Group Members
Principal Investigator
Justin Notestein
Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Chair, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Director, Center for Catalysis and Surface Science; Co-Director, Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy
j-notestein[at]northwestern.edu
Education
Post-Doc (2006-2007) University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
Ph.D. (2006) University of California-Berkeley
B.S.E. (2001) Princeton University
C.V.
Group Members
Muntaseer Bunian
Postdoctoral Researcher
muntaseer.bunian[at]northwestern.edu
Education
Ph.D. (2023) University of Alabama in Huntsville, Chemical Engineering
Research Snapshot
Muntaseer researches the development of robust analytical methodd for nanochip catalyst mega library.
Javiera Cabezas Parra
Ph.D. Student; Co-advised by Dayne Swearer
javieracabezasparra2023[at]u.northwestern.edu
Education
B.S. (2023) in Chemical Northwestern University, Engineering – specialization in Nanotechnology & Molecular Engineering
Research Snapshot
Javi works on developing inverse plasmonic photocatalysts for sustainable applications, to study metal-oxide interfaces and geometric effects.
Katie Chase
Ph.D. Student
emilychase2025[at]u.northwestern.edu
Education
B.S. (2020) University of Tennessee Chattanooga, Chemical Engineering
Research Snapshot
Katie studies the development of oxide-oxide interfaces, in part for creating shape selectivity in the MPV reduction reaction.
Jenesis Cochrane
Ph.D. Student, Co-advised by Professor Jennifer Dunn
jenesiscochrane2028[at]u.northwestern.edu
Education
B.S. (2023) University of Pennsylvania, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Research Snapshot
Jenesis is researching catalysts that will be applied towards liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs).
Vinita Dubey
Postdoctoral Researcher
vinita.dubey[at]northwestern.edu
Education
Ph.D. (2014) Institute of Chemical Technology, Chemistry
M.Sc. (2008) University of Mumbai, Analytical Chemistry
B.Sc. (2006) University of Mumbai, Chemistry
Research Snapshot
Vinita is working on optimizing the development of chemical processes using heterogenous catalysts
Dawson Grimes
Ph.D. Student; Co-advised by Professor Omar Farha
dawsongrimes2027[at]u.northwestern.edu
Education
B.S. (2022) The University of Texas at Austin, Chemistry
Research Snapshot
Dawson is researching the modification of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) using thiols to be applied as catalysts for hydrogenation and carbonylation reactions.
Hiyab Tsegabrhan Mekonnen
Ph.D. Student
hiyabmekonnen2025[at]u.northwestern.edu
Education
B.S. (2019) Addis Ababa University, Chemistry
Research Snapshot
Hiyab is working on Lewis acid catalysts to understand the ring-opening of epoxides.
Hongjun Park
Postdoctoral Researcher
hongjun.park[at]northwestern.edu
Education
Ph.D. (2020) Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Chemistry
B.S. (2016) KAIST, Chemistry
Research Snapshot
Hongjun is advancing the field of hydrogen production by dehydrogenation catalysis. He is also collaborating on a tandem electrocatalytic–thermocatalytic system toward decarbonization.
Anson Rowe
Ph.D. Student; Co-advised by Professor Tobin Marks
ansonrowe2029[at]u.northwestern.edu
Education
B.S. (2024) University of Florida, Chemistry
Research Snapshot
Anson works on developing heterogeneous catalysts for the conversion of methane to aromatics.
Alexander Simon
Ph.D. Student
afsimon[at]u.northwestern.edu
Education
B.S. (2020) University of Michigan, Chemical Engineering
Research Snapshot
Alex is designing catalytic processes to utilize dilute, humid nitrous oxide for selective oxidation.
Sunyang Xu
Ph.D. Student
sunyangxu2023[at]u.northwestern.edu
Education
B.S. (2021) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Chemical Engineering
Research Snapshot
Sunyang is working on the kinetic study of fluoroarylborane catalysts in the ring-opening of epoxides.
Jiaqi Yu
Postdoctoral Researcher
jyu[at]northwestern.edu
Education
Ph.D. (2022) Iowa State University, Chemistry
B.S. (2018) Soochow University, Nanomaterials & Engineering
Research Snapshot
Contact Us
Professor Justin Notestein
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering