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; he was also awarded the Warren K. Lewis Award of the AIChE for his contributions to chemical engineering education. 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 Professor Reimer and his group 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.
Postdoctoral Fellows
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. 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 ( see https://foundry.lbl.gov/2021/09/28/foundry-researchers-awarded-funding-for-plastics-research/ ). 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.
Dr. Haiyan Mao is a researcher at Stanford in the Yi Cui group working in collaboration with the Reimer group. She has a variety of research activities, but with us she conducts solid-state NMR studies of nanoporous materials (MOFs, COFs, and Porous Polymer Networks), sustainable wood-based carbon materials, cellulose nano-composites, 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 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. 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. Jing Tang was 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. Jing will be joining the University of Michigan faculty shortly (https://tang.engin.umich.edu/) and is looking for postdocs and graduate students!
Dr. Ah-Young Song seeks fundamental insights regarding materials for carbon capture in various solid systems, especially utilizing solid-state NMR. She is leading the USorb-DAC team in the Reimer group ( https://usorbdac.hw.ac.uk ) with a keen focus on direct air capture. 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.
Predoctoral Students
under construction November 2023
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.
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!
Vincent Allen is a first-year graduate student in the Reimer and Long groups. Before coming to Berkeley, Vincent received his bachelor’s in chemistry at Indiana University. With an interest in sustainability, he is working on developing new porous materials and studying them with solid-state NMR. Outside of lab, he loves exploring nature, watching live music, and getting Beyond Burgers in bulk at Costco.
Chongwei Zhang is a first year graduate student joint with Prof. Ashok Ajoy. He graduated from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2023, with a focus on quantum sensing with NV centers. His Ph.D. research aims to use pulse EPR and NMR to study the hyperpolarization of MOFs. Outside the lab, he enjoys hiking and playing classical guitar.
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.
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.
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.
Dr. Raynald Giovine is the solid-state NMR specialist of the NMR Facility in the College of Chemistry and a frequent collaborator with the Reimer group. Raynald is responsible for the solid-state NMR instruments in the facility. His expertise focuses on characterizing an ever-growing variety of materials using a wide range of more or less advanced solid-state NMR methods.
Apart from spending his free time wandering with his wife, his hobbies include tinkering and cooking.
Dr. David Halat is a Fellow with the Pines Magnetic Resonance Center at Berkeley and condcuts NMR-related research in a variety of energy-related programs. Amongst them, he 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 O-17 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).
Prebachelor Students under construction
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.
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.
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.
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.