Grad Students
|
Samuel Mussetter (G1)
B.S., University of California, Santa Cruz Email: [email protected] Research Project: Structural Chemistry Sam was born in Washington and raised in NorCal, where he enjoyed swimming in the ocean and hiking in the woods. After becoming interested in microbiology and chemistry, Sam earned his B.S. in Chemistry at the University of California Santa Cruz, where he spent four years working under Professor Phil Crews studying bacterial and marine sponge-derived natural products and NMR methodology. After becoming frustrated with the yield requirements for natural product NMR analysis, Sam came to Caltech to pursue applications of microED and structural chemistry in chemical biology. Outside of research, Sam enjoys going to the beach, swimming, and painting. |
|
Victoria Casimir Montán (G1)
B.S., University of Puerto Rico, 2024 Email: [email protected] Research Project: Biocatalysis Victoria was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico, where she conducted research focused on discovering new natural products and bioactivities from marine organisms in Professor Eduardo Caro’s group. When she's not in the lab, Victoria enjoys exploring new places, trying different foods, and playing tennis. |
|
Yucheng Fu (G1)
B.S., Nankai University, China Email: [email protected] Research Project: Synthesis of Chiral Functional Molecules Yucheng was born and raised in Guangzhou, China. He went to Tianjin and earned his B.S. in Chemistry at Nankai university, where he spent two years in Prof. Xiao-Ye Wang's group studying helicenes with high dissymmetry factor. At the end of his junior year, he joined Prof. Tim Swager's group at MIT as a visiting student to study azacoronene-based helicene and conjugated polymer. Later, he was excited to join Caltech and enjoy the nice weather in California. During his free time, Yucheng likes to go swimming, buy groceries and watch Hongkong movies. |
|
Jack Moerschel (G1)
B.S., University of Florida Email: [email protected] Research Project: Synthetic Chemistry Jack was born in Georgia and raised in the Sunshine State, Florida. He eventually attended the University of Florida where he would find his passion for polymer chemistry by working in Prof. Brent Sumerlin's research group. After interning at the Adolphe Merkle Institute, the University of Florida's Molecular Metabolism Lab, and the Veteran's Affair Research Department, his research interests expanded into areas of chemical biology, synthetic chemistry, and biochemistry. Outside of his academic and research pursuits, Jack enjoys playing the piano and skateboarding around the Caltech campus. |
|
Sam Johnson (G3)
B.S., University of Connecticut M.S., University of Connecticut Email: [email protected] Research Project: Structural Chemistry Sam was sadly not born, but raised in the best state of New England, Maine! Spending most of his childhood running unsupervised through the woods of Maine collecting rocks and plants, he eventually developed a crippling addiction for science and exploration. Attending the University of Connecticut, Sam pursued a M.S./B.S. in chemistry studying magnetic field effects on long-lived radical pairs in organic constructs under the guidance of Dr. Tomoyasu Mani. After experiencing 22 years of northeasterners, Sam escaped New England in search of better weather in SoCal. When Sam is not running around like a lunatic he enjoys spending time in nature, going to concerts, and exploring the secret gems of LA. |
|
Abi Nelson
Official Nelson Lab dog B.S., UC Bark-ley Abi joined the Nelson Lab in June, 2018 at only 4 months old. She is a loyal friend and companion of the Nelson Lab members, and also enjoys learning about chemistry too. In her free time she loves napping, playing with grad students, and taking long walks from Crellin to the Beckman Institute. Follow her on Instagram @abi.nelsonlab |
SURF Students
Sam FoxmanComputer Science at Caltech
Email: [email protected] Research Project: Automated Micro-ED Sam is a senior undergrad at Caltech majoring in computer science. In the group, Sam is working on tools for automation of electron diffraction data collections and analysis. Previously, he has worked in telecommunications and AI and NASA and NVIDIA. For fun, he likes listening to music, driving, and hiking to the top of mountains. |
|
Avaneesh Valluripalli |
|
Ali AlmosaChemical Engineering at Caltech
Email: [email protected] Research Project: Synthesis of Chiral Functional Molecules |
|
Bljana StaffordJohn Muir High School
Research Project: Structural Chemistry Bljana has only lived in California for 2 years now, having been born and raised in a suburb of Washington DC. She’s currently a senior year high school student at John Muir High School. Her passions are chemistry and biology. In Nelson Lab, she has spent a summer working with David and Sophia finding the structures of natural products. Outside of the lab, Bljana loves to bake, play with her poodle, and ride horses. |
|
Sophia Baas-MaynardMarlborough School
Research Project: MicroED-Guided Structural Elucidation of Secondary Metabolites from Natural Sources Sophia was born in Los Angeles, California and has lived there for most of her life except for when she moved to New Zealand and England for a year. She is currently a rising junior at Marlborough School who is very passionate about the enviornment. Last summer, she worked at UCLA in Professor Abigail Doyles lab in which she experimentally determined the degradation rates of various polymers such as those based on functionalized hydroxybenzoates to be used for machine learning algorithm applications. She is currently working with David and Bljana studying natural products and their structures. Outside of the lab you can find Sophia swimming, listening to music, studying global affairs and in the outdoors. |
|