Neil Tomson

Associate Professor of Chemistry

Experience

Corey Richards

Ph.D. in Chemistry, Saint Louis University (2022)

Corey grew up near Dahlgren, Illinois and completed his undergraduate education at Saint Louis University, where he performed research with Prof. Alexa Serfis. After a brief break in his studies, in which he prepared and analyzed toxicology samples for the screening of pain management drugs, he returned to graduate school at Saint Louis University. There, he joined the lab of Prof. Jamie Neely, synthesizing and examining the reactivity of isolable iron imide and azametallacyclobutene complexes, and received his Ph.D. in the summer of 2022. In July of 2022, he joined the Tomson lab as a postdoctoral researcher. In his free time, Corey enjoys hanging out with his dog Λύκος, cooking, and exploring new restaurants/cuisines.

Ryan Murphy

6th 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.

Jiashu Wang

4th 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.

Shannon Ford

3rd Year

B.S. in Chemistry, Purdue (2021)

Shannon grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and completed her undergraduate education at Purdue University in 2021. As an undergraduate, she worked with Dr. Suzanne Bart on low-valent uranium imido chemistry. During her free time, she enjoys trying new baking recipes, exploring Philadelphia, and hiking.

Jared Gonder

1st Year

B.S. in Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2023)

Jared grew up in Midland, Michigan, and he completed his undergraduate education at the University of Michigan in April of 2023. There, he conducted research with Prof. Nathaniel Szymczak studying biomimetic first-row transition metal complexes to evaluate how positioned secondary coordination sphere hydrogen bonding groups affect the activation of small molecules. In his free time, Jared enjoys playing video games with his two brothers, reading sci-fi novels, and cheering on the Wolverines and the Detroit Lions.

Jules Gerstner

Junior

Chemistry and Biology, Roger Williams University (2025)

Jules was raised in Carlisle, PA and is currently pursuing a dual degree in Chemistry and Biology at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. There she conducted research with Dr. Clifford Murphy building a noninvasive screening device for the early detection of oral and gastric cancers. In her free time she loves to go hiking, make pottery, read, and spend time with friends!