BENJAMIN S. HSIAO
RESEARCH GROUP
Luke Kenny
Undergraduate student
Email: luke.kenny@stonybrook.edu
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Luke Kenny is a Junior pursuing a B.S. in biochemistry. Luke wants to build a cleaner ecosystem through his work. Currently he is working on optimizing processing conditions of nanocellulose hydrogel including different factors for conductometric titration targeting on environmental applications.
Allen Sun
Undergraduate student
Email: allen.sun.2@stonybrook.edu
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Allen is a junior currently pursuing a B.S. in Chemistry with an interest in environmental chemistry. My current project is working with nanocelluose hydrogel with ferric nitrate and examine the stability at various temperatures and time.
Robert Kocovic
Undergraduate student
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Email:
Robert Kocovic is a Biochemistry junior on a Pre-Medical trajectory who enjoys engaging in physical exercise, sports, and literature during his leisure hours. Currently, he is occupied with the synthesis of hydrogels utilizing jute nitro-oxidized cellulose nanofibers featuring divalent cation, and subsequently evaluating its stability under various pH conditions.
Dayna Saywack
Undergraduate student
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Email: dayna.saywack@stonybrook.edu
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Dayna is a senior majoring in Health Science with a concentration in Disabilities Studies and Human Development and minors in biology and chemistry. I am currently researching the effect of various pH levels on the stability of cellulose-based trivalent hydrogels created using the nitric acid oxidation method.
Fahmida Akter
Undergraduate student
Email: fahmida.akter@stonybrook.edu
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Fahmida Akter is a junior double majoring in Biology (Interdisciplinary Biology) and Sociology, with minors in Studio Art and Chemistry on the pre-med track. She is focusing on using bio-adsorbents to treat PFCs substances (PFBA, PFBS, PFBO, and PFBS) with Duning Li. This project could potentially lead to many advantages such as cheap feedstock, chemicals to be easily modified, and used as a selective design for PFAS removal.
Michael Frueh
Undergraduate student
Email: michael.frueh@stonybrook.edu
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Michael Frueh is a senior working towards a B.S. in Chemistry and is looking into opportunities in sustainability and applied sciences. Michael enjoys perusing science in a manner that can make an impact on society, such as what the Hsiao group is researching regarding the nanocellulose hydrogels. Michael’s current research regards understanding the drying and rewetting process of divalent hydrogels through analysis of the hydrogels under various heat and time conditions. This allows for a greater understanding of the properties of these hydrogels in order to develop their potential uses throughout society.
Wanting Huang
Undergraduate student
Email: wanting.huang@stonybrook.edu
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Wanting Huang is a sophomore pursuing a B.S. in Psychology major with a minor in Biology. She is currently working on extracting cellulose nanofibers from untreated biomasses for applications in the removal of heavy metals from drinking water.
Emily Li
Undergraduate student
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Email: emily.li.3@stonybrook.edu
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Emily Li is currently pursuing her B.S. in Chemistry with a concentration in chemical sciences. She joined the group in her sophomore year, working on growing zinc oxide nanocrystals on a cellulose nanofiber scaffold. She is currently working on creating aerogel and a plant growth study comparing a variety of substrates.
Emma Lian
Undergraduate student
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Email: emma.lian@stonybrook.edu
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Emma is currently a junior pursuing her B.S. in Chemistry with a concentration in chemical sciences. She joined the Hsiao group the summer after her sophomore year and has worked on analyzing of the effect that nitro-oxidized nanocellulose fibers have on water retention and soybean plant growth. She is currently studying the effect that different pH environments have on ion leaching from hydrogels.
Saima Pasha
Undergraduate student
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Email: saima.pasha@stonybrook.edu
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Saima Pasha is currently a senior pursuing a B.S. in chemistry with a specialization in biochemistry. She is focusing on optimization of nitro oxidation processes (NOP) through the means of high pressure for extract cellulose nanofibrils. She aims at making society more environmentally-friendly, and am aiming to show that through my research in NOP. I will be analyzing the fibers through percent yields, titrations, and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.
Elizabeth Collado
Undergraduate student
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Email: elizabeth.collado@stonybrook.edu
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Elizabeth is a senior currently pursuing a B.S. in Chemistry with a concentration in
environmental chemistry. Elizabeth’s current project is synthesizing and using a
nanocellulose-zinc oxide composite for the photodegradation of methylene blue, for
future use in sustainable water filtration. Currently, Elizabeth is interested in going into
the pharmaceutical field. She has experience in the medical field, working with
individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. In her free time, she
does volunteer work as a political lobbyist for the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana.
Kunlin Zhao
Undergraduate student
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Email: kunlin.zhao@stonybrook.edu
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Kunlin is a senior undergraduate student in Chemistry. Currently he is working on the post treatment of effluent from nitric oxidization process. Specifically, he is focusing on a series of titration experiments and analyzing the results.
Rose Shojaeian
Undergraduate student
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Email: rose.shojaeian@stonybrook.edu
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Rose Shojaeian is a Junior pursuing a B.S. in biochemistry. Her research focuses on developing nanofibers to advance nitro oxidation processes using high pressure. As part of her NOP research, she aims to convert organic waste into high-nutrient products. The fibers will be analyzed using percent yields, titrations, and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).
Luke Beauman
Undergraduate student
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Email: luke.beauman@stonybrook.edu
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Luke Beauman is a junior chemistry major concentrating in chemical sciences. His research in the Hsiao Group involves analyzing the swelling ratio of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) hydrogel that incorporates gamma-alumina nanoparticles. His goal is to determine how swelling ratio behavior is related to CNF source materials, the concentration of nanoparticles, and differing employed gelling agents.