Current Group Members
Post-Doctoral Scholars
Arunava Maity
Arunava grew up in a small village (Namkhana, West Bengal) in the east part of India. He received his BSc and MSc in Chemistry from the University of Calcutta and IIT Madras respectively. In June 2018, he earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Science from CSIR-NCL Pune, India. His Ph.D. research work was focused on self-assembly and supramolecular chemistry of small molecule-based organic assemblies, dyes, etc. Right after finishing his Ph.D. Arunava spent 2 years in the Manners Group (University of Victoria, Canada) and a year in Nazemi Research Group (University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada) for postdoctoral research on block copolymer self-assembly. In May 2022 Arunava took up a postdoctoral research associate position in Michaudel Laboratory at the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M University. In the Michaudel group, Arunava will explore metathesis polymerization to develop useful functional polymers. When Arunava is not in lab, he loves to go running, hiking, walking, watching soccer games, and have a great time with his family!
arunavamaity87@tamu.edu
CSIR-NCL, Ph.D.
Graduate Students
Fifth Years
Kate Doktor
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Kate graduated from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts with a baccalaureate degree in chemistry. During her studies, she worked for Dr. Kyle Broaders on the development of copolymerizable monomers, 𝛼-hydroxy acids. In addition, she examined how the addition of triggered chain scissions, used to promote polymer backbone cleavage, affected their biodegradability and material properties. Upon graduation and moving away from the freezing North, she decided to move to Texas and join Dr. Michaudel’s group. Her current work involves post-polymerization modification using modern organic chemistry. In her free time, Kate enjoys listening to music and dancing tango.
kmaziarz@tamu.edu
Mount Holyoke College
Sam Kempel
Sam comes to the Michaudel group from Illinois State University. At Illinois State, Sam investigated the synthesis of novel carbaporphyrinoids under the direction of Distinguished Professor Dr. Timothy D. Lash. He received his B.S. in Chemistry in May 2019 and started working in the Michaudel group soon after on the synthesis and characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In his free time, he enjoys reading, watching movies, and being ignored by his cats.
sjkemp1@tamu.edu
Illinois State University
Fourth Year
Deepta Chattapadhyay
Deepta completed his Bachelor and Master’s studies at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata receiving an MS degree in Chemistry in July 2020. During his Master’s studies, Deepta synthesized small peptide-mimetics with novel gelator properties under the supervision of Prof. Debasish Haldar. In the Michaudel group, he is exploring SuFEx chemistry for a wide range of synthetic applications. In his free time, Deepta enjoys watching movies and cricket, hanging out with friends, and more importantly getting a good amount of sleep.
deepta.chat@tamu.edu
IISER – Kolkata
Third Years
Jake Nicholson
Jake was born and raised in the suburbs outside of Portland, Oregon. He graduated from Portland State University with a B.S. in Chemistry: Biochemistry in June 2021. At Portland State, he worked on the synthesis and characterization of hybrid lipid membrane-coated silver nanoparticles with uniform shape morphologies as well as dye-coated nickel nanoparticles under the supervision of Dr. Marilyn Mackiewicz. He also spent as year as a technician working in an industrial R&D chemistry lab at OSRAMOpto Semiconductors. Jake joined the lab of Dr. Quentin Michaudel in July 2021 where he is currently working on the targeted synthesis and design of novel singlet fission materials with photovoltaic applications. In his free time, Jake enjoys reading, movies, hiking, going to the gym, watching sports, and hanging out with friends.
jake.nicholson@tamu.edu
Portland State University
An Tran
hoaian_030498@tamu.edu
College of Wooster
An Tran graduated from the College of Wooster with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry. During her senior year of college, she did an Independent Study under Dr. Liliana Morris’ supervision, researching the copolymerization of monomers derived from plant-based acids with an attempt to make a new biodegradable material that can replace harmful sodium polyacrylate in baby diapers. This 9-month research project has sparked An’s interest in sustainability in cosmetics, fashion, and polymer chemistry in general. With the goal of exploring this field, An joined Dr. Michaudel’s lab and is currently learning about the synthesis of conjugated polymers. When she’s not doing chemistry, An loves to cook, travel, play video games and watch Netflix.
Second Years
Avinash Choudhury
Avinash completed his Master's degree in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Berhampur. During his Master’s studies, he worked on developing novel Pt(IV) prodrugs that could help in anticancer therapy and reduce side effects associated with platinum drugs. Avinash joined the Michaudel group in October 2022, where he is exploring SuFEx chemistry for synthesizing small molecules and polymers. In his free time, Avinash enjoys watching NBA, anime, playing video games and learning digital art.
achoudhury72@tamu.edu
IISER – Berhampur
Srutashini Das
Srutashini was born in Assam, a small state in India's northeast. She earned her bachelor's degree in science with honors in chemistry from Cotton University in Guwahati, Assam, and a master's from the National Institute of Technology in Warangal (NITW). She had the chance to complete an internship with a CSIR lab while pursuing her bachelor's degree, where she worked on "Developing a clay-based adsorbent for the removal of Arsenic from water." She was greatly motivated by her internship to learn more about the chemistry around her and to try to find solutions to some typical environmental issues. She joined the Michaudel Lab in October 2022 with this goal in mind, and now she is employing SuFEx to make sustainable polymers. Srutashini enjoys dancing, watching movies and dance shows, traveling, and visiting restaurants in addition to her interests in science.
srutashini_das_13@tamu.edu
NIT – Warangal
Mary Yenca
Mary comes to Texas A&M from Maryland where she grew up and attended Mount St. Mary's University, graduating with a B.S. in chemistry and biochemistry in 2022. At the Mount, she conducted research on the synthesis of organic photosensitizing pyrylium dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells under the guidance of Dr. Isaac Mills. She also spent a summer at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville for an NSF REU researching terpene-derived vitrimer synthesis in the Brantley lab. Mary joined the Michaudel lab in July 2022 and is currently working on the synthesis of ROMP monomers and post-polymerization modification of conjugated polymers. In her free time, Mary enjoys reading, painting, and spending time with her friends.
myenca@tamu.edu
Mount St. Mary's University
First Years
Jeff Diaz
Jeff grew up in the central part of the Philippines and spent most of his adult life in its capital, Manila. He earned his BS Chemistry diploma from the University of the Philippines where he worked on the amplification of fungal endochitinase. He finished his MS (Chemistry) at the same university under the supervision of Dr. Monissa Paderes. His master’s thesis is on the photo-induced dimerization of anthracene-conjugated linear polymers. When not doing science, Jeff relaxes by listening to new music and replaying old favorites. He loves to go hiking and explore beaches.
markjeffreydiaz04@tamu.edu
University of the Philippines
Varun Prabhakar
varunp18@tamu.edu
IISER– Bhopal
Varun completed his integrated bachelor's and master's program in chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, India. In his Master’s thesis, he worked with high-valent Iron-oxo complexes to mimic TET enzyme under the supervision of Dr. Debasish Manna. He joined the Michaudel group in October 2023, where he is exploring SuFEx click chemistry to synthesize small molecules and polymers. Varun enjoys reading books and watching cricket, soccer, and movies in his free time.
Undergraduate Students
Ben Bratten
Texas A&M University
Amanda Foster
Texas A&M University
Caroline Gallo
Texas A&M University
Zak Newman
Texas A&M University
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Interested graduate and undergraduate students should contact Prof. Michaudel via email.
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The laboratory is not currently accepting any new postdoctoral researchers.
