Jared Bruce

Photochemistry is central to many aspects of energy conversion, atmospheric chemistry, corrosion, and catalysis. The ability to drive chemical reactions selectively and efficiently on surfaces with light remains a significant challenge, as these transformations are often dependent on the structure and chemical nature of the material surface. Furthermore, as more complex, multi-component materials are used in photochemical applications, robust model systems are needed to understand how synergistic properties impact these transformations.

The Bruce Group focuses on processes related to the conversion of light to drive chemical reactions at different interfaces. Our group are world experts in surface chemistry using ultrahigh vacuum, near ambient pressure, and operando spectroscopy/microscopy techniques. This, coupled with electrochemical and photoelectrochemical characterization, enables a unique insight into photochemical conversions at gas-liquid, liquid-solid, and solid-gas interfaces.

Michael Pravica

I am a high pressure physicist who studies matter subjected to extreme conditions using spectroscopic means (infrared, Raman, x-ray absorption and nuclear magnetic resonance.).

Ana de Bettencourt-Dias

Ana de Bettencourt-Dias received her ‘licenciatura’ (M.S. equivalent) in Technological Chemistry from the University of Lisbon in 1993, and her ‘Dr. rer. nat.’ (Ph.D. equivalent) in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Cologne in 1997 with Prof. Thomas Kruck. In her graduate work, she isolated new titanium complexes as single source precursors for the chemical vapor deposition of TiN thin layers. She joined the group of Prof. Alan Balch at UC Davis in 1998 as a Gulbenkian postdoctoral fellow, where she studied the electrochemistry and structure of fullerenes and endohedral fullerenes.

In 2001 she joined the faculty at Syracuse University and started her work on luminescent lanthanide ion complexes. She moved to the University of Nevada, Reno as associate professor in 2007 and was promoted to professor in 2013. Her research centers on light-emitting compounds and coordination chemistry of the f block of the periodic table. She has published over 80 peer-reviewed manuscripts, several book chapters and invited editorials and edited two books in lanthanide photophysics. Her work has been funded by the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the Petroleum Research Fund, the Department of Agriculture, the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technologic Development, and the Research Foundation of the State of São Paulo.

She served on the editorial advisory board for Inorganic Chemistry from 2013 to 2015, has been on the editorial advisory board for Comments on Inorganic Chemistry since 2016, is a managing member of the editorial board of the Journal of Rare Earths since 2014 and an associate editor for Inorganics since 2022. She has given over 200 oral presentations and was plenary or keynote speaker at several international conferences. She was program chair of the 2011 and conference chair of the 2014 Rare Earth Research Conference, organized the lanthanides and actinides symposia at the national meetings of the American Chemical Society, was the 2019 Chair of the Division of Inorganic Chemistry of the American Chemical Society and is co-program chair for the Division since 2022. She served as the Associate Vice President for Research at the University from 2015 to 2019. She returned to being a full-time faculty in July 2019, and is now the Susan Magee & Gary Clemons Professor of Chemistry. She received the 2006 Science & Technology Award of the Technology Alliance of Central New York, is a 2021 Fellow of the American Chemical Society and a 2022 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has also been named a Foundation Professor and received the 2023 Outstanding Researcher Award from the University.

Pradip Bhowmik

My interests focus on organic and polymer synthesis in general. More specifically, we are interested in developing novel light-emitting and liquid-crystalline polymers for their multitude applications in modern technology including biosensors. In another project, we are developing ionic liquids based on the concept of green chemistry, and liquid-crystalline and light-emitting organic salts to make them functional materials. Carbon nanotube-based composite materials based on ionic polymers are of significant interest in our group. In recent years, we are also actively pursuing for the development of cisplatin analogs for the development cancer therapy.

Dong-Chan Lee

My research interest covers a broad interdisciplinary area including materials chemistry and self-assembly. Current research focuses on the development of new electron-deficient semiconductors which can self-assemble into well-defined high aspect ratio clusters (such as nanofibers, nanobelts, etc.) for future electro-optical applications. We are especially interested in developing pi-organogelators which can produce nanofibers through organogelation in select organic solvents, simply and reproducibly.