Postdocs:

Dr. Jake Jagannathan

Jake is a postdoc from a distant land known as the Bay Area, California. Needing to experience real weather, Jake attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska for his undergraduate degree where he conducted research in Dr. James Fletcher’s laboratory focusing on synthesis of novel organometallic complexes derived from triazole-based ligands. For his PhD, Jake ran back home to sunshine and attended the University of California, Davis where he was advised by Professor Annaliese Franz. There, he developed synthetic methodology to access silicon-stereogenic compounds and siloxane nanomaterials as well as kinetic analysis of organocatalytic transformations. He completed his PhD in the winter of 2021. Joining the Leibfarth group in late 2021, Jake works in the area of stereoselective polymerization methodology focusing on resolution-based mechanisms. Outside of lab, you’ll find Jake at the golf course where he’s probably listening to a podcast about food or coming up with new dad jokes.

Yonghwan Kwon

Yonghwan was born and raised in Busan, Republic of Korea. He attended Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology where he obtained a B.S. in chemistry in 2018. After that, he joined the group of Prof. M. S. Kwon, working on organic photocatalysis for polymerization and organic synthesis. His dissertation was on the design strategy for purely organic photoredox catalysis. During that time, he enjoyed watching movies with pizza and beer and riding a bicycle along the riverside. After obtaining his Ph.D. in 2023, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Kwon group. Yonghwan joined the Leibfarth group in April 2024 to explore more about polymer chemistry expanding his research background. When outside of the lab, he enjoys walking around the neighborhood while listening to brand-new music.

Mark Nosiglia

Mark was born in Waterbury Massachusetts but grew up predominately in St. Louis. He attended Illinois Wesleyan University and played on the varsity lacrosse team. While at IWU, Mark joined the Mohan research lab working on Erbium-based Lewis acid catalysis to develop greener synthetic methods. After graduating with his B.A. in 2017, Mark did his graduate studies at Washington University in St. Louis in the Barnes Lab. His dissertation was on the synthesis of functional catenane crosslinkers and incorporation of these unique molecules into organogels. Mark joined the Leibfarth lab in Oct. of 2022, eager to learn more about polymer upcycling and structure property relationships. Outside of lab you’ll find Mark either cooking up a storm for his friends or catching a hockey game.

Graduate Students:

Cole Sorensen

Cole was born in sunny southern California but relocated to North Carolina to get his healthy fix of humidity and pollen—where he learned to be a competitive rock climber and a semi-decent pizza chef. For his undergraduate studies, Cole attended the BEST school in Virginia, Virginia Tech, to receive a B.S. in Nanoscience, where he researched supramolecular materials in Dr. J. Foster’s lab. After having spent a summer living in Fribourg, Switzerland making polymers and living among the Gruyère cows, Cole decided to continue his education at UNC and join the Leibfarth group to satisfy his need for chemistry. His current project focuses on strategies for stereoselective polymerization. When not in the lab, Cole enjoys channeling his inner Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood in the kitchen listening to everything except country music.

reach Cole at cole15 [at] live.unc.edu

Victoria Barber

Victoria was born and raised in what some call ‘Sweet Home Alabama’. Despite Alabama’s pleasant name and significant history, she decided to venture elsewhere for her undergraduate studies. Traveling to the busy city of Atlanta, Georgia she attended Spelman College and obtained her B.S. in Chemistry in 2018. After taking a short year off she decided to come to UNC in the fall of 2019 for her graduate studies and joined the Leibfarth group in Spring of 2020.

reach Victoria at victor14 [at] live.unc.edu

Caleb Kozuszek

After being born and raised in rural, south central Ohio, Caleb decided to leave for a land of opportunity in 2016 to attend Miami University in rural southwest Ohio, where he obtained a B.S. in biochemistry a short four years later. During that time, Caleb developed a taste for steamed bagel sandwiches and scientific research. Caleb worked on protein-polymer conjugates under Dr. Dominik Konkolewicz at Miami University and afterwards, in pursuit of warmer weather and awesome polymer research, moved to North Carolina in the summer of 2020, where he now studies stereoselective polymer synthesis in the Leibfarth group. In his free time, Caleb likes to bounce from hobby to hobby, quote Catch-22, and drink Diet Pepsi. 

Eliza Neidhart

Eliza was born in Madison, WI where she grew up munching cheese curds. For undergrad, she journeyed across the Mississippi River to chilly St. Paul, MN to study biopolymers in Professor Leah Witus’ lab. After graduation, Eliza remained in the area, designing surfactant systems for laundry machines the size of school buses. More importantly, she finally began to adopt the MinnesOtan accent. Next, she spent a year sniffing chemicals as a flavor chemist and being blown away by the winter winds and yummy food in NYC before arriving in Chapel Hill. Now she can be spotted pedaling vigorously around town on her dilapidated bike or basking in the comparatively warm temperatures year-round. Eliza gets excited about tackling sustainability challenges and focuses on C-H functionalization of polyolefins for polymer recycling applications.

Johann Rapp

Johann was born and raised on the on the sunny beaches of Miami, Florida where he enjoyed the yearlong summers and Cuban coffee. For his undergraduate studies Johann decided to stay in the warm climate and attended the University of Florida where he received his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering. He worked in the lab of Dr. Brent Sumerlin investigating the synthesis of star polymers, and spent a summer making mechanochromic polymers in the lab of Dr. Chris Weder in Fribourg, Switzerland. He decided to continue to study polymers and experience the change of seasons at UNC where he joined the Leibfarth group and currently works on polymer flow chemistry. When he’s not in the lab you can find him on the tennis court or enjoying hikes around the area.

Christopher Diamond-Hettinger

Christopher was born in Charleston, SC, where he grew up on a barrier island and learned to body surf. For undergrad, he attended Cornell University in Ithaca, NY where he worked under the direction of Dr. Erin Stache on the synthesis of poly(phenylene methylene)s enabled by dual nickel and photoredox catalysis. After receiving his B.A. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from Cornell University in 2021, he decided to travel south in hope of more sunny days and soul food. Joining the chemistry department at UNC Chapel Hill in 2021 to pursue his PhD, Christopher is now a member of the Leibfarth group where he works on developing stereoselective polymerization of vinyl ethers. While not in lab, he enjoys taking in some of the natural beauty of Chapel Hill by hiking in the surrounding areas.

Christopher may be reached at cdiamond-hettinger@unc.edu

Caroline Coxwell Mohler

Caroline was born in Tallahassee, FL where she gained her love of local coffee shops and running trails. In search of more coffee spots, Caroline attended the University of Florida. There she received her B.S. in Chemistry and pursued sustainable polymer research under Dr. Stephen Miller. Despite having to leave Wyatt’s coffee and UF mascots Alberta and Alberta behind, Caroline chose to attend the University of North Carolina for graduate school. Once at UNC, Caroline joined the Leibfarth group to continue work on water remediation. When she is not in lab, Caroline enjoys going for runs on nearby trails and watching Disney movies.

Cali Colliver

Cali grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio were she developed the habit of saying "Ope, sorry" every few minutes and a love for putting chili on spaghetti. She then moved to Pittsburgh to attend Carnegie Mellon University where she developed a passion for polymer synthesis in the lab of Dr. Stefanie Sydlik. She moved to Chapel Hill following her graduation in May of 2021, where she joined the Leibfarth group and began applying the principles of polymer chemistry to 3D printing. When she's not in the lab, you can find Cali with her nose in a book, referencing out dated memes, or looking at pictures of sloths (she *really* likes sloths).

Alyssa Felix Thayne

Alyssa was born in sunny Northern California where she nurtured her love for the arts and the outdoors. After graduating high school, Alyssa moved to Salt Lake City where she attended the University of Utah earning a B.S. in anthropology. After working for several years, Alyssa migrated to Texas where she decided to return to school to retrain in a new field. While attending Austin Community College, Alyssa discovered her excitement for organic chemistry and later transferred to Texas A&M University in College Station where she earned her B.S. in Chemistry in 2022. As an undergraduate, Alyssa performed research in the lab of Dr. Emily Que where she synthesized ligands used for the study of iron homeostasis and in the lab of Dr. Quentin Michaudel studying stereocontrolled olefin metathesis polymerizations. Hoping to continue polymer research, Alyssa moved to North Carolina to attend UNC Chapel Hill. She joined the Leibfarth group in 2022, where she studies light activated polymerizations for 3D printing. Outside of the lab, Alyssa enjoys reading, drawing, and spending time with her family and dog.

Elizabeth Kellstedt

Elizabeth was born in Providence, Rhode Island, but shortly after moved to Texas. She was raised in College Station, where she learned to love the hot weather and football (Gig’em Ags!). Instead of staying in her lovely home state for college, she chose to go as far away as possible to the University of Minnesota, where she earned her B.S. in Chemistry. While enduring the harsh winters, Elizabeth worked in Prof. Marc Hillmyer’s lab where she synthesized nanoporous polyethylene membranes for biomedical applications. Deciding that four years in the cold was enough, she moved to Chapel Hill to pursue her PhD, and currently works in the Leibfarth group where she will focus on C-H functionalization of ionomers. In her free time, you can find Elizabeth listening to Taylor Swift, online shopping, and playing the piano.

Nick Legaux

Nick is from Maryville Tennessee and received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the nearby University of Tennessee, Knoxville. There, he worked under Dr. Brian Long investigating redox active polymerization catalysts. He than came to UNC Chapel Hill to pursue his PhD under Dr. Frank Leibfarth. In his free time, Nick likes to brew beer and grow carnivorous plants.

Undergraduate Students:

Kelly Yun

Born in New York but raised in North Carolina, Kelly is a BA Chemistry major who joined the Leibfarth group in 2023. If she's not busy synthesizing or characterizing resins and 3D printed materials in lab, odds are she's still probably 3D printing something—but at the BeAM Makerspaces! She spends her free time either rock climbing or making stickers, posters, doodles, puzzles, and music playlists.

Anthony Bello

Anthony was born in Miami, Florida but got too tired of the heat and moved to North Carolina — where he helped his family develop their ice cream truck business to cope with the weather. After getting tired of ice cream, Anthony decided to pursue a B.S. in Chemistry and joined the Leibfarth group in 2022. Outside of lab, you can find Anthony playing video games or having heated political debates about the best ice cream flavor (Oreo fudge).

Mason Chapman

Mason is from Westchester, NY, or as he explains it to basically everyone he meets, “30 minutes north of NYC”. He’s pursuing a BS in Polymer Chemistry along with a Studio Art minor and joined the Leibfarth group in 2022. When he’s not in the lab, you might spot Mason on a run in an obscure part of campus, painting, or browsing the desserts section at Trader Joe’s.

Pets:

Beans is Cole’s rescued hound. She is both a couch potato and race dog. However, once she meets someone knew she moves to whatever her nose tells her to. Rather than eating any bones, she tends to just throw them loudly around the house and hide them poorly in the couch.

Loki is Victoria’s dog and also a native Alabamian. He gains his name from Loki of The Marvel Universe also known as the God of Mischief. Loki enjoys materials testing. Experiments consist of measuring how quickly he can destroy his toy of choice. When he isn’t conducting important scientific research he enjoys lounging, short walks, and barking at mysterious noises.

Luna is Mia’s quirky and lovable dog. Luna learned everything she knows about organic chemistry by chewing up Mia’s orgo book from college while Mia was in a Zoom meeting. Luna’s biggest accomplishment is sleeping quietly through Mia’s entire virtual defense, only waking up in time for the party!

Patrick and Poppy are Caleb’s cats. Since they’re brother and sister, they share many common interests, like kneading their favorite fuzzy grey blanket together. Poppy loves trying to eat Caleb’s fried eggs in the morning and Patrick is a big fan of sitting in the bathtub and staring at the faucet for no perceivable reason. They don’t know much about polymers, but they love to play with post-consumer plastic waste.

Roscoe was Frank's long-time companion and provided overall group support from 2016–2022. Roscoe also did many calculations while in Frank's office. Although Roscoe never did share his arduous work with the group, Frank was convinced it was of the highest impact. Roscoe loved when everyone came over to his house so he could convince people to provide him with both affection and snacks! Frank cannot bear to remove Roscoe from the group page…so he will remain here in memorandum.

Alumni:

Dr. Mia Borden: Postdoc 2020-2023; currently a Assistant Professor at Trinity University

Dr. Quan Tran: Postdoc 2021-2023; currently a research scientist at Pall Corporation

Jordan Levi: Graduate Student 2020-2023; currently a research technician at Raytheon Technologies

Dr. Abu Bin Imran: Postdoc 2021-2022; currently an Associate Professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

Dr. Irene Manning: Graduate Student 2018-2022; currently the lead research chemist for the NC Pure project at UNC Chapel Hill

Dr. Nick Taylor: Graduate Student 2017-2022; currently a research scientist at Eastman Chemical

Joe Yee Mak: Graduate student 2020-2022

Dr. Travis Varner: Graduate student 2016-2021; currently a Teaching Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University

Alexis Sarabia: Graduate student 2018-2020

Dr. Aaron Teator: Postdoc 2017-2021; currently Assistant Professor at Kansas University

Dr. Marcus Reis: Graduate student 2016-2021; currently interning at 3M

Dr. Sally Lewis: Graduate student 2016-2021; currently employed at 3M

Dr. Jill Williamson Alty: Graduate student 2016-2021; currently a postdoc in the Kiessling Group at MIT

Dr. Phil Knutson: Postdoc 2019-2021; currently employed at Milliken Chemical Company

Robert Johnson: Graduate student 2017-2020

Dr. Elango Kumarasamy: Postdoc 2018-2019; currently employed at Conamix Inc.

Paige Jackey: UNC Undergraduate 2020

Shefali Gandai: UNC Undergraduate 2020

Bradley Wilhelmy: UNC Undergraduate 2019

Yaman Peksenar: UNC Undergraduate 2019

Brittany Smith: UNC Undergraduate 2018; Current: Masters of Public Health Program at Emory University

Cullen Davidson: UNC Undergradaute 2018; Current: Graduate school in Chemistry at University of Florida

Bradley Davis: UNC Undergradaute 2018; Current: Graduate school in Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University

Broseidon: Travis's fish 2015-2017