McKemmicals
Group pictures
From left to right: Samuel Pitman, Ebubekir Clar, Anna-Maree Syme, Juan Camilo Zapata (back) and Armando Perri (front). Group ~ May 2021 (+ Maria who couldn't make it).
From left to right: Claudia Cox, Juan Camilo Zapata and Anna-Maree Syme. Group ~ May 2019.
Current (July 2023)
PhD students
Juan Camilo Zapata Trujillo (PhD 2020-)
Project: Approximate Vibrational Spectroscopy for 1000s of Potential Biosignatures
Juan joined us from Colombia in February 2020 just before COVID hit, following a 2019 extended internship.
Faculty Poster Prize Winner, UNSW Postgraduate Research Showcase, June 2023
Maria Pettyjohn (PhD 2022-)
Project: Approximate rovibrational spectroscopy of low-lying conformers for detecting molecules in exoplanets using JWST data
Maria joined us from Canada in May 2022.
Rob Ireland (PhD 2022-
Project: Approximate rovibrational spectroscopy of low-lying conformers for detecting molecules in exoplanets using JWST data
Robbie joined us from Scotland in September 2022.
Samuel Pitman (PhD 2023 -)
Honours T2 2022 - T1 2023
Project Basis sets for Valence and Core Properties: Benchmarking of J coupling and Ramp basis set development
CHEM2999 UNSW, Summer 2020
Past
PhD students (Graduated)
Anna-Maree Syme (PhD 2018-2022)
Known for her exceptional data visualisation skills, judging plots and love of the chasm in physics, Anna was the first PhD student in the McKemmicals group. Anna's PhD focuses on how molecular spectroscopy can help bridge the gap between the physics of the small and the heavy.
Honours Australia Students
Armando Perri
Honours 2022
Produced line lists for ZrO and NH.
Jasmin Borsovszky
Honours 2020
Vacation scholarship 2018
C2 might seem simple, but Jasmin can tell you otherwise. Jasmin used experiment and theory to directly observe and model predissociation and the dissociation energy of perhaps the most common organic molecule in space, tackling coupled diabatic states and very hard maths in the process.
Panayioti Kapodistrias
Honours 2020
As part of the 2020 IR Bros, Pana researched the infrared spectroscopy of chlorofluorocarbons as potential technosignatures of intelligent aliens destroying their ozone layers.
Claudia Cox
Honours 2019
Volunteer S2 2018
One of the original McKemmicals noted most for her strong early research independence, Claude's honours research focused on developing and testing novel ramp-Gaussian basis sets for NMR chemical shifts. Claude takes charge of her research projects and career, and is currently continuing her research journey with a PhD on water purification technologies with Martina Lessio.
Other REsearch
Alicia Evans (Research Assistant early 2020)
Undergraduate Students
Ebubekir Clark
CHEM2999 UNSW, T1 2021
Tackling our first machine learning project, Ebubekir asks: can machines beat organic chemists and functional group theory.
Zelun Li
Vacation scholarship 2021
Felix Lempriere
Vacation scholarship 2020
Jensen O'Sullivan
CHEM2999 UNSW, Summer 2020
Mia Crittenden (CHEM2999, UNSW T3 2019)
Hongzhe (Creed) Li (CHEM3998, UNSW S2 2018)
Patrick Day (CHEM3998, UNSW S2 2018)
Adam Hudson (CHEM3998, UNSW S2 2018)
Adam Mousley (7-week internship, UNSW 2018)
Madeline Muscat (TSP Program, 2018)
Alana Huang (TSP Program, 2018)