Principle Investigator
Hannah J. Sayre
Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Chemical Biology/Chemical Engineering
353 Egan Research Center
Hannah Sayre is a photochemist researching light-activated chemistry. She earned a MS from Virginia Tech where she studied supramolecular photocatalysts with Karen Brewer in 2015. She completed her PhD in 2018 at The Ohio State University while developing red light-activated dirhodium catalysis with Claudia Turro. Under the direction of Gregory Scholes at Princeton University, she was the lead distinguished postdoctoral researcher for Bio-Inspired Light-Escalated Chemistry (BioLEC), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. She has been a faculty member at Northeastern University since 2021.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Stephen DiLuzio
Stephen did his undergraduate studies at Temple University and worked in the research lab of Dr. Stephanie Wunder where he investigated electrolyte systems for battery technology. With an interest in renewable energy, he conducted his PhD studies in the laboratory of Dr. Stefan Bernhard at Carnegie Mellon University focusing on photocatalysis. Specifically, he used high-throughput experimentation and automation to understand structure-activity relationships pertaining to the photophysical properties and photochemical activity of Ir(III) photocatalysts differentiated by ligand molecular structures. With an interest in using ultra-fast techniques to better understand mechanisms in organic photoredox reactions, he began research in the Sayre lab in the summer of 2022. In his free time, he enjoys running, trying restaurants around Boston, and walking his dog Bear (who is a very good boy).
Harsh Bhatia
I am working as postdoctoral research associate in the group of Prof. Hannah J. Sayre to develop and understand the properties of the ruthenium based supramolecular photooxidants for the applications in photocatalysis. I received my M.Sc. in Chemistry from the Central University of Kerala (India) in 2015. In 2016, I joined the group of Prof. Debdas Ray at Shiv Nadar University (India) first as a Junior Research Fellow and then as Ph.D. research scholar. During Ph.D., my research was based on designing, synthesising and understanding the photophysical properties of purely organic long persistent luminescence-based room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials. Alongside, my research interest was to develop thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) based molecules and understanding the photophysics of simultaneous TADF and RTP from these single molecular systems. I completed my Ph.D. in October 2020 and then moved to University College London (UCL), U.K., in March 2021 as postdoctoral research associate to work over bismuth coordination complexes for solar light absorption and to develop the organic semiconductors for the contactless manipulation of droplets (CoManD) based printing technique under the joint supervision of Prof. Bob C. Schroeder, Prof. Giorgio Volpe and Prof. Robert Palgrave. In my free time I prefer to walk around the city, explore, different places and experiment with cooking.
Graduate Students
Daniel Chambers
Danny completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he received B.S degrees in Chemistry and Applied Mathematics while completing a minor in Physics. Danny worked in the lab of Dr. Michael Barnes where he modeled time resolved polaron emission in organic semiconductors using Markov Chain Analysis. With a robust background in theoretical chemistry, Danny is now working on synthesizing supramolecular photocatalysts. Outside of the lab, Danny works in the Massachusetts Army National Guard as a Water Treatment Specialist. Danny also enjoys participating in intramural wrestling, weight lifting, camping, and fishing.
Undergraduate Students
Camille Conte
I am a candidate for a BSc in Biochemistry at Northeastern University with interests in electrochemistry, sustainable energy, and nutrition. Some hobbies of mine are cooking, snowboarding, graphic design, and painting.
Lillian Woodard
Lillian is a candidate for a BS in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University. She is currently working on the synthesis and characterization of supramolecular photocatalysts. Some of her interests include sustainable energy and electrochemistry. Outside of the lab, her hobbies include rock climbing, improv, hiking, and tennis.
Alexander Kodak
Alex is a candidate for a BSc in Biochemistry at Northeastern University with interests in bio-conjugation, metallodrugs, and catalysis. He is currently working on synthesizing and characterizing ruthenium supramolecular photocatalysts. Some hobbies of his are ice-skating, roller-skating, and listening to music.
Ansh Tripathi
Ansh is currently pursuing a degree in Biochemistry along with an English minor at Northeastern University. He is interested in anything chemistry and its implications in the realm of biology. Currently, he is working on the synthesis of a photocatalyst. Outside of class, he loves to birdwatch, take photos, and write poetry.
Alumni
Andes Willemsen
Hajjia Mohammed Gipson
Alysha Ebrahim