The Team
Dr. Jeffrey Rinehart
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego
Pacific Hall Building Room 4100E
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0358
Brief Semi-Scientific Biography
Jeff grew up in Oconomowoc, WI, and, deciding it wasn't nearly cold and snowy enough, moved to Ithaca, NY to get his B.A. in Chemistry. While at Cornell, he worked in the lab of Prof. Stephen Lee on characterizing the elusive structures of a series of metal cyanide polymer catalysts using powder x-ray diffraction and density functional theory.
After graduating in 2005, he moved to sunny California to work under Prof. Jeffrey Long at University of California, Berkeley. There, he became fascinated with the electronic structure of the f-elements (lanthanides & actinides) and how this electronic structure could be studied and modified through synthetic molecular chemistry. Of particular interest was how the electronic structure dictated magnetic properties and this became not only the focus of his dissertation work but also the seed of broader questions of how to use molecular magnetism to better understand extended solids and multi-scale interactions.
To learn more about the physics and chemistry beyond the scope of the molecular, Jeff sought out an expert in nanoscale materials. Securing a postdoctoral position in the lab of Prof. Daniel Gamelin at the University of Washington, Jeff moved up the (deceptively long) coast from NorCal to Seattle, where the fantastic science and people quickly outweighed the rainy and overcast climate. During his time there Jeff worked on a broad range of electronically and magnetically doped colloidal nanocrystalline semiconductors.
In a gambit to avoid “weather" entirely, in 2014 Jeff accepted an assistant professor position in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at at UC San Diego. He is a member of the Materials Science and Engineering Program as well.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. philip bunting
Primary research area: Nanoparticles, Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy, high-tech arts and crafts
Graduate students
Tara Zand
Primary research area: Nanoparticle synthesis and research
Kyle Kirkpatrick
Primary research area: Magnetic nanoparticle synthesis, spintronics
Angelica Orlova
Primary research area: Lanthanide molecular magnetism
underGraduate students
Maxwell Varley
Primary research area: Lanthanide molecular magnetism
alumni
Dr. Maximilian Bernbeck | PhD Student (2023) | Current Position: Postdoctoral Scholar @ Georgia Institute of Technology | Google Scholar || ORCID
Zachary Chavez | M.S. Student (2023) | Current Position: PhD Graduate Student @ Texas A&M | Google Scholar || ORCID
Dr. Benjamin Zhou | PhD Student (2022) | Current Position: Scientist @ BioLegend | Google Scholar || ORCID
Dr. Alex J. Mantanona | PhD Student (2022) | Current Position: Postdoctoral Scholar @ SDSU | Google Scholar || ORCID
Dr. Vrinda Sant | PhD Student (2022), joint with Lal Group | Google Scholar || ORCID
Haemin (Joanne) Oh | Undergraduate Student (B.S. 2022) | Current Position: M.S. Student @ UC Los Angeles
McKenna Kennedy | Undergraduate Student (B.S. 2022) | Current Position: EZ Lab
Dr. Jeremy Hilgar | PhD Student (2021) | Current Position: Scientist @ BioLegend | Google Scholar || ORCID
Catherine Arceo | Undergraduate Student (B.S. 2021) | Current Position: Biochemist @ BioLegend
Ningkai Zheng | Undergraduate Student (B.S. 2021)
Sam Cay | M.S. Student (2020) | Current Position: PhD Student @ UC San Diego | ORCID
Dr. Yijun Xie | PhD Student (2019) | Current Position: Associate Professor @ Shanghai University | yix090 at shu.edu.cn | Google Scholar || ORCID
Subodh Sonar | M.S. Student (2019) | Current Position: Senior Research Associate @ 10xGenomics | Google Scholar || ORCID
Jerry Li | Undergraduate Student (B.S. 2019) | Current Position: M.D. Student @ University of Glasglow
Lee B. Elmont | Undergraduate Student (B.S. 2019) | Current Position: Research Associate @ nanoComposix
Jonathan E. Bussing | Undergraduate Student (B.S. 2018) | Current Position: Owner @ Bussing Machine
Brandon S. Flores | Undergraduate Student (B.S. 2018) | Current Position: PhD Student @ University of Wisconsin, Madison
Alexandre Vincent | Undergraduate Student (B.S. 2017) | Current Position: PhD Student @ University of California, Berkeley
Yoyo Wang | Undergraduate Student (B.S. 2017) | Current Position: PhD Student @ Stanford University
An D. Nguyen | M.S. Student (2015) | Current Position: Formulation Chemist @ Genentech, San Francisco, CA
Prof. Pius O. Adelani | Post-doctoral Researcher (2014-2016) | Current Position: Assistant Professor @ St. Mary's University | Google Scholar || ORCID || Academic Website