Graduate students
Ignacio Camarero temino
Ignacio is from Burgos, Spain. He received his Bachelor in Sciences in 2020 from Universidad de Burgos working with Prof. Gustavo Espino. In 2021 he joined the Jones Lab and has been working in multiple projects including studying the mechanism of the conversion of ethanol to butanol through the Guerbet reaction and developing an electrochemically assisted reaction. Outside of lab he enjoys traveling, exercising, and watching sports.
Aurodeep panda
Aurodeep grew up in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. After obtaining a B.Sc, from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, and an M.Sc. from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, he started his Ph.D. research in the Jones group in February 2021 on catalytic upgrading of alcohols using fused oxazolidine based metal complexes. Outside the lab, Aurodeep loves to cook, play cricket, chess, and read books.
undergraduates
Jiayun Li
Jiayun(Gavin) Li is from Hong Kong and grew up in Buffalo New York. He is pursuing a Chemistry B.S. degree at the University of Rochester. Currently Gavin is continuing the research of creating homogeneous organometallic catalysts by attaching tridentate NNN ligands to Molybdenum. Outside of lab Gavin likes skateboarding and miniature wargames.
Jennika Robato
Jennika Robato is from Guam, USA. She is pursuing a B.S. in Chemistry and minor in business. She is currently working on the synthesis of transition metal catalysts for the dehydrogenation step of the Guerbet Reaction. In her free time, she likes playing video games, writing, and doing makeup.
Former members
Nathan Venegas
Nathan grew up in Los Angeles, California. Nathan is currently attending California State University, Los Angeles, pursuing a B.S. in Biochemistry. Nathan is an REU student in the Jones Group doing his research on the preparation and C-C activation of Octaphenylcubane. Outside the lab, Nathan loves cooking, digital art, reading books, and playing board games with friends.
Wesley alabastro
Wesley grew up in Austin, TX. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is working with the Jones group through the summer REU program on synthesizing aryldithiocarbamate ligands attached to metal catalysts. Outside the lab, Wesley enjoys reading books.
Ruilin Zhang
Ruilin Zhang is from Beijing, China. He graduated with a BS in Chemistry. He has been working on testing homogeneous catalysts for dehydration reactions. In his free time, he likes cooking but not doing dishes. He is currently pursuing a PhD Chemistry in Northwestern University.
Zhiquian Zhang
Zhiqian is from Suzhou, China. She graduated with a BA in Chemistry and Political Science. In her free
time, she likes dancing and going to concerts. She is currently in the MSE program in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
Astrid Olivares
Astrid originates from Lancaster, CA. She received a B.S. in Chemistry from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA. In 2014, she started her PhD studies at the University of Rochester. Astrid is interested in designing new catalyst for homogenous catalysis. Currently, she is working to develop a new class of cobalt complexes for hydrogenation/dehydrogenation reactions. In her free time, Astrid enjoys working out, cooking, and exploring the outdoors.
Tarah DiBenedetto
Tarah originates from Denver, NY. She received a B.S. in Chemistry from SUNY Oneonta in Oneonta, NY. In 2015, she started her PhD studies at the University of Rochester. Tarah is interested in homogenous catalysis. Currently, she is working on the conversion of ethanol to n-butanol through the Guerbet reaction. In her free time, Tarah enjoys cook, baking and gardening.Andy VanderWeide
Andy grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After obtaining his BS in Chemistry from Grand Valley State University in 2016, He started his PhD at the University of Rochester. Andy is interested in mechanistic organometallic chemistry; He Is currently working on rhodium catalyzed C-H activation. Outside of work, Andy enjoys comedy podcasts, cooking, board games, and hiking.
Kylie Ritz
Kylie is originally from Virginia where she obtained her bachelor’s in chemistry at William and Mary in 2017. Later that same year, she joined the Jones lab and has since been working on a project involving iridium catalyzed dehydrogenation utilizing electrocatalytically regenerable hydrogen acceptors. Outside the lab, she enjoys singing in the Eastman-Rochester choir and hiking!
Olaf Nachtigall
Olaf is from Berlin, Germany. He received his B.Sc. (2010), M.Sc. (2013), and Dr. rer. nat. (2018) from Freie Universität Berlin. He did his master thesis in the group of Rainer Haag and his doctorate studies with Johann Spandl. He also worked as an Erasmus student in the labs of Helena Grennberg at Uppsala Universitet in Sweden and Bernold Hasenknopf at Sorbonne Université in France. Olaf is currently developing redox active metalloligands for cerium and various transition metal complexes. In his free time, Olaf enjoys cooking and travelling.
John Clay
John grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts and is currently pursuing a B.S. in Chemistry. He is interested in catalysis and is currently synthesizing new catalysts for the production of n-butanol through the Guerbet reaction. Outside of the lab, John enjoys reading, making and solving crossword puzzles, exploring, and biking.
Philip Palermo
Philip was raised on the west side of Rochester where he found a strong interest in biology and chemistry. He is currently pursuing a BS degree in chemistry after becoming fascinated with inorganic and organometallic synthesis. Philip is currently researching the synthesis and association of tridentate NNN ligands to first row transition metals and their functionalization. In his spare time, he enjoys performing jazz trumpet and playing cards with friends.