Dr. Claudia Turro 

Claudia Turro received her B.S. with Honors in 1987 from Michigan State University. She worked with Daniel G. Nocera and George E. Leroi at Michigan State University and received her Ph.D. in 1992. She was awarded a Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral work at Columbia University with Nicholas J. Turro (no relation) from 1992 to 1995, and has been a faculty member at The Ohio State University since 1996. She received the Early CAREER Award by the National Science Foundation in 1998, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Young Investigator Award in 1999, was named a 2010 Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS), and a 2012 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  She was elected President of the Inter-American Photochemical Society from 2012-14 and Chair of the ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry in 2016. She received the 2014 College of Arts and Sciences Susan M. Hartmann Mentoring and Leadership Award, the 2014 Award in Photochemistry from the Inter-American Photochemical Society, the 2016 Edward W. Morley Medal from the Cleveland Section of the ACS, and the 2016 Award of the Columbus Section of the ACS.  Claudia also received the 2017 University Distinguished Scholar Award from The Ohio State University and the 2017 Mentor on the Map Award from the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE). Since 2016, she has been serving as Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Postdoctoral Researchers

Dr. Shaoyang Lin

I graduated from South China University of Technology in 2013 with a B.S. degree in Material Science and Engineering. In March 2019, I received my Ph.D. degree in Chemistry at Virginia Tech. Under the direction of Dr. Amanda Morris, I focused on investigating catalysis mechanisms and charge transfer pathways of electrochemical/photoelectrochemical reactions catalyzed by metal-organic framework based heterogeneous catalysts. I joined Dr. Turro’s group as a postdoc in April 2019. My current research projects include studying the reaction pathways and photochemistry of dirhodium complexes for hydrogen evolution and CO2 reduction.
Email: lin.3479@osu.edu

Graduate Students

Lauren Loftus

I graduated magna cum laude from Ohio University in 2014 with a B.S. in chemistry. While there, I worked with Dr. Jeffrey Rack on the development of photoactive polysiloxane films that incorporated cross-linked ruthenium sulfoxide complexes as the chromophores. I joined the Turro group in the spring of 2015. My current research in the Turro group centers around the synthesis and photophysics of terpyridine-based ruthenium(II) complexes that contain photolabile ligands and a variety of bidentate ancillary ligands. I utilize ground state and ultrafast laser spectroscopy to study the relationships between electronic structure, sterics, and the efficiency of ligand photodissociation of these complexes.
Email: loftus.34@osu.edu

Congcong Xue

I graduated from Beijing University of Chemical Technology with a B.S. degree in chemistry. I joined Dr. Turro’s group in the spring of 2015. I originally worked on electrocatalytic and photocatalytic CO2 reduction with Ru-Re bimetallic complexes and received my M.S. degree in the spring of 2016. Currently, I’m working on the study of excited state photophysical properties of dirhodium complexes with transient absorption and time-resolved infrared spectroscopy, and attaching these dirhodium complexes to semiconductors as dye sensitizers for solar energy conversion.
Email: xue.217@osu.edu

 
 
 
 

Hemanthi Manamperi

I graduated from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka with a B.S. in chemistry and minors in Physics and Mathematics. In the Turro group I am focusing on developing electro- and photocatalysts for proton reduction. I am specifically interested in employing ligands that are easily reducible and bearing proton shuttles to facilitate catalytic proton reduction. By forcing the ligand based reductions to occur prior to or closer to the metal based reduction it is expected to increase the electron density closer to the metal center. Increased electron density around the active metal center (Rh or Co) could in theory facilitate the interaction of the metal center with electrophiles (like H+) and facilitate the catalytic proton reduction by reducing the over potential and increasing the catalytic current. Moreover, the presence of basic groups in the second coordination sphere is reported to facilitate the proton transfer between the metal center and the solution to further enhance the catalysis.
Email: manamperi.1@osu.edu

Austin Lanquist

I graduated from Ohio Northern University with a B.S. in chemistry in 2016. During undergrad, my research involved the synthesis of novel ruthenium catalysts with the potential use of ketone hydrogenation into chiral alcohols. My current research in the Turro group involves the synthesis of ruthenium complexes featuring phosphine ligands. With these phosphine complexes, we hope to shed more light on the electronic nature of the group’s photolabile complexes.
Email: lanquist.1@osu.edu

 
 
 
 
 

Jie Huang

I graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China with a B.S in chemistry in 2017. During my undergraduate studies, I worked on nanocatalysts for clean energy. I joined Dr. Turro’s group in spring of 2018. I currently work on Rh2 dimers that will be anchored to NiO nanoparticles to form p-type semiconductors for solar energy conversion. I also focus on ultrafast spectroscopy to analyze the excited states, lifetimes and electron transfer processes of these photoreactions.
Email: huang.3170@osu.edu

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sean Steinke

I graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in the fall of 2014 with a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in Chemistry Teaching, where I researched the influence of the Hofmeister series of ions on the folding pathways of ferric cytochrome c. I joined the Turro group in the spring of 2018 and am currently investigating the photodissociation of acetonitrile from novel polypyridyl Ru(II) phosphine complexes.
Email: steinke.67@osu.edu

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Matt Fortunato

I graduated from Florida International University in the fall of 2017 with a B.S in chemistry and a Certificate in Forensic Science. At FIU I worked on Complexation, Extraction, and Sensing of Hg(II) by Thioamide Ligands. I joined the Turro group in the spring of 2019. My current research involves the synthesis of heteroleptic dirhodium complexes with naphthyridine bridging ligands.
Email: fortunato.34@osu.edu

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Massiel Payero Garcia

I graduated from The University of South Carolina Aiken in the spring of 2018 with a B.S. in Chemistry. As an undergraduate, I became very interested in photochemistry, which drew me to the Turro group. I joined the Turro group in the spring of 2019.
Email: payerogarcia1@osu.edu

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Jessie Vandevord

I graduated from Keene State College in the spring of 2018 with a B.S. in Chemistry and a minor in Biology. My undergraduate research focused on the synthesis of thiosemicarbazone metal complexes. I joined the Turro group in the spring of 2019, excited to study photochemical reactions.
Email: vandevord.1@osu.edu

Ph.D Graduates

Will Kender – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2018 (Honeywell)

T.J. Rohrabaugh – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2018 (Postdoctoral Fellow at United States Army Research Laboratory)

Tyler Whittemore – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2018 (Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University)

Hannah Sayre – Ph. D., The Ohio State University, 2018 (Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University)

Regina Akhimie – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2017 (Intel)

Suzanne Witt – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2017 (NRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology)

Bryan Albani – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2015 (Advanced Research Scientist at Owens Corning Roofing & Asphalt)

Alycia Palmer – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2014 (Assistant Professor at Montgomery College)

Nick Leed – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2013 (Instrument Specialist at the University of the Incarnate Word)

Scott Burya – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2013 (Regulatory Coordinator at Akzo Nobel)

Mark Sgambellone – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2013

Robert Garner – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2012 (Assistant Professor at the University of the Incarnate Word)

Carly Reed – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2011 (Lecturer at The College at Brockport, SUNY)

Nicole (Dickson) Karn – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2011 (Auxiliary Assistant Professor and Instructional Lab Supervisor for the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at The Ohio State University)

Bryan Sears – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, December, 2010 (Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School)

Lauren (Joyce) Vilt – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2010 (Analytical Chemist at Akzo Nobel)

Yujie Sun – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2010 (Associate Professor, University of Cincinnati)

Dave Turner – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2009 (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base)

Daniel Lutterman – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2007 (Currently at Oakridge National Lab)

Tanya Singh – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2006 (Currently at Dow Chemical)

Natalya Degtyareva – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2005

Jonathan Rhoad – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2004

Christopher Dollberg – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2003

Patty Fu – Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2001 (Assistant Professor at Governors State University)
 

Postdoctoral Researchers

Dr. Malik Al-Afyouni – Postdoc, The Ohio State University, 2018 (Eastman Chemical Company)

Dr. Katy Al-Afyouni – Postdoc, The Ohio State University, 2017 (Clinical and Research Coordinator, MT Wellness Clinic)

Dr. Jessica (Knoll) White – Postdoc, The Ohio State University, 2016 (Assistant Professor at Ohio University)

Dr. Travis White – Postdoc, The Ohio State University, 2016 (Assistant Professor at Ohio  University)
 

Master’s Graduates

Alba Evans – MS, The Ohio State University, 2017

Rachel Whitman –  MS, The Ohio State University, 2016 (Chemistry Adjunct Faculty, Capital University)

Michele (Folmar) Swann –  MS, The Ohio State University, 2016 (Sensory Lab Technician, PepsiCo)

Ivan Cussianovich – MS, The Ohio State University, 2012