Defect Utilizing Nitrogen Vacancy Centers for High Resolution Magnetic Field Imaging"

  • Ashif Reza, from City College of New York, New York, was mentored by Prof. Lia Krusin-Elbaum and Haiming Deng

"Analysis of Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) quantum oscillation to learn about band structure of topological material"

  • Janel Rivera-Cancel, from Pontifical Catholic University, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Stephen O'Brien and Nasim Farahmand

"Synthesis and structural characterization of europium modified barium titanite perovskite oxides"

  • Carlos Rodriguez, from Interamerican University Metropolitan, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Dorthe Eisele and Pooja Gaikwad

"Effects of solvent on Size Homogeneity of Poly (lactic co glycolic acid) (PLGA) Nanoparticles: Quantitative Data Analysis"

  • Sophia Ruberti, from Fordham University, New York, was mentored by Dr. Milan Begliarbekov and Vasilios Deligiannakis

"Characterizing Intra-Band Photovoltaic Devices Based on CdTe Sub-Monolayer Quantum Dots"

  • Shayla Staggers, from Hampton University, Virginia, was mentored by Prof. Raymond Tu and Ankit Kante

"Multicomponent Interfacial Behavior of Monoclonal Antibodies with PS80 Surfactants"

GRADUATE PROGRAM RECRUITMENT:

  • Janel Rivera-Cancel, REU 2019 & 2020 Participant, joined the Chemistry Doctoral program at The City University of New York.

Summer 2019

  • Keishlyann Baez Cruz, from University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Carlos Meriles

"Towards Hyperpolarization of Liquid Using Diamond NV Centers through Laser Illumination"

  • Ibukunoluwa Ibrahim, from Howard University, Washington DC, was mentored by Dr. Rein Ulijn

"Biocatalytic Self-Assembly of Supramolecular Polymers with Amino Acid Encoded Lifetimes"

  • Phillipe Jean-Baptiste, from City College of New York, New York, was mentored by Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar

"Tracking Magnetic Janus Particle Aggregation at Different Layer Counts Using OpenCV-Python"

  • Aubrey Leary, from Fordham University, New York, was mentored by Prof. Lia Krusin

"Towards Observance of Majorana Modes Using Proximity Effect Between NbSe2 and BiSbTeSe2"

  • Alejandra Miranda, from Interamerican University, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Maria Tamargo

"Topological Insulators and their Electrical Properties"

  • Lauren Moore, from Howard University, Washington DC, was mentored by Prof. Marco Castaldi

"Beneficial Reuse of Ash from Waste to Energy Facilities"

  • Alexy Padilla, from Pontifical Catholic University, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Dr. Adam Braunschweig

"Synthetic Carbohydrate Receptors"

  • Gilbert Reyes (in partnership with Lehman on the RISE), from Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Xi Chen and Prof. Raymond Tu

"Using Polarized Light to find B-sheet Crystals in Post Treated Bombyx Mori Silk Films"

  • Janel Rivera-Cancel, from Pontifical Catholic University, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Dorthe Eisele

"Synthesis and Characterization of Gold and Silver Nanostructures"

  • Jaylene Salas, from Ciy College of New York, New York, was mentored by Prof. Stephen O'Brien

"Synthetic Transition Metal Oxides Prepared by Gel Collection and Characterization of Perovskite Nanocrystal Thin Films for High Performance Dielectric Applications"

GRADUATE PROGRAM RECRUITMENT

  • Steven Alsheimer, IDEALS Undergraduate Student, joined the Master's Program in Data Science at The City University of New York.
  • Alexy Padilla, REU 2019 Participant, joined the Chemistry Doctoral program at The City University of New York.
  • Baseemah Rucker, REU 2017 & 2018 Participant, joined the Chemical Engineering Doctoral program at The City University of New York.

Summer 2018

  • Rawan Aldasooky, from Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Dr. Adam Braunschweig

"Molecular printing: Surface Functionalization and Characterization"

  • Brian Ayala, from University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Vinod Menon

"Characterization of spin-dependent quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride"

  • Claralys Hernandez-Santiago, from University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Maria Tamargo

"Evidence of Gain in II-VI Quantum Well Semiconductor Structures Transferred to Sapphire Substrates"

  • Baseemah Rucker, from Hampton Univeristy, Virginia, was mentored by Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar

"Guiding Mobile Janus Particle Movement around Oil Droplets on Glass Slide"

  • Ron Sanders, from Hampton University, Virginia, was mentored by Prof. Raymond Tu

"Dynamics of Surface Active Polymer Phase Behavior at the Acetone/Air Interface"

  • Merna Youssef, from City College of New York, New York, was mentored by Prof. Lia Krusin

"Magnetization Signal of Van der Waals Layered Cr2Ge2Te6 by Hall Sensor Device"

Visiting Master's Students

  • Nicole Perez-Salas, from University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was co-mentored by Prof. Ubaldo M. Cordova-Figueroa, Prof. Madeline Torres-Lugo, and Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar

"Bio-inspired Re-Configurable Materials"

  • Jonathan A. Victoria-Camacho, from University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was co-mentored by Prof. Ubaldo M. Cordova-Figueroa and Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar

"Self Assembly of Magnetic Colloids with Radial Shifted Dipole"

GRADUATE PROGRAM RECRUITMENT

  • William Centeno, REU 2017 Participant, joined the Chemistry Doctoral program at The City University of New York.
  • Candice Forrester, IDEALS Undergraduate Student, joined the Chemistry Doctoral program at The City University of New York.
  • Ahamed Jubair, IDEALS Master's Student, joined the Physics Doctoral program at The City University of New York.

Summer 2017

  • William Centeno from Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Raymond Tu

"Influence of Hydrophobicity on the Nanofiber Self-Assembly Rates of - Sheet Peptide Amphiphiles"

  • Joseph Cruz from Lehman College, New York, was mentored by Prof. Maria Tamargo

"Contactless Electroreflectance (CER) as a means of Characterizing CdSe/ZnTe Multiple quantum Well Structures"

  • Biola Daniel from City College of New York, New York, was mentored by Prof. Swapan Gayen

"Photoluminescence study of ZnSe:Cl/GaAs"

  • Jemaris Martes from University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Dr. Jacob Trevino

"Semiconductor Nano-pillar Arrays for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy"

  • Lakeisha Ramos Rosado from University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Vinod Menon

"Modification of Phonon Energies in hBN through Cavity Coupling"

  • Baseemah Rucker from Hampton University, Virginia, was mentored by Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar

"Fabrication of Janus Particles"

  • Luz Maria Valdiviezo from City College of New York, New York, was mentored by Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar

"Investigating the Optical Properties of Nano-sized Particles at the Air-Water Interface"

GRADUATE PROGRAM RECRUITMENT

  • Gabriel Lopez-Morales, REU 2016 Participant, joined the Chemistry Doctoral program at The City University of New York.

Summer 2016

  • Gabriel Lopez-Morales from Interamerican University, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Vinod Menon

"Quantum emitter based on defects in hBN"

  • Gabriela Ramirez from University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, was mentored by Prof. Ilona Kretzschmar

"Functionalization of Janus Au-SiO2 nanoparticles to successfully achieve enzyme conjugation"