The Reimer Group Members
Jeff Reimer received his bachelor’s degree (with honors) from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and his doctorate from the California Institute of Technology. After his postdoc at IBM Research in New York he joined the Berkeley faculty, ultimately becoming the C. Judson King Endowed Professor and the Warren and Katharine Schlinger Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department. In July of 2022 he relinquished his active duty roles and is presently a Distinguished Professor of the Graduate School. Professor Reimer has won the UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest award bestowed on faculty for their teaching. His research generates new knowledge for environmental protection, sustainability, and provides fundamental insights to condensed matter via materials chemistry, physics, and engineering. He is recognized for these works by election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a Fellow of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance. In 2015 he received a Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. In addition to his research publications, Professor Reimer is co-author (with T.M. Duncan) of the introductory text Chemical Engineering Design and Analysis (Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 2019), and the text Carbon Capture and Sequestration (with Berend Smit, Curt Oldenburg, Ian Bourg, World Scientific Press, 2013). Jeff’s teaching philosophy can be found here.
Madison Mennie is the administrative director of the Reimer group. A graduate from UC Berkeley, Madison is responsible for drafting proposals, filling out hire request documents for Postdoctoral Employees and students, managing federal and non-federal funding, processing travel and entertainment reimbursements, event planning, and more. She communicate, listens, and advises her professors and their groups to ensure their research is successful. Madison works in several different programs: CalAnswers, ServiceNow, Microsoft Excel, Travel & Entertainment, BearBuy, UCPath, and LBNL portals. Additionally, she collaborates with Human Resources Representatives, Pre- and Post Award Research Admin, other Faculty Support Admin, and Sponsored Projects Officers to name a few.
chemical system to quantify interatomic interactions between CO2 and nanomaterials, which are the leading contributor to climate change and advancing energy and environmental science.Her hobbies include yoga, traveling, hiking, and playing badminton. “Choose a life of action, not one of ostentation”.
Dr. Haiyan Mao conducts solid-state NMR studies of nanoporous materials (MOFs, COFs, and Porous Polymer Networks), sustainable wood-based carbon materials, cellulose nanocomposites, CO2/VOCs gas adsorption, and separation.To develop state-of-the-art experimental tools and to uncover new insights and understandings for guest-frameworks interactions, she adapts multidimensional NMR spectroscopy (e.g. HETCOR) to a given
Dr. Ah-Young Song seeks fundamental insights regarding materials for carbon capture in various solid systems, especially utilizing solid-state NMR. She is also interested in teaching and mentoring undergraduate students to help them to utilize what they learn in the classroom. Dr. Song received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and studied ion dynamics of solid electrolytes with Prof. Gleb Yushin.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. David Halat is studying ion dynamics in Li-ion battery electrolytes with NMR and PFG techniques. His current research focus is developing electrophoretic NMR to probe ion motion under an applied electric field. He completed his Ph.D. with Prof. Clare Grey at Cambridge on 17O NMR of high-temperature oxide-ion conductors, before repatriating back to the U.S. When not in the lab he can likely be found on the computer trying to automate everything, building Twitter bots, trying to learn signal processing, or legally radiating rf waves (call sign KN6CXJ).
design and fabrication for the use in electrochemical conversion in the field of renewable energy. She is also adept at materials characterization using Electron microscopes, such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), (Scanning) Transmission electron microscopy ((S)TEM) and Powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Her hobbies include reading, and jogging.
Dr. Yang Wang develops nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques to study the mechanisms of various interactions for accurate characterization of functional materials. Her current project involves the employment of NMR Pulsed Field Gradients (PFG) techniques to investigate the interaction between CO2 and polymer-based electrolytes to unveil the specific roles which the electrolytes play in the process of CO2 electrochemical reduction. In addition, Yang has a background in functional nanomaterials
atomically precise materials, electrochemistry, energy and biomaterials, bioelectronics, materials synthesis, and advanced characterization techniques (S/TEM atomic resolution imaging, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), X-ray spectroscopy/microscopy, and synchrotron techniques). For a list of Jing’s publications, see her Google Scholar Profile. To learn more about Jing, see her personal website: http://jingtang.org
Dr. Sophia Fricke is developing magnetic resonance techniques to gain molecular insight into materials and processes in environmental chemistry. Sophia completed her Ph.D. in physical chemistry at UC Davis with Prof. Matthew Augustine, where she optimized the matrix pencil method for signal analysis in low field, portable NMR. After completing her Ph.D., Sophia went on to postdoc at Dr. Eiichi Fukushima’s company, ABQMR, under Drs. Hilary Fabich and Mark Conradi, before returning to California. Outside of the lab, Sophia enjoys running, hiking, and wilderness photography.
Dr. Jing Tang is a joint postdoctoral fellow co-advised by Profs. Jeffrey A. Reimer and Yi Cui between Berkeley and Stanford. Previously she was a Research Fellow at Harvard University/MIT. Dr. Tang received her Ph.D. at Fudan University. In the Reimer Group, Jing focuses on materials innovation for carbon capture by advanced magnetic resonance methods. Jing’s research interests are at the interface of single-atom catalysts,
Dr. David Marchiori completed his Ph.D. with Prof. R. David Britt at UC Davis where he utilized electron paramagnetic resonance techniques to study metalloenzymes. He is jointly working with collaborator Prof. Ashok Ajoy on the design, construction, and implementation of new DNP systems towards the study of hyperpolarization via photoexcited electrons in MOFs. Outside of lab, David enjoys cooking, reading, and biking around Berkeley.
Dr. Shira Haber completed her Ph.D. with Dr. Michal Leskes at the Weizmann Institute of Science, researching the structure and functionality of the cathode electrolyte interphase in lithium-ion batteries with solid-state NMR and dynamic nuclear polarization techniques. She is currently working on material and process investigation with magnetic resonance techniques, specifically on polymer reactivity during the recycling process of plastics. When she's not in the lab, you can find Shira hanging out with her family, cooking and trying new recipes, and chilling with a great book.
Predoctoral Students
Alireza Pourghaderi obtained his bachelor's degree and MBA from Sharif University of Technology, with a focus on the environmental applications of nanomaterials. Alireza is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. His research interests continue to revolve around nanomaterials, with a current focus on exploring the characterization and applications of MOFs. In addition to his academic pursuits, he loves sports and enjoys staying active.
Karim Karouta is a second-year graduate student from Texas (hookem) in the Reimer and Balsara groups working to understand transport phenomena in polymer electrolytes with PFG and ENMR. He enjoys team sports and small concerts. He has interned at P&G and Genentech and has worked briefly as a ski instructor.
Hao Zhuang received his 2014-2018 B.S., in Chemistry from Tsinghua University, China in 2018. He is presently a Ph.D. candidate in Materials Science and Engineering where his interests include solid state NMR, Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance, Metal Organic Frameworks, and Gas Separation. His hobbies are basketball and reading.
Anika Harkins graduated from Trinity College, Hartford in 2021 with a B.S. in Chemistry. Her Ph.D. studies concern the use of NMR to study hyperpolarized MOFs jointly with Prof. Ashok Ajoy. Outside of lab, she enjoys playing the piano and traveling.
Noella D'Souza is a first-year graduate student joint with Prof. Ajoy. Her research aims to hyperpolarize metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) of molecular guests. She graduated from Boston College in 2020 with a B.S. in Chemistry, after which she taught high school chemistry in South Dakota before coming to Berkeley. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, cooking, baking, and swing dancing!
Tamires Menezes is a visiting research student from Brazil. It is currently developing MOFs for dehydration of natural gas at high pressure, containing a large amount of CO2. She will understand the competition between CO2 and water to develop more efficient materials for adsorption. She enjoys traveling, watching sports, and learning about different cultures.
Research Staff
Dr. Hasan Celik is the director of the NMR Facility in the College of Chemistry and is a frequent collaborator with the Reimer group. Hasan is responsible for managing the operational and technical workings of the facility. He specializes in solution-state, diffusion, and imaging methods.
When not busy with putting out fires in the lab, Hasan enjoys trail running and spending time with his family.
Julianne Oshiro recently graduated from Cal with her Bachelor's in Chemistry and Environmental Science. She works with Dr. Yang Wang and Dr. Jing Tang on MOF synthesis for advanced NMR analysis and bio-inspired materials for carbon capture. In 2023, she will be off to Columbia University to pursue her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering under the guidance of Dr. Alissa Park. In her free time, Julianne enjoys gymnastics, theatre, and road trips.
Mia Salgado is a second-year chemical engineering student at UC Berkeley. She works in partial collaborations with the Hartwig Group characterizing samples of plastic by solution-state NMR and PFG. Mia is passionate about sustainability and finding ways to reduce the amount of plastic waste. Outside of the lab, Mia enjoys volunteering, hiking and any outdoors activity.
Prebachelor Students 2022-
Tara DuBridge is a second-year pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering. She works with Yang on the synthesis of cyclodextrin-based MOFs and their applications in carbon dioxide gas adsorption. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading (particularly classics), listening to musicals, and crocheting random things for friends and family.
Sophia Baker is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. She is currently working with Dr. Haiyan Mao on NMR analysis and the synthesis of COFs. Outside of the lab, Sophia enjoys volleyball, snowboarding, and playing the keyboard or electric guitar in her rock band.
Nathan Wong is a second-year undergraduate studying chemical engineering. Nathan currently conducts research regarding the synthesis of MOFs with the guidance of Dr. Haiyan Mao. Outside of the lab, Nathan enjoys playing chess, playing tennis, listening to music, and debating."
Julia Im is a first-year chemical engineering student at UC Berkeley. She currently works with Dr. Halat on the computational study of solvation structure in Li-ion battery electrolytes. Her interest resides in the intersection of science and sustainability. Outside of the lab, Julia enjoys playing the viola, traveling to new places, and playing basketball.
Kalana Marie Penetrante is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying chemical engineering. She works with Dr. Jing Tang on Biomaterials for CO2 capture by Solid-State NMR. She is passionate about building a sustainable and equitable future. Outside of the lab, Kalana enjoys collecting houseplants, plant-based cooking, and thrift shopping.