Group Members

Principal Investigator

Prof. Sijia Dong

  • Ph.D. in Chemistry, California Institute of Technology

  • More details can be found here.

Postdoctoral Scholars

Dr. Felipe Curtolo

  • Ph.D. in Biochemistry, University of São Paulo, Brazil (with Prof. Guilherme M. Arantes)

  • Research interest: I am interested in using multiscale computer simulations to study the reactivity and photochemical properties of biomolecules in order to better understand their mechanisms and discover new applications.

  • Hobbies: I love cats, eating out and musical theatre.

Dr. Gustavo Mondragón-Solórzano

  • Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Mexico (with Prof. Joaquín Barroso-Flores)

  • Research interests: excited states of molecular systems using multiconfigurational and multireference methods

  • Hobbies: Biking (mostly mountain biking). Also all animal friendly.

Dr. Ka Wa Yip

  • Ph.D. in Physics, University of Southern California (with Prof. Daniel Lidar)

  • Research Interest: Quantum dynamics and computation

  • Hobbies: I enjoy playing basketball, watching sports, and reading books on science and philosophy.

PhD Students

Benjamin Kaufold

  • PhD student in Chemistry

  • B.S. in Chemistry, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

  • My current work involves making multireference calculations more accurate and efficient and predicting the electronic properties of heterogeneous catalysts and biocatalysts. Besides chemistry, I am very fond of teaching, graphic design and touring Boston. My students are very fond of my SpongeBob-themed quizzes!

Jason Lucas

  • Industry PhD student in Chemistry

  • M.S. in Materials Science, Boston University

  • Research interest: Light-matter interactions, photocatalysis

  • Fun fact: While on a backpacking trip in the NH White Mountains in NH I found out firsthand that the boardwalks on the hiking trails sit on top of 3-foot-deep mud.

Zheyu Zhang

  • PhD student in Chemistry

  • M.S. in Bioinformatics, Northeastern University

  • Aim to use modeling and simulation methods to solve all biological problems on different scales.

  • Fun fact: I really like to build PCs for my friends.

Emma Stevens

  • PhD Student in Chemistry

  • B.S. in Chemistry, Emmanuel College, Boston

  • Research Interests: Modeling the enzyme-like catalytic nature of molecularly imprinted polymers using multiscale simulations

  • Fun Fact: I love spending time on the esplanade and even sailing on the Charles!

Undergraduate Students

Marlon Jost

  • Beckman Scholar

  • Major in Computer Science and Physics, Minor in Mathematics.

  • Research Interest: My passion lies in quantum computing and its applications in chemistry, physics, and beyond.

  • Hobbies: I am an avid skier, backpacker, and martial artist.

Luisa Li

  • Hi! I’m Luisa, I’m a rising fourth year computer science and mathematics major in Khoury. Research wise, I’m broadly interested in mathematically rigorous or architecturally interesting machine learning models as applied to both chemistry and biology. Outside of research, I enjoy rock climbing and knitting my own garments.

Alumni

Miscellaneous Group Photos

Group photo after the Solar Eclipse party! April 2024

Viewing the Solar Eclipse together! April 2024

Group photo after the ACS Northeast Regional Meeting! June 2023

Group celebration! August 2022