Celebrating the 2025 Chemistry Graduates
The Department of Chemistry at the University of Utah proudly congratulates our 2025 graduates on their exceptional achievements and academic milestones. On May 1st, the College of Science Commencement Ceremony brought together undergraduate and graduate students across several disciplines to honor their hard work, resilience, and dedication throughout their academic journeys. From the Chemistry Department, we celebrated 76 Bachelor of Science candidates, 1 Masters of Science candidate, and 20 Doctors of Philosophy candidates.
Following the college-wide celebration, graduate students and their mentors gathered for a more intimate and meaningful tradition: the hooding ceremony. Held later that day, this ceremony recognized the accomplishments of our Masters and Ph.D. graduates, symbolizing the culmination of years of rigorous research, discovery, and scholarship.
We are incredibly proud of each student who crossed the stage this year. Whether completing a bachelor's degree, advancing through a master's program, or defending a doctoral dissertation, our graduates have demonstrated a deep commitment to scientific excellence, innovation, and collaboration.
As they move on to the next chapter of their education and careers, we look forward to seeing the impact our students will make as alumni of the University of Utah. Congratulations, Class of 2025!
Special congratulations to our graduate candidates:
Aria Ballance, PhD
Vibrational Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy for Chiral Detection Using Plasmonic Nanocrescents
Joshua Beeler, PhD
Electrochemistry Beyond the Water Window
Dionysius Copoulos, PhD
The Synthesis and Biological Target Elucidation of a Novel Class of Naphthyridone Antibiotics
Samantha Curry, PhD
Understanding the Formation Mechanisms and Morphology Evolutions of Organosilica Nanoparticle
Kendahl Darschewski, PhD
The Total Synthesis of Guadinomine B
Justin Dingman, PhD
Investigations into Nucleic Acid Oxidation Via a Biologically Relevant Fenton Reaction
Joshua Ewigleben, PhD
Bond Dissociation Energies of Small Metal-Containing Cations Measured by Predissociation
Rokas Gerulskis, PhD
Tools for Research in Enzymatic Electrocatalysis
Katherine Gingrich, PhD
Mechanistic Insights into the Nucleation and Growth of Noble Metal Nanoparticles on Silica Supports for Tailored Catalyst Design
Beck Miller, PhD
Using Data Science and Machine Learning to Accelerate Reaction Optimization and Enhance Mechanistic Understanding
Madeline Mumbleau, PhD
Applications of the Pepper RNA Aptamer in Bacteria
Wenyuan (Barry) Li, PhD
Synthetic Studies and Evaluation of the Saxitoxin Macrocyclic Analogs and Insight into the Structural Assignment of Zetekitoxin AB
Anh Vu Van Nguyen, PhD
Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance and Chiroptical Responses of Aluminum and Gold Nanostructures
Veronica O'Connor, PhD
Uncovering and Exploiting Structure-Activity Relationships and Data Science for Adaptable Catalyst Design
Nathan Ricks, PhD
Fluorescent Biosensor-Guided Engineering of Metabolic Enzymes for Electrochemical Applications
Natalie Romer, PhD
Productive Applications of Data Science to Reaction Optimization and Organometallic Catalysis
Sepehr Sebghati, PhD
Application of Fluorogenic Antibiotics to Evaluate Permeability, Target Engagement, and Efflux Activity in Bacteria
Josephine Shirah, MS
Course Work Master of Science Degree
Joshua Taylor, PhD
Investigation of Transmembrane Translocation and Other Biophysical Phenomena in Bianary and Ternary LIPID Systems Using Sum-Frequency Vibrational Spectroscopy
Kimberly Tomchak, PhD
Resonance Enhanced Multiphoton Ionization Spectroscopy and the Thermochemical Properties of Small Transition Metal and Actinide Containing Molecules
