Nicole is originally from New York, where she completed her BA in biology at SUNY Oneonta. Prior to that, she worked in alternative education, first running programs for refugee youth in Cairo, Egypt for several years before returning to New York to do farm-based environmental education. She joined PSU in 2019 and her current studies are focused on computational organic chemistry, with an emphasis on hypervalent and "onium" compounds based on iodine and sulfur. In addition to her current studies, she's an advocate for diversity with a particular focus on disability and labor rights. 

Riley received his BS in biochemistry from Western Washington University in 2020 where he conducted research in the field of structural biology. He joined the PhD program at PSU in the Fall of 2020 and his research is focused on efficient access to arynes, primarily using aryl thianthrenium salts. In his free time, he enjoys collecting records, watching live music and building computers. 

Soocheta earned her M.Tech in Biochemical Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. She started her PhD studies at PSU in 2020 and her research is focused on the mechanistic details of diaryliodonium salt reactivity using physical organic chemistry techniques. Her career goal is to transition into a Research Scientist role, leveraging her expertise in reaction mechanisms and analytical techniques.

Joe Hatton (he/him) grew up mostly in New Jersey before getting his BS in Biochemistry at SDSU which he finished in 2022. The same year Joe began his PhD studies at Portland State University where he focuses on new reactions and method development involving diaryliodonium salts. In the future he hopes to work in process chemistry in the pharmaceutical industry. In his free time Joe listens to a lot of music and spends time with his cat Sosa. 

Haripirya completed a MS degree in Organic Chemistry from Ismail Yusuf College, Mumbai, in June 2021 and BS degree in Indian Classical Music as a vocalist in June 2024. Haripriya was also a research intern at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, where I worked on synthetic chemistry in Prof. Namboothiri’s lab. Her research at PSU is focused on generating new scaffolds via aryne intermediates. Outside the lab, Haripriya enjoys hiking and singing. 

Nikhil completed his BS degree at Nagarjuna Government College (2018-2021) and Masters degree from the Central University of Karnataka (2021-2023) in India. Nikhil started his PhD at PSU in the fall of 2024 and his research is focused on the intersection of ligand coupling and aryne formation with diaryliodonium salts. Nikhil's career goal is to become a process chemist.