Coblentz Student Awards

2023 Coblentz Student Awardee – Sevde Erkok

Sevde Dogruer Erkok is a Ph.D. candidate in Professor Bruce McCord’s trace laboratory at Florida International University (FIU). She is originally from Türkiye, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree with honors in Teaching Chemistry, as the highest-ranked student. While pursuing her Ph.D., she received two master’s degrees, one in Forensic Sciences and one in Analytical Chemistry.

Before starting her Ph.D., she visited Dr. McCord’s laboratory as a volunteer intern. She worked on the development of a method utilizing gold-silver nanostars to detect trace amounts of fentanyl in binary mixtures of both heroin and cocaine by portable Raman spectroscopy. Her current research mainly focuses on differentiating structurally similar fentanyl analogs with a theoretical and experimental analysis and detecting them in illicit drug mixtures by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).

Sevde was awarded a Dissertation Evidence Acquisition Fellowship twice from FIU, and she is involved in a collaborative project between Florida International University and the University of Amsterdam in the Spring and Summer of 2023. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop SERS paper substrates to detect fentanyl analogs by combining SERS and paper spray mass spectroscopy (PS-MS). She is leading a team under the supervision of Prof. Arian van Asten at the University of Amsterdam.

Her love of spectroscopy and analytical chemistry has motivated her to search for and obtain scholarships to attend important national and international meetings. Sevde has presented her research at numerous conferences worldwide. Her work has been recognized by national and international awards, including the best poster award at three conferences, the Young Scientist Travel Award, and National Science Foundation (NSF) travel award.

She is an active member of different organizations such as the American Academy of Forensic Science, The Coblentz Society, the Society for Applied Spectroscopy, etc. She also has a scholarship from the TÜBİTAK Directorate of Science Fellowships and Grant Programs (BİDEB) in Türkiye. Most recently she has received the Student Award of the Coblentz Society.

2023 Coblentz Student Awardee – Aleksandr Razumtcev

Aleksandr is a Ph.D. candidate in Professor Garth Simpson’s group at Purdue University, where he conducts research at the intersection of vibrational spectroscopy and nonlinear optics. Prior to his graduate studies, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia.

During his undergraduate studies, he focused on characterizing multilayered thermoelectric semiconductor nanofilms fabricated by pulsed laser deposition. After joining Purdue University, Aleksandr has been working on developing a novel method for mid-infrared photothermal microscopy. This method relies on detecting temperature-induced changes in fluorescence intensity. By leveraging the high sensitivity of fluorescence quantum yield to local temperature variations, this new approach enhances the signal-to-noise ratio in sub-diffraction fingerprint region imaging by two orders of magnitude compared to conventional optical photothermal microscopy.

Aleksandr’s work in F-PTIR microscopy was recognized with the ALS Doctoral Fellowship awarded by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). This fellowship currently supports his research at LBNL, focusing on further advancements in F-PTIR. His ongoing research interests involve utilizing F-PTIR for sub-micron chemical-specific imaging of fluorescently-labeled brain tissue sections to study neurodegenerative diseases and exploring broadband imaging using synchrotron radiation as an infrared light source.

In total, Aleksandr has authored nine research publications and received several awards, including an outstanding poster award at the “Vibrational Spectroscopy” Gordon Research Conference.

2023 Coblentz Student Awardee – Danuta Liberda

Danuta Liberda is currently a 3rd year PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences Programme at the SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Centre, Jagiellonian University in Kraków. She obtained her MSc with a dissertation devoted to the application of chemometrics tools to analyze variance in high-performance liquid chromatography data.  

Her interest in FT-IR spectroscopy started during her work as a technician in Dr. Tomasz Wrobel’s project, devoted to pancreatic comprehensive histopathology based on IR chemical imaging. She was focusing on tissue measurements and their classification using machine learning tools, developing her knowledge in the data analysis field. After the end of the above project, she started working in the unique facility – Synchrotron SOLARIS – as the beamline scientist involved in CIRI (Chemical InfraRed Imaging) beamline construction.

At the same time, she obtained her first own financial support for research devoted to the improvement of IR-imaged breast tissue classification using data augmentation methods, from the National Science Center – PRELUDIUM grant. In the same year, she enrolled into a PhD program continuing her research projects. This year Danuta received a prestigious START stipend for outstanding young researchers with distinction.

Her research focuses on the influence of different optical setups: measurement modes (transmission and transflection), and objectives giving different spatial resolutions on classification results. Danuta is also highly interested in the development of classification machine learning models for different pathologies: she created and translated the esophagus cancer detection model to QCL modality and finalized research in pancreatic cancer detection project.

Currently, Danuta is broadening her knowledge about Neural Networks applying it to breast tissue classification. As a member of Tomasz Wrobel’s research group, she is involved in research devoted to determining 3D macromolecular orientation in polymers and tissue biopsies. Moreover, Danuta’s role as the beamline scientist is not only beamline construction but also helping CIRI users with data analysis.

She is the author of thirteen publications, including five as the first author. She has presented her research at seventeen local, national, and international conferences.     

2023 Coblentz Student Awardee – Daniel Schäfer

Daniel Schäfer is currently a second-year Ph.D. student in the group of Prof. Sebastian Schlücker at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) in Germany.

Born and raised in a small town close to the former industrial heart of Germany, the Ruhr metropolitan area, he achieved his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in chemistry at the UDE.

His research is focused on the SERS-based kinetic reaction monitoring of model reactions in heterogeneous catalytic systems. This work requires expertise in the wet chemical synthesis of hybrid Pt-coated gold nanorods (AuNR), optical spectroscopy (UV/Vis; Raman, SERS), TEM/EDX and chemical kinetics. He demonstrated that bimetallic Pt-coated AuNR catalysts enable hydrogen-based reductions that proceed via a metal-hydride transfer.

Outside the lab, he is an animal lover and is active in cycling and skateboarding.

2023 Coblentz Student Awardee – Thulya Chakkumpulakkal Puthanveettil

Thulya is pursuing a joint PhD degree in analytical chemistry from Monash University, Australia, and the University of Bath, United Kingdom, under the guidance of Prof. Bayden R. Wood (Monash University), Dr. Paul De Bank (University of Bath), Dr. Keith Bambery (Australian Synchrotron), and Prof. Karen J. Edler (Lund University, Sweden).

In 2012, Thulya obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Physics with minors in Chemistry and Mathematics from the University of Calicut, India. Following that, she earned her Master of Technology degree in Materials Science from the University of Mysore, India.

In her PhD, Thulya has been working on a highly multidiscipline project combining microfluidics, spectroscopy and machine modelling to develop new diagnostic tests for blood and water borne pathogens particularly focusing on malaria parasites, leishmania parasites and bacteria.

During her PhD career, her work has been acknowledged on several occasions. She has published nine articles in internationally reputed journals, four of which are first author articles. She has been able to secure a highly prestigious Postgraduate Research Award from the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering (AINSE) to conduct impactful research on malaria diagnosis at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) facilities. This top-up award provides additional funding to support experiments at ANSTO facilities such as Australian synchrotron.

In addition to this, she has been awarded an AINSE Technical Skills Scholarship for developing advanced machine learning skills to support her research on malaria diagnosis. She has been awarded the following accolades: The Association of British Spectroscopists Trust (ABS Trust) Student Bursary Award for 2023, a Research Development Grant from the Royal Society of Chemistry, study away travel grant from Monash University, and the Doctoral Recognition Award for 2023 from the University of Bath.

2021 Coblentz Student Awardee – Isabella Goodenough

Isabella Goodenough is a graduate research assistant earning her PhD in physical and analytical chemistry with a focus in vibrational spectroscopy of complex nanoporous materials at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is involved in a collaborative project between the University of Pittsburgh and Temple University, which seeks to develop superior sorbents capable of capturing and degrading hazardous chemical agents, such as chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals.  The ultimate goal of this work is to design protective equipment for military, industrial and civilian personnel using multifunctional, porous-hybrid nanomaterials, which couple Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) scaffolds and non-noble metal plasmonic nanoparticles. To date, Isabella’s role in this project has been to develop a fundamental insight on the interactions of the MOF scaffolds with select target analytes using in situ FTIR techniques under ultra-high vacuum conditions in order to understand the adsorption, transport and desorption phenomena in MOF-analyte systems. In addition she uses vibrational probe molecules to understand the nature and distribution of defects in these materials.

Outside of the laboratory, Isabella serves as the Chair of the Philadelphia Younger Chemists’ Committee (YCC) and is a founding member of the Eastern US YCC partnership. Her mission is to build a network of motivated young professionals that will empower and unite chemists in the community. She is passionate about pursuing social justice through community engagement and strives to advance accessibility, representation, and equality in STEM disciplines. In the future she hopes to expand the boundaries of leadership and teamwork to influence positive change and to inspire diversity and inclusion.

2021 Coblentz Student Awardee – Christopher Warkentin

Chris Warkentin is currently a Ph.D. candidate in experimental physical chemistry at the University of Minnesota. Prior to his academic career, he found work building trails in the Appalachian Mountains, restoring wetlands in the Midwest, establishing a sustainable farm, and managing a custom construction shop. These experiences informed his interest to pursue a career in sustainability and his eventual return to collegiate studies at Indiana University South Bend. Here his research career began, exploring a range of interests in chemistry and physics. As a SMART Research Fellow, under the advisement of Dr. Grace Muna, he developed nickel-palladium modified glassy carbon electrodes for the electro-analytical detection of steroid hormones in local surface waters. In 2017, he earned a BS in Chemistry with minors in Physics and Mathematics from IUSB and moved to Minneapolis to pursue his doctoral degree in Chemistry at the University of Minnesota under the advisement of Dr. Renee Frontiera. While pursuing his Ph.D., he obtained his master’s degree in Chemistry in 2018.

Today, his research interests center on using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to investigate the dynamics of plasmon-driven chemistry in a variety of plasmon-molecule systems. A better understanding of plasmon-molecule interactions could aid in the rational design of new plasmon-based green catalysts for more sustainable chemical production and solar energy generation. Chris’ work uses ultrafast (ps) time-resolved SERS and steady-state (ms) SERS in order to understand both the fast energy-transfer dynamics that occur on the timescale of plasmon decay and the slower reaction kinetics that result from the cumulative effects of continuous irradiation. His research, in collaboration with theorists and material scientists, has revealed new insights into nanoscale spatial control of plasmon-driven processes, ultrafast plasmon-induced charge transfer, and upconversion applications with new plasmonic materials.

Chris has earned a number of awards during his tenure at the University of Minnesota, where he is currently an Institute on the Environment Renewable Energy Commercialization Fellow. He is an active member of the Analysis and Compliance committee for the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Joint Safety Team and involved with various student groups within the department. Outside of the lab, Chris enjoys hiking, fishing, gardening, and playing with his 11-month old son, Oliver.