Post-Docs
Adharsh Raghavan
: Adharsh RaghavanM.S. in Chemistry, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (2015)
Ph. D. in Inorganic Chemistry, Purdue University (2020)
Adharsh hails from the southern state of Tamilnadu in India. After receiving his Masters from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS-Pilani), Hyderabad, he moved to the US in 2015. As a graduate student in Prof. Tong Ren's group in Purdue University, he worked on diruthenium paddlewheel aryls, and received his Ph.D. in the summer of 2020. He joined the Tomson lab in Septemeber 2020 as a postdoctoral researcher and has since been working on dinickel macrocyclic complexes. During his free time, he enjoys reading, binge-watching TV shows, listening to music and podcasts, playing chess, cooking, and more importantly, eating.
Graduate Students
Ariana Spentzos
: Ariana Spentzos6th Year
Sc.B. in Chemistry, Brown Univeristy (2015)
Ariana grew up in Santa Rosa, CA and attended Santa Rosa Junior College before transferring to Brown University in 2013. As an undergraduate, she performed research with Prof. Wes Bernskoetter. Following graduation, she moved with the Bernskoetter group to the University of Missouri to work on cobalt-catalyzed CO₂ hydrogenation for a year. Now safely back in a coastal(ish) state, Ariana joined the Tomson group in December 2016.
Sam Brooks
: Sam Brooks6th Year
B.S. in Chemistry, Elizabethtown College (2016)
Sam graduated from Elizabethtown College with a B.S. degree in chemistry. He worked with Dr. James MacKay on the regioselective, copper(I)-catalyzed synthesis of disubstituted oxazoles. He is currently learning how to operate as an inorganic chemist after being in an organic lab for the past two years. For fun, Sam likes to run. The only sport he will watch on TV is track and field.
Ryan Murphy
: Ryan Murphy4th Year
B.A. in Chemistry, with high honors, Colgate University (2018)
Ryan grew up in Holliston, Massachusetts, and completed his undergraduate education at Colgate University. There, he conducted research with Dr. Matthew Buck on the development of nanocrystal-metal complex hybrid assemblies for photoredox catalysis. Outside of lab, Ryan enjoys travelling and playing hockey.
Tianchang Liu
: Tianchang Liu4th Year
B.S. in Chemistry, Nankai University (2018)
Tianchang Liu was born in Qingdao, China and graduated from Nankai University in 2018 at Tianjin and he lived in Beijing for over 16 years. As an undergraduate, he worked with Prof. Mengchun Ye on internal olefin functionalization, he also worked with Prof. Paula Diaconescu on ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters during his internship at UCLA in 2017. He joined the Tomson group in 2019 and is currently working on iron macrocycle compounds. In his free time, he likes listening to music, playing volleyball, looking for discounts on Steam, and trying to figure out why there’s always a way for oxygen to enter the glovebox.
Yixuan Dong
: Yixuan Dong2nd Year
B.A. in Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis (2020)
Yixuan (Yilenda) Dong grew up in Beijing, China and completed her undergraduate in Washington University in St. Louis where she double majored in Chemistry and East Asian Studies with focus on Japan. She worked with Dr. William Tolman for two years on ligand design and synthesis to support Cu complex for oxidation activities. She is now continuing her inorganic studies in Tomson's lab. She keeps parrots as pets and one learned to say "peekaboo". In her free time she likes to cook and hike.
Jiashu Wang
: Jiashu Wang2nd Year
B.S. in Chemistry, William & Mary (2020)
Jiashu was born in Hangzhou, China. He completed his undergraduate education at the College of William and Mary in 2020. As an undergraduate, he spent three years doing research with Prof. William R. McNamara. On his free time, He loves doing and watching sports.
Undergraduates
Christine Quist
: Christine QuistSenior
Christine was born and raised in Accra, Ghana. She is a rising junior at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in Chemistry (expected to graduate in May 2022). In her free time, she likes cooking, playing volleyball and participating in musicals.
Former Members
Neil C. Tomson
Department of Chemistry, IAST 3002
University of Pennsylvania
231 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6323
: Neil C. Tomson
Copyright © Neil C. Tomson 2015