Planning Committee

Jan Borchers is a second year graduate student in Analytical Chemistry at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. She is currently working in the Dr. Robbyn Anand’s research group. Jan obtained her B.S. in Chemistry at Iowa State and also has a B.S. in Business Management from George Mason University in Virginia. She is a nontraditional student that spent over 10 years working in industry before returning to school at Iowa State. Her research focus is electrochemistry using bipolar electrodes in microfluidic devices. When Jan is not in the lab, she likes spending time with her family and in the great outdoors. She is also an avid Chicago Cubs fan.

Ashley Bowers is a second year graduate student in Professor Jared Anderson’s group at Iowa State. Her research focuses on developing sample preparation techniques for rapid RNA analysis. She received her B.S. in chemistry from the University of Illinois Springfield and is originally from the Chicago suburbs. Outside of the lab, Ashley enjoys going to the gym, snowboarding and attending music concerts.

Mani Goswami is a postdoctoral associate at the University of Minnesota and did her Ph.D at Iowa State University. Her graduate research was based on carbohydrate chemistry and now in her postdoc, she works in antibiotic resistance and bacterial enzymes. She is originally from Assam, India which is famous for its "malt tea". Apart from growing funky bacteria in the lab, she enjoys traveling and photographing memories wherever she goes.

Paige Hinners received her B.S. in biomedical sciences from TAMUCC, and her M.S. in forensic science from SHSU. She is a second year graduate student in ISU's chemistry department. In the Lee Group, Paige works on identifying exogenous compounds in latent fingerprints using MALDI-MSI. She also investigates the compatibility of forensic development techniques with MALDI-MSI. Paige is a native of Iowa, and spends her time away from school with her son.

Adeline Espinasse is a third year graduate student at the University of Minnesota in Prof. Erin Carlson's group. Her graduate work involves the design and synthesis of ATP-based probes to identify and study bacterial histidines kinases. A native of France, she received her M.Sc. at the National Institute of Applied Sciences in Rouen. Adeline enjoys traveling, hiking and scuba-diving.

Diamond Jones is a second year graduate student in Dr. Sara E. Mason's research group at the University of Iowa. Diamond earned her B.A. in Professional Chemistry from Eastern Michigan University, and is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. She is a computational condensed matter scientist who also works in the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology. Diamond models the surface properties of engineered nanomaterials, more specifically, the dissolution of lithium ion battery cathode materials. She also studies adsorption properties of surfaces to understand how these battery materials interact with the environment. The goal of her research is to use this understanding of surface properties to help redesign battery materials that are benign by design. In her free time, Diamond enjoys swimming, water polo, and playing video games.

Krysti Knoche Gupta is a visiting scientist at Iowa State University. She will be starting a new job as an assistant professor of analytical chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in Fall 2018. Krysti did her Ph.D. at the University of Iowa and postdoctoral research at the University of Utah. Her graduate work involved electroanalytical methods of studying diffusion across polymer films, and catalytic effects of magnetic fields on electrochemical reactions. Krysti's postdoctoral work focused on developing bioelectrochemical alternative energy systems. Outside of the lab, Krysti likes rowing and cooking new cuisines.

Shabnam Sharifzadeh is a fifth year graduate student in Dr. Erin Carlson's group at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on development of chemical tools to study antibacterial targets. Shabnam is originally from Tehran, Iran, and received her Pharm.D. degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences prior to coming to the USA. Outside of the lab, she enjoys working out, traveling, reading and cooking.

Shweta Yelgaonkar is a fourth year graduate student in Dr. Leonard R. MacGillivray research group at the University of Iowa. Shweta is originally from India and completed her masters from the University of Pune. Her research work focuses on utilizing strong and directional non-covalent interactions to achieve desired molecular arrangements and in turn control over reaction pathways in the solid state. Her daughter is like a zephyr in her Ph.D. journey. Apart from chemistry she loves music, and enjoys exploring beautiful nature.

Xin Yi See is a fourth year graduate student at the University of Minnesota working in Prof. Ian Tonks’ group. Her research focuses on designing regioselective Ti catalysts to synthesise 5-membered N-containing pyrroles in an atom-economical pathway. She is originally from Singapore, a tiny-island nation on the equator that sees only two seasons in a year – sun and rain! In her free time, she enjoys cooking/baking, reading and travelling with a camera in hand.