Green Chemistry Student Awards

Hailey Holshouser is an undergraduate chemical engineering student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Her current work centers on designing green polymer membranes for advanced water purification, combining academic curiosity with real-world environmental impact.

By blending PES with polyethyleneimine (PEI), Holshouser enhances membrane hydrophilicity and charge density, boosting adsorption kinetics and selectivity toward charged contaminants. The PES–PEI composites aim to demonstrate higher removal efficiency for various dyes tested, such as methylene blue and cyanine green, while simultaneously removing heavy metals such as lead and mercury ions under mild operating conditions, while maintaining high water flux and mechanical stability. This work advances sustainable water treatment by leveraging non-toxic, easily processable polymers and minimizes secondary pollution, offering a scalable solution for industrial effluent remediation.

Sargun Rohewal is a 5th-year Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, working under supervision of Dr. Amit Naskar at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). With a background in polymer chemistry and materials science, his work focuses on development of sustainable polymers and composites for advanced energy and structural applications. 

Specifically, Rohewal aims to optimize the structure–process–property relationships of bio-based polymer resins engineered for rapid manufacturing methods such as injection and extrusion molding. Additionally, he works on design and fabrication of recyclable, multifunctional fiber-reinforced composites for high-value applications like coatings, adhesives, automotive parts, and wind turbine components.

Sarah Boudreau is a 4th year Ph.D. Candidate in Chemistry at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, NL, Canada. Under the supervision of Prof. Francesca Kerton, Boudreau has been studying green chemistry and biomass valorization since 2021. Before her Ph.D., she completed her Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in Chemistry at Cape Breton University in Sydney, NS, Canada.

Boudreau has been studying the valorization of seafood processing industry by-products, specifically Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) bones. For the first part of her Ph.D. project, Boudreau has successfully developed an enzymatic method to clean the residual meat from the bones to yield a sustainable feedstock of hydroxyapatite. Through scale-up experiments and a simplified life cycle analysis, Boudreau has been able to prove that it is possible to implement it industrially. Recently, she has gone a step further and transformed the fish bones to hydroxyapatite nanoparticles with mechanochemistry, and compared to others our process produces 97% less CO2 emissions.

Emmanuel O. Fagbohun earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, before pursuing a Master of Science in Engineering (Applied Chemistry) at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. During his master’s, he conducted research at the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing, focusing on the synthesis of carbon-based nanomaterials and recycling of industrial carbon-waste for applications in wastewater treatment, hydrogen storage, and supercapacitors. 

Currently, Fagbohun is a Ph.D. candidate at Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada, where his research centers on photocatalytic carbon-based materials for wastewater treatment and green hydrogen production.

Sahar Gholami is a Postgraduate Researcher and Teaching Associate in Chemical Engineering at the University of Manchester, UK. She specializes in the development of novel deep eutectic solvents (DESs) for selective PGM recycling from secondary resources (e.g., industrial waste, spent catalysts).

Gholami’s research focuses on deep eutectic solvents (DESs), an emerging class of environmentally friendly solvents. Since her master's studies, she has been investigating the design, properties, and applications of DESs as sustainable alternatives to traditional solvents. Currently, her Ph.D. work is dedicated to developing green processes for the efficient recycling of platinum group metals (PGMs), aiming to close the material loop using DESs. This innovative approach has the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of PGM recovery processes, contributing to more sustainable industrial practices.

Gabriela Torres Batista is an undergraduate chemistry student at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, Ponce Campus. Her research focuses on nanomaterials for solar energy applications, with an interest in the development of sustainable technologies for terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments.

As the demand for greener energy solutions grows, Cu-doped SnO₂ nanoparticles offer a promising approach to more efficient and sustainable solar cells. This project uses microwave irradiation to synthesize SnO2 and Cu-doped SnO₂ nanoparticles. UV-Vis and XRD characterizations confirm strong light absorption and a tetragonal crystalline structure. Thin films of these nanomaterials are deposited via spin coating on FTO-glass to fabricate photoanodes, paired with graphite counter electrodes and polysulfide/sulfide electrolyte. Solar cell efficiency is measured using an Arduino and INA226 current sensor. Results aim to demonstrate improved power conversion, with potential applications in renewable energy and long-duration space missions.

Alexander Broschek is currently an undergraduate student in the Department of Chemistry & Physics at Purdue University Northwest, majoring in chemistry with a minor in biochemistry, and he will be graduating in May 2025. Alexander’s research effort includes organic chemistry research with Dr. Nicholas Ernst and biochemistry research under the supervision of Dr. Farai Gombedza.

Broschek’s research focuses on the growth of silver nanoparticles using AgNO3 and extracted tannic compounds as green reducing agents. This method of repurposing a waste product from renewable feedstocks could replace the conventional growth of silver nanoparticles using toxic chemicals such as NaBH4 and DMF. Broschek’s most recent studies focused on the application of green solvents as a replacement for acetone in current methodology, as well as the effect of pH on nanoparticle growth.

Ulfet Erdogan-Uzunoglu is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Clarkson University, located in Potsdam, NY. Clarkson is renowned for its strong emphasis on interdisciplinary research, innovation, and sustainability, providing an ideal environment for cutting-edge scientific exploration.

Ulfet Erdogan-Uzunoglu’s research focuses on the development of green and sustainable materials for the removal of environmental and food contaminants. In this project, she aims to design eco-friendly, upcycled adsorbents for the efficient removal of phosphorus from aqueous systems to prevent eutrophication. These materials are engineered to minimize environmental impact while enabling the agricultural reuse of removed phosphorus as a slow-release fertilizer, supporting the principles of the circular economy. By upcycling waste materials to remove phosphorus and repurpose it for agricultural use, Erdogan-Uzunoglu’s work contributes to sustainable water treatment and resource recovery. This research aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Endras Tia Fadhilah is a Ph.D. student at the University of Kentucky, working in the Chwatko Lab. The Chwatko group focuses on sustainable polymeric innovations. With an educational background in chemical engineering and industry background in bioscience prior to graduate school, Endras aspires to connect green chemistry with therapeutic development. 

Endras’s work integrates green chemistry principles into peptide synthesis, with the broader goal of creating more sustainable processes that support both therapeutic innovation and ecosystem health. In Endras’s study, they developed a more sustainable membrane enhanced liquid-phase peptide synthesis method (ME-LPPS) using a green solvent propylene carbonate, in combination with polyethylene glycol as a soluble support.

Kelsey Plasse is a third-year Ph.D. student at the University of Massachusetts, Boston working towards a Ph.D. in green chemistry. Plasse works in the Török lab on green organic chemistry with the goal of reducing waste in the fine chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

Plasse’s research focuses on developing greener alternatives to traditional methods by eliminating or minimizing the need for solvents, catalysts, and hazardous reagents when possible. She also uses alternative activation methods including microwaves, ultrasonication, and high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) to improve reaction rates and yields. In previous projects Plasse was able to produce methods for the co-acid free nitration of aromatics using various activation methods as well as solvent- and catalyst-free syntheses of heterocycles, pharmaceuticals and esters using HHP. The goal of her most recent project, however, is to methylate anilines using greener reagents, like dimethyl carbonate, and greener catalysts.

Christopher Koch is a postdoctoral research associate at the Savannah River National Laboratory. 

Koch’s research focuses on developing heterogenous catalysts that can perform reactions necessary for clean energy applications. Currently, he is working on developing reaction processes that are compatible with radioactive environments to remove contaminants in fusion reactors to further improve fusion as an energy source.

Dr. Xin Liu is a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Garret Miyake’s group at Colorado State University, specializing in photocatalysis and sustainable polymer design. He earned his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in China and completed his Ph.D. at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Germany, focusing on 3d transition metal catalysts. His interdisciplinary expertise bridges catalysis, photochemistry, and polymer science to advance environmentally sustainable materials.

Liu’s research operates at the interface of organometallic catalysis, photochemistry, and polymer science, with the overarching goal of advancing sustainable chemical technologies. It focuses on three key areas: (1) the design of efficient organic photoredox catalysts for the degradation of persistent pollutants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and fluoropolymers; (2) the development of recyclable polyolefin-like materials derived from biomass; and (3) the photochemical upcycling of plastic waste into high-performance products. Collectively, these efforts seek to address fundamental challenges in pollutant remediation and polymer circularity, contributing to the broader vision of environmentally responsible and resource-efficient chemistry.

Swabiiha Buxoo is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of Materials Engineering at the University of Mauritius. Her research work focuses on the development of an alginate bioplastic composite reinforced with natural cellulose fiber for packaging application.

Buxoo’s research highlights the extraction of an environmentally-friendly biopolymer (alginate) from the renewable brown seaweed Padina gymnospora, for the local production of bioplastic packaging. Green novel technologies involving the combined use of microwaves and ultrasounds in the presence of organic chemicals have been optimized for alginate extraction. To further reinforce the strength of the alginate packaging, locally available waste biomasses to promote biomass valorization is being used to extract cellulose fibers through an eco-friendly chemical and mechanical treatment. The fibers will then be composited with alginate after optimizing the biopolymer blend ratio to yield a final 100% biodegradable packaging product.

Tom Nelis holds a MSc in Bioscience Engineering with a specialization in Catalytic Process Technology from KU Leuven, Belgium. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at EPFL, Switzerland, within the Laboratory of Sustainable and Catalytic Processing (Prof. Jeremy Luterbacher).

Nelis’s goal is to reduce exposure to hazardous chemicals by designing safer alternatives derived from renewable feedstocks. One focus is on developing lignocellulosic biomass-based replacements for toxic bisphenols (e.g., BPA), both in their bound form (as used in epoxy resins) and unbound form (such as in thermal paper). Another focus is on creating polyol-based substitutes for typically carcinogenic dipolar solvents (e.g., DMF). To address these challenges, Nelis employs a holistic approach that combines performance testing for target applications with toxicological and (bio)degradability assessments. This integrated strategy helps identify at an early stage whether safer chemicals are truly being developed or merely replacing one harmful compound with another regrettable alternative.