Assistant Professor (2017 – present)
Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Rutgers University (New Brunswick); Email: ml1353@rutgers.edu

Mark hails from Buffalo, NY and completed a BS in chemistry (2008) at Case Western Reserve University. He then left the shores of Lake Erie for the San Francisco Bay, earning his PhD (2013) with Don Tilley at UC Berkeley studying reactive complexes of transition metals and main-group compounds. Mark moved on to studying redox-active molecular machines as a postdoc with Fraser Stoddart (Northwestern University) before starting his independent career at Rutgers. His current research interests combine his backgrounds in transition metal chemistry, catalysis, and molecular nanotechnology.

Dr. Rupak Saha
Joined October 2021

Rupak is from Madhyamgram, India and earned his BSc (Hons.) degree in chemistry in 2012 from the University of Calcutta, India. He then received his MS degree (2014) in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and attained his PhD degree (2020) in supramolecular chemistry under the supervision of Prof. P. S. Mukherjee at the IPC Department, IISc. His current work in the Lipke group deals with the synthesis and characterization of platinum-linked metalloporphyrin nanocages with redox properties that are potentially useful for a variety of catalytic reactions.

Kaitlyn G. Dutton
5th year (started 2018); Email: kaitlyn.dutton@rutgers.edu

Kaitlyn was born and raised in central NJ, leaving briefly to complete her undergraduate studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA where she double majored in chemistry and neuroscience (2018). Her early undergraduate research with Dan Strongin focused on inorganic surface redox chemistry, followed by investigating metal-organic frameworks for energy applications with Mike Zdilla. Returning home to NJ, Kaitlyn joined the Lipke Group at Rutgers in 2018, where she currently studies platinum-linked porphyrin nanocages, their redox properties, and their host-guest chemistry.

Daniel A. Rothschild
4th year (started 2019); Email: dar266@scarletmail.rutgers.edu

Dan has spent most of his life in New Jersey, save for two years he attended Syracuse University before transferring to Rutgers to complete his BA in chemistry with a minor in physics. Dan joined the Lipke group his senior year to study the behavior of nanoconfined organometallic compounds. He continued in the group for his PhD, focusing on developing practical syntheses for porphyrin nanocages and employing these structures as catalysts for small molecule transformations, including CO₂ reduction and CH activation reactions. Dan spends his free time drawing, gardening, and reading poetry, short stories, and books on philosophy, physics, and astronomy.

P. Thomas Blackburn
4th year (started 2019); Email: ptb39@chem.rutgers.edu; LinkedIn: P. Thomas Blackburn

Thomas is from Asheville, North Carolina, and earned a BS in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2019. As an undergraduate , Thomas worked in Dr. Alex Miller’s group, exploring hemilabile iridium pincer complexes used for catalytic olefin isomerization. After graduation from UNC, Thomas moved to New Jersey to pursue a doctorate in chemistry at Rutgers. He is now working in the Lipke lab on the synthesis, characterization, and catalytic properties of metalloporphyrin-based supramolecular nanocages for energy-related transformations.

Brice J. Kessler
3rd year (started 2020); Email: bjk145@chem.rutgers.edu

Brice is from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and graduated from Muhlenberg College with a BS in Chemistry in 2020. At Muhlenberg, Brice examined the ability of chiral tungsten complexes to mediate enantioselective dearomatization reactions. Enticed by the many possibilities of d-block chemistry, Brice pursued graduate studies at Rutgers, joining the Lipke lab in the Summer of 2020 to study the unusual electronic properties of metal complexes with redox-active ligands. Outside of the lab, Brice enjoys competitive swimming, gaming, and spending time with his partner and two cats.

Iram Fatima Mansoor
3rd year (started 2020): Email: ifm8@scarletmail.rutgers.edu

Iram is from Queens, NY where she completed her K-12 education in a small Islamic school. She earned her BA in chemistry at Rutgers in 2020, where she joined the Lipke Group to study how viologen-like redox-active ligands affect the electronic properties of transition metal complexes. Iram enjoyed this work enough to continue on in the group, earning an NSF graduate fellowship along the way. Iram spends much of her free time with her family and 50+ cousins. She also prides herself in introducing her fellow researchers to Pakistani cuisine (which they much appreciate!).

Taro J. Jones
2nd year (started 2021); Email: taro.jones@rutgers.edu

Taro was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. He graduated from Adelphi University in NY in 2020 with a BFA in dance and a minor in chemistry. At Adelphi, Taro studied hypervalent-iodine reactions under the guidance of Dr. I. F. Dempsey Hyatt. Now in the Lipke Group at Rutgers, Taro pursues experimental and computational studies of platinum-linked porphyrin nanocages and their influence on the acid/base properties of encapsulated guests. In his free time, he enjoys volleyball, video games and graphic design.