Khnayzer Research Group

Synopsis  The Khnayzer Research Group encompasses diverse topics ranging from the fundamental understanding of inorganic transition metal complexes, materials, their associated photochemistry and photophysics, with application in energy-relevant technologies, sensors, and cancer therapy. Major research thrusts include manipulation of excited state behavior in ruthenium(II), iridium(III) and copper(I) photosensitizer for utilization in homogeneous and heterogeneous solar hydrogen generation, design of sensors, and photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer. About the P.I.  In Oct. 2013 Dr. Rony S. Khnayzer joined the faculty at the Lebanese American University Natural Sciences department as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry. He received his Bachelor of Science in 2008 with the highest distinction at the American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon. During his undergraduate studies he obtained numerous academic awards, including the Dean’s Honor List at AUB. He received his Ph.D. diploma in 2013 from the Department of Chemistry and Center for Photochemical Sciences at Bowling Green State University. In 2011 he received a prestigious travel award from the ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry for his work on photocatalytic hydrogen production. In 2012 he was awarded the Shanklin Award for Research Excellence for the sciences and mathematics division at Bowling Green State University for his manuscript entitled “Increasing the Efficiency of Solar Cells using Non-Coherent Pumped Upconversion Photochemistry”. He has also been selected as the recipient of the McMaster Fellowship for 2012-2013 academic year by the Center of Photochemical Sciences. In 2016, his research profile and paper on photocatalysis were highlighted on the cover of ChemPlusChem (a Q1 Wiley journal) and in 2017 his work on photochemotherapy was displayed on the front cover of Dalton Transactions (a Q1 Royal Society of Chemistry journal).  Latest News      1- Phototoxicity of strained Ru(II) complexes: is it the metal complex or the dissociating ligand? Has been highlighted on the cover of Dalton Transactions http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/dt/c7dt02255g#!divAbstract 2- Congratulations to the chemistry students Hussein Khalifeh and Abdulrahman Kotob who were accepted to medical schools at LU and LAU respectively.       Relevant links Prof. Felix N. Castellano at North Carolina State University http://www.ncsu.edu/chemistry/people/felix_castellano.html Prof. Bilal R. Kaafarani at the American University of Beirut: http://bilalkaafarani.com/