Openings
The Tropp Research Group anticipates on accepting 1-2 graduate students per year from the incoming graduate program in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas Tech University. Interested individuals should contact me through email ([email protected]).
Philosophy: We strive to be an innovative and internationally recognized research group in the areas of polymer chemistry and chemical sensing. Achieving that goal requires a daily commitment to learn, improve, and explore. This research group is an incubator for excellent science and personal growth.
Learning Objectives: I expect you to be able to design a synthetic protocol, synthesize small molecules and polymers, purify and characterize your products, and leverage them toward a contemporary problem (chemical sensing, interfacing electronics with biology, etc.) or overcome a fundamental limitation in polymer synthesis. I expect you to thoroughly grasp your discipline and to be able to articulate how your work advances the field. As for soft skills, I expect you to be able to write convincingly, speak in public with confidence, and work well with others. During your time in the lab, you will be mentored and mentor others – both are important skills.
Philosophy: We strive to be an innovative and internationally recognized research group in the areas of polymer chemistry and chemical sensing. Achieving that goal requires a daily commitment to learn, improve, and explore. This research group is an incubator for excellent science and personal growth.
Learning Objectives: I expect you to be able to design a synthetic protocol, synthesize small molecules and polymers, purify and characterize your products, and leverage them toward a contemporary problem (chemical sensing, interfacing electronics with biology, etc.) or overcome a fundamental limitation in polymer synthesis. I expect you to thoroughly grasp your discipline and to be able to articulate how your work advances the field. As for soft skills, I expect you to be able to write convincingly, speak in public with confidence, and work well with others. During your time in the lab, you will be mentored and mentor others – both are important skills.
Current Texas Tech Students
Robert Posey (Graduate Student at TTU in Chemistry)
Brenda Alfaro (Graduate Student at TTU in Chemistry)
Nikita Gill (Graduate Student at TTU in Chemistry)
Helena Garza (Undergraduate Student at TTU in Chemistry)
Daniel Fernandez (Undergraduate Student at TTU in Chemistry)
Nicholas Payne (Undergraduate Student at TTU in Chemistry)
Andrea Perry (Undergraduate Student at TTU in Pre-Medicine/Business Management)
Brenda Alfaro (Graduate Student at TTU in Chemistry)
Nikita Gill (Graduate Student at TTU in Chemistry)
Helena Garza (Undergraduate Student at TTU in Chemistry)
Daniel Fernandez (Undergraduate Student at TTU in Chemistry)
Nicholas Payne (Undergraduate Student at TTU in Chemistry)
Andrea Perry (Undergraduate Student at TTU in Pre-Medicine/Business Management)
Prior Students (Northwestern = NU, University of Southern Mississippi = USM)
NU 2024 - Manideep Reddy - Current Undergraduate, BS Biology (Adv. Mater. 2024, 36, 2306691; Chem. Mater. 2022, 35, 41)
NU 2024 - Shiv Patel - Medical Student at the University of Florida (3rd Place Poster competition - AIChE 2022: Materials Engineering and Science Division; Adv. Mater. 2024, 36, 2306691; Chem. Mater. 2022, 35, 41)
NU 2025 - Vidhika Siddha - Current Undergraduate, BS Biomedical Engineering
USM 2020 - Rimsha Bhatta - Ph.D. Student at UIUC, Materials Science and Engineering (ACS Sens. 2020, 5, 1541)
USM 2020 - Erin Crater - Ph.D. Student at VT, Chemistry (Barry M. Goldwater Scholar 2019; ACS Sens. 2020, 5, 1541; ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2019, 1, 309)
USM 2020- Chandler Bell - Process Engineer at Masonite (McNair Scholar; ACS Sens. 2020, 5, 1541; Chem. Sci. 2019, 10, 10247)
USM 2020 - Lauren Gonce - Research Chemist at Resinall Corp (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 21971)
USM REU 2019 - Riley Bessetti - Ph.D. Candidate at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Cell Biology and Anatomy
NU 2024 - Shiv Patel - Medical Student at the University of Florida (3rd Place Poster competition - AIChE 2022: Materials Engineering and Science Division; Adv. Mater. 2024, 36, 2306691; Chem. Mater. 2022, 35, 41)
NU 2025 - Vidhika Siddha - Current Undergraduate, BS Biomedical Engineering
USM 2020 - Rimsha Bhatta - Ph.D. Student at UIUC, Materials Science and Engineering (ACS Sens. 2020, 5, 1541)
USM 2020 - Erin Crater - Ph.D. Student at VT, Chemistry (Barry M. Goldwater Scholar 2019; ACS Sens. 2020, 5, 1541; ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2019, 1, 309)
USM 2020- Chandler Bell - Process Engineer at Masonite (McNair Scholar; ACS Sens. 2020, 5, 1541; Chem. Sci. 2019, 10, 10247)
USM 2020 - Lauren Gonce - Research Chemist at Resinall Corp (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 21971)
USM REU 2019 - Riley Bessetti - Ph.D. Candidate at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Cell Biology and Anatomy
