About Dr. Melissa Maurer-Jones

Graduate Students

Liana Sweezer - Graduated Fall 2025 - WRS MS: microplastics in sediments of MN lakes

Thomas Badzinski  - Graduated Fall 2024 - Chemistry MS: synergistic biodegradation of enzyme hydrolysis and biofilm formation

Maggie Brown – Graduated Fall 2023 - Chemistry MS: on quantifying biodegradability of photodegraded PLA

Jonathan Tigner – Graduated Spring 2023 - Chemistry MS: on development of novel tool for measuring plastic degradation

Nicole Franklin –Graduated Summer 2022 - Applied Materials Science MS: on the contaminants on recycled glass to be used as a cement replacement in concrete

Guenter Schwoerer –Graduated Summer 2022 Chemistry MS: on characterizing weathering of natural microplastic debris

Althea Amaris – Graduated Summer 2022 - Chemistry MS: on characterizing a specialized protein structure on the surface of weather plastics

Mark Iwen – Graduated 2022 Applied Materials Science MS student

John Fox –Graduated Summer 2021 - Chemistry MS: on quantifying microplastics in Western Lake Superior

Liam Fawcett – Graduated Summer 2021 - Chemistry MS: on characterizing protein interactions with the surface of weathered plastics

Victoria Fringer – Graduated Summer 2020 - Chemistry MS: on toxicity of nanoplastics and plastic additives

Thomas Mundhenke – Graduated Fall 2020 - Chemistry MS: on aqueous photochemistry of polyolefins

Daniel Zoltek – Graduated Summer 2019 - Chemistry MS: on the selective labeling of pores in polymers

Faith Murphy – Graduated Summer 2019 - Chemistry MS: on sorption of micropollutants to polymers

Undergraduate Students

Grace Wilson - SURP (degree: biochemistry, graduated 2025; PhD program at University of Michigan)

Isaac Urbach - SURP (degree: chemistry, graduated 2025; working in the field)

Madison McKean  - McNair scholar (degree: biochemistry, expected graduation 2027)

Molly Ehlebracht - (degree: chemistry, graduated 2025)

Clare List – SURP (degree: biochemistry, graduated 2024; research assistant University of Montana)

Kirralee Odipo – SURP (degree: chemistry and biochemistry, graduated 2024; intern at Chi Alpha)

Emma Sorensen – UROP, SURP (degree: biochemistry, graduated 2024; MS at UMD)

Liz Pardoe - SURP (degree: biology and biochemistry, graduated 2022; MS in Microbiology at University of Wisconsin)

Magdalene Jones (degree: chemical engineering, graduated 2022; Medtronic)

Sonia Li – UROP (degree: chemical engineering, graduated 2022; MS in Chemical Engineering from UDel, Los Alamos Labs)

Raven Buckman – SURP, UROP (degree: chemistry and math, graduated 2021; PhD program at Iowa State University)

Nicole Franklin – SURP, UROP (degree: chemistry, graduated 2020; master’s program at UMD)

Austin Cox – SURP, UROP (degree: biochemistry, graduated 2020; pursuing medical school)

Tayler Hebner – UROP (degree: chemical engineering, graduated 2019; PhD program CU-Boulder and NSF GRFP recipient)

Liam Fawcett – SURP, UROP (degree: chemistry and biochemistry, graduated 2019; master’s program at UMD and going to PhD program UMN-Twin Cities)

Tana O’Keefe – SURP, UROP (degree: chemistry, graduated 2018; PhD program at UMN-Twin Cities) 

Ellen Monzo – UROP (degree: chemistry, graduated 2017; PhD program at UMN-Twin Cities)

Tong Lee – UROP (degree: chemistry, graduated 2017; working in the field)

Faith Murphy – SURP, UROP (degree: chemistry, graduated 2017; master’s program at UMD and currently teaching at Hill Murray High School)

Besha Gutama – McNair Trios Program participant (degree: chemical engineering, graduated 2017; master’s program at UMN-Twin Cities)