PhD Student: Pablo Romano
Pablo is a graduate student in the Physical Chemistry program.
Originally from Houston, Texas; he majored in Chemistry at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
His research interests are in exploring the dynamic fluctuations as DNA transitions between double to single stranded regimes.
His hobbies include musics (playing both guitar and piano), marathon watching television shows on Netflix, and on occasion enjoying the outdoors near and around Eugene.
Undergraduate Student: Yelda Raheen
My name is Yelda Raheen and I am a general science major, with a minor in chemistry and psychology. I am first generation born in raised in the U.S. My parents immigrated here from Afghanistan during the war with the Soviet Union, and my Father is a family practice doctor while my mother is a registered Nurse. I believe that education should revolve around passion and cooperative learning v.s a grade-obsessed and competitive mindset. I hope to go to medical school and pursue the highest level of education/specialty I can. My character can be defined through this life motto; “I’d rather choke on greatness than nibble on mediocrity”.
Undergraduate Student: Jared Brandon
From Portland, Oregon.
Went to Cleveland High School
Biochemistry major with declared minors in math and computer science
Clark Honors College
“My hobbies include playing basketball and other sports (I play for the club ultimate frisbee team), skating, playing guitar and piano, hiking, and freestyle rapping.”
Benjamin is an undergraduate student in the Chemistry Department.
“I am from Beaverton, Oregon. I am pursuing a degree in Chemistry with a minor in Business. I have always love asking questions and learning the why behind every day things. I enjoy Chemistry because it gives me a chance to discover how the world works. My hobbies include playing piano, rock climbing, hiking, and building robots. I enjoy spending time with friends, going to church, and learning about how the world works. I hope to eventually work in research and development for a company after finishing grad school.”
Jeremy is a graduate student in the Physics Department.Jeremy is from Eugene Oregon and received an undergraduate degree in Physics from the UofO. Here is how Jeremy describes his own experience:”I am a graduate student in the physics department at the University of Oregon. When I’m not in the lab, I am probably chasing around my three boys ages 2, 7, and 8.
Master Student: Gesa Welker
Gesa is from Germany and she got her diploma in physics (equivalent to a Master’s degree) from the University of Konstanz in Germany. During her time as a Fulbright scholar at the UofO, she spent three months as a non-degree graduate student in the Guenza lab in 2013. Now she is living in the Netherlands, where she is working on a PhD in the field of quantum optics at the Leiden Institute of Physics.
Besides physics, I find languages and cultural differences highly fascinating. My current hobby is mastering the Dutch language. Other than that, I play the guitar and I love being outside, hiking, playing soccer or biking around.“
Anthony Clark grew up in Helena Montana and wanted to be a physicist from a young age. He recieved his PhD in physics from the University of Oregon in March 2013, doing research work on coarse-graining theory for polymers. Currently, Anthony works as a postdoc in the group of Rich Friesner at Columbia University with a focus on improving free-energy perturbation techniques to gain predictive power over the binding affinity of protein-antibody complexes. In his free time Anthony likes to write songs and play his guitar, and ride his bicycle around.
Jay graduated in Chemistry at the University of Oregon in November 25th, 2013.
Here is what Jay says: ” My interests lie in the broad fields of soft condensed matter and biophysics, where I am interested in applying statistical mechanics (equilibrium and non-equilibrium) to study the structure and dynamics of complex macromolecular systems.
I received my Ph. D. in physical chemistry from the group of Marina Guenza at the University of Oregon, where my dissertation focused on developing a novel coarse-grained method for computer simulations of complex macromolecular fluids.
I am currently a postdoc working in the research group of professor Michele Parrinello at the Universita della Svizzera italiana in Lugano, Switzerland. My research is focused on the development of enhanced sampling methods for exploring the complex free energy surface of systems governed by multiple long-lived metastable states separated by kinetic bottlenecks.
While at Oregon, I was also involved in the Science Literacy Program, which is aimed at improving the scientific awareness and general scientific knowledge of non-science majors at the university. My graduate work was also partially supported through the NSF GK-12 fellowship for which my duties included spending time as a “resident scientist” in elementary school classrooms in rural Oregon, and participating in local scientific outreach activities.
Before graduate school, I received my B.S. in biochemistry from the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. My hobbies include tennis, guitar, and skiing. My favorite scientist is Ludwig Boltzmann.”
Ha received a BS degree from the University of Oregon and entered the Ph. D. program at Rice University, Advisor: Peter Wolynes.
Here is the press release and the related NSF press release on Ivan’s work.
“We were able to show that when you run your simulation with less detail, it is possible to correct for these factors, and reconstruct the correct the dynamics of the real system from the coarse-grained description. Our theoretical procedure has been tested with different experiments and simulations, and works pretty well. No one else has been able to do this with a theoretical solution.
Thomas was a transfer student from Umpqua Community College. After on year of research in the Guenza Lab he entered the Ph. D. program in Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Chicago.
The Guenza Group 2015
WHO IS NOT IN THE PICTURE:
Visiting Students 2015:
Alexander Ohnmacht – Physics Department, Constanz University, Germany.
Richard Gowers – Engineering Department, University of Manchester, UK (Paola Carbone’s group).
High School Students 2015:
Jake Hyatt – South Eugene High School, Eugene, OR.