MembersJulian Bigi, Lee Bishop, Courtney Hastings, Akos Kokai, Laura Miller, Marty Mulvihill, Alison Narayan, and Avi Ringer Bios:Julian BigiJulian is currently a graduate student under the guidance of Prof. Christopher Chang in the College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley. His research focuses on the electrocatalytic production of dihydrogen from neutral pH water using transition metal catalysts. Lee BishopLee is a 5th year chemistry graduate student in the Bergman research group at UC Berkeley. His research interests include the development of catalytic methods for the depolymerization of the biopolymer lignin and the catalysis of 6pi electrocyclizations. His more general interests include discovering ways to enhance the general public's interest in and knowledge of chemistry, other scientific fields, as well as the scientific method. Courtney HastingsCourtney is a 5th-year graduate student in the Chemistry Department working as a joint student of Bob Bergman and Ken Raymond. His research involves water soluble metal-ligand coordination assemblies which are capable of encapsulating guest molecules. These assemblies can be used as selective catalysts for organic reactions in water, and their mode of action is similar to that of enzymatic systems. Courtney's more general scientific interests include the development of catalyst systems in environmentally benign solvent systems such as water, and the use of renewable feedstocks for chemical production. Akos KokaiAkos is a recent graduate (M.S.) of the Department of Chemistry. He is now part of the Program in Green Chemistry and Chemicals Policy at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health in UC Berkeley. He is interested in the broad questions of how chemistry can have a more beneficial impact on global health, and create much-needed change for sustainability. Laura MillerLaura is a 5th year graduate student in chemistry at UC Berkeley. She works in the Sarpong research group and is interested in applying green chemistry principles to the total synthesis of natural products. Marty MulvihillMarty is currently a postdoc at LBL working in the molecular foundry with Taleb Mokari. His research focuses on the development of quantitative methods to assess the fate and transport of nanoparticles in the environment. As a graduate student in the Chemistry Department at UB Berkeley he worked for John Arnold and Peidong Yang, and his research focused on the modification of nanoscaled surfaces for the design of new functional materials, including the development of a sensor to detect trace amounts of arsenic in ground water. Marty has worked as an educator in many diverse environments including a residential high school in Colorado, a graduate instructor at Berkeley, and an algebra instructor at San Quentin Prison. Marty was recently recognized for his work bringing green chemistry to UC Berkeley with the 2009 Benjamin P. Boussert Memorial award. Alison NarayanAvi Ringer |