The Boss
Janet Macdonald
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
BSc 2003 McGill University
PhD 2008 University of Alberta
Post Doctoral Fellow 2008-10 The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Graduate Sudents
Shane Finn
I am originally from St. Louis, MO, and I moved to Naples, FL, when I was ten. In May of 2011, I received my B.A. in Chemistry from Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, FL. My current project in Macdonald Group is to examine new nanostructured cathode materials for quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells. My future career goals include holding a research faculty appointment at a university, conducting further investigation into solar energy conversion. I also aim to collaborate with industry in hopes of expediting the transition of our society from dependence on nonrenewable resources to renewable ones. My hobbies and interests include comic books, videogames, moies, philosophy, climbing and traveling.
Mike Turo
I am from Albany, NY and joined the Macdonald group after graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry from Villanova University in 2011. As an undergrad I performed research under the supervision of Dr. Joseph Bausch and had an internship in industry working for SI Group. My current research interest is developing nanoparticles for use in solar energy conversion. In my free time I enjoy playing sports and spending time with friends.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Emil Hernández
I was born in Chicago, but grew up in Puerto Rico. I did my undergraduate work at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, and got my Ph.D. from Penn State University under the guidance of Dr. Tom Mallouk. Currently I’m in my first year of postdoctoral work in the Macdonald group, where I’m working with ternary and quaternary semiconductor nanocrystals for water-splitting photocatalysts. In my free time I enjoy playing volleyball, raquetball, and softball, as well as salsa dancing. Most of all, I enjoy vacationing in Puerto Rico.
Undergraduates
Samantha Monk
I'm currently an undergraduate chemistry student working on nanoparticle solubility research this summer in Dr. Macdonald's esteemed lab and under the tutelage of Mike Turo. Austin Peay State University is my home institution in Clarksville, TN and I am just two semesters away from graduation. My husband and I were born and raised in Sacramento, CA but have relocated to Tennessee due to his enlistment in the Army in 2006, and we have been stationed at Fort Campbell since 2010. Outside of the lab I am employed part time at the General Nutrition Center and in my free time I like to take my dogs to the park and read.
Erik Jewell
I was born and raised in Clarksville, TN but I like to consider myself an international. My mother is a German immigrant after meeting and marrying my Sicilian father while he was stationed in Germany with the Army for 10 years. We fly to Germany almost annually. It was there as a young child that I first became interested with the technology of solar energy and conversion. I am currently in the process of obtaining my BS in Chemistry at Austin Peay State University but will be doing research with the group over the Summer of 2012 as a VINSE TN-SCORE REU student. I am working with Copper Oxide nanoparticles and am trying to use various geometric shapes on electrodes for the photoreduction of water. In my free time I like to play Frisbee, Soccer, Scuba Dive, and relax with friends.
Rotation Students
In both the Chemistry Graduate Program and Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Material Science, incoming granduate students do rotations in three labs before formally joining a group. These students are currently trying out our lab for a couple of months.
Bryson Howard
Aaron Daniel
