Members

Nalini Gupta is originally from Ithaca NY, where she attended Ithaca High School. She graduated from MIT in 2005 with a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of California Santa Barbara, and is working for Prof. Craig Hawker on designing novel hydrogel materials for stem cell engineering.

Frank Leibfarth graduated from the University of South Dakota in May 2008 with degrees in Chemistry and Physics. During his undergraduate studies, Frank participated in three chemistry REU’s: one each at Columbia University, IBM’s Almaden Research Center, and The University of South Dakota. He joined the research group of Prof. Craig Hawker at University of California Santa Barbara, in the fall of 2008, where he is working on synthetic methodology in macromolecular systems.

Mike Dimitriou was born in the U.S. but raised on the island of Cyprus. Mike returned to Boston to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering. Currently, he is attending University of California Santa Barbara and is co-advised by Prof. Craig Hawker and Prof. Ed Kramer. His research focuses on the synthesis and surface characterization of polymeric surfactants and polymers for antifouling coatings.

Jasmine Hunt was born in Normal, IL and received her Bachelors of Arts in Chemistry and Religious Studies, with honors, from Washington University where she worked in the lab of Karen Wooley. She currently works for Prof. Craig Hawker at the University of California Santa Barbara on the synthesis and investigation of poly(ethylene glycol)-polyelectrolyte copolymers for biomaterials.

Kato Killops was born in Kelseyville, CA and attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA where she received her B.A. in Chemistry. In the summer of 2006, Kato joined the research group of Prof. Craig Hawker and is currently investigating routes to polymeric nanoparticles via block copolymer self-assembly.

Brian Lin was born in Taipei, Taiwan and arrived in the U.S. at the age of 15. Attending Cal Poly Pomona, he received a B.S. in Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry, followed by a M.S. in Chemistry studying polymer sensing films co-advised by Dr. Dennis Livesay and Dr. Amy Ryan at JPL. He is currently working on a doctorate with Prof. Matt Tirrell investigating alternative methods for the synthesis of lipopeptides and characterizing their self-organization.