Meet the Executive Board!
2022-2023
Alison Chang
Science Communication Series Chair
achang7@uoregon.edu
Born and raised in the searing hot and sunny Austin, TX, Alison received a B.S. in Chemistry at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN in 2018. In Amanda Cook’s lab, she is working on synthesizing Ni complexes to observe its catalytic properties for small molecule transformation. She enjoys getting involved in the greater Oregon community by volunteering and teaching the great curiosities of science and promotes diversity in STEM as President of ADSE. Outside of chemistry, Alison deeply enjoys aquascaping, refinishing furniture, exploring the outdoors,taking a dip into fresh bodies of water, petting sweet pups, and drawing.
Arman Garcia
President
armang@uoregon.edu
Starting his adventures in Southern California, Arman began at California State University Fullerton. After a few years of Chemical Education research he graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry! Interested in developing a stronger foundation in chemistry he continued to Cal State Los Angeles for his M.S. While at CSULA his research career continued under the guidance of Prof. Selke and studied the chemical interactions between singlet oxygen and cadmium-sulfur clusters. Shortly after completing the program, he rushed to University of Oregon! As a second year graduate he has joined Prof. Pluth’s lab! In his ocassional free time he can be seen keeping up with his favorite Shonen Jump series, Webtoons, Pokémon Go, and raising his kitten.
Fischer Harvel
Workshop Chair
fharvel@uoregon.edu
I am from the small town of Aztec, New Mexico, and moved to Durango, Colorado to obtain my Bachelor's in Chemistry at Fort Lewis College. I am currently a third-year graduate student in Chemistry at the UO in hopes of becoming a professor at a PUI. I love skateboarding, snowboarding, hiking, and enjoying good peoples' company!
Gabriela Bailey
Social Media Chair
I grew up in Antigua, Guatemala and moved to Portland, OR, USA to pursue my undergraduate degree in Chemistry. I am currently pursuing my PhD conducting research in the lab of Professor Ramesh Jasti, at the University of Oregon. The goals I hope to accomplish with ADSE is help represent and support diversity in STEM. I have come to my place in academia with the guidance and mentorship of individuals who saw the value of diversity in STEM. One of my goals is to 'pay forward' the mentorship I have received throughout my STEM academic career. Through my work with ADSE, I have also come to strongly admire the work and effort our previous co-presidents (Alison Chang and Arman Garcia) dedicated to the UO ADSE chapter. For that reason, another one of my goals is focused on assisting ADSE's growth.
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Katelyn Alley
K-12 Outreach Chair
Originally from the Big Sky Country of Montana, Katelyn obtained her B.S. in Biochemistry from Montana Technological University in Butte, MT. Katelyn’s passion for teaching and learning in a collaborative environment inspired her to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry. Currently, Katelyn is a member of Vickie DeRose’s lab where she is investigating the effects of Pt(II) compounds on the nucleolus. After completion of her degree, she wants to become a research professor at an undergraduate university. In her free time, Katelyn enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing volleyball and golf, and doing various outdoor activities like hiking and kayaking. As a member of ADSE Katelyn wants to continue to share her love for science with younger students. Her goal as the K-12 Outreach Chair is to conduct experiments with students and introduce them to the fascinating world of science. She is thrilled to promote an equitable, diverse, and inclusive community in STEM and continue science outreach through this organization.
Andy Davis
Community College Outreach Chair
I graduated from my local community college, Moorpark College in 2018 before transferring to Cal Poly and graduating in 2020. Due to the nature of being a transfer student, I felt out of the loop or behind when it came to undergraduate research opportunities. Sometimes as a transfer student, it’s easy to feel left behind or overlooked; I want to ensure that community college students are given the information/resources they need to feel confident and be successful beyond community college. My goals as LCC Outreach Chair are to give local community college insight into research opportunities that they otherwise may not have been aware of. Additionally, I want to be able to offer them guidance when it comes to transferring to a 4 year institution, joining a research lab after transferring, attending graduate school, and exploring career options.
Keyan Li
Diversity Lecture Seminar Series Chair
I am a second year chemistry graduate student in the Pluth group, and I am excited to be serving as the seminar chair of ADSE. My goal for this upcoming year as the seminar chair is to bring a diverse group of seminar speakers to lecture about not only their exciting research to our department but also the topic of diversity and inclusion as well as their own fascinating journeys in science.
Nicole Sagui
Treasurer
Nicole grew up in northern Italy, where she received a BS in Chemistry from the University of Milano-Bicocca. Before moving to Oregon, she lived in Sweden for some time, graduating with an MS from Uppsala University and gaining a fondness for pickled herring and salty licorice. She is a member of the Boettcher lab, where she studies water oxidaton catalysis for clean energy technology. Nicole is excited to join the UO ADSE board and looks forward to continue promoting inclusivity in STEM with both on and off-campus communities.
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Aidan Short
Website Chair
Growing up in New York City, Aidan developed an interest in biology watching insects in Riverside Park. This interest led him to Bowdoin College where he majored in biology and studied the diet of the invasive green crab. Aidan developed an interest in plant evolution as a Master's student at Guangxi University where he studied the cold stress response of mangroves. Aidan is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon where he studies monkeyflower adaptation and speciation in the Streisfeld Lab. As a member of ADSE, Aidan hopes to help increase student interest and involvement in scientific research.
Dr. Amanda Cook
Co-Faculty Sponsor
Amanda earned her BS in Chemistry from the California State University Fullerton in 2010, after transferring there from a community college. She then went to the University of Michigan, where she earned her PhD studying Pd-catalyzed C-H activation reactions in Melanie Sanford’s group. During her post-doctoral stay at ETH Zurich, she worked on single-site Zn heterogeneous catalysts for hydroamination reactions. In 2018, she began her independent career at the University of Oregon, where her group develops new catalytic reactions and studies their mechanisms. At UO, she is involved in the chemistry SAIL camp, the Near-Peer Mentoring Program, and most recently, ADSE!
Dr. Ramesh Jasti
Co-Faculty Sponsor
Professor Ramesh Jasti was born in Concord, North Carolina (1st generation born in the United States) and attended the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill as an undergraduate. At UNC, Prof. Jasti synthesized and characterized gold nanoparticles in the laboratories of Professor Royce Murray. This early research experience sowed the seeds of his future interests in interdisciplinary research and nanoscience. After graduation in 1998, Professor Jasti worked at a start-up pharmaceutical company for three years in the Research Triangle Park. Having found great interest in organic synthesis, Prof. Jasti conducted his graduate education under the guidance of Professor Scott Rychnovsky at the University of California, Irvine. Prof. Jasti’s graduate research led to the unraveling of numerous mechanistic aspects of the Prins cyclization reaction. After obtaining his PhD in 2006, Prof. Jasti started as a postdoctoral fellow with Professor Carolyn Bertozzi at The Molecular Foundry, a brand new nanoscience institute at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. At Berkeley, he began to explore the concept of attacking problems in nanoscience utilizing organic synthesis as an enabling tool. Having joined Boston University in the summer of 2009, this basic idea continues to be the overarching theme of the Jasti Research Group. Professor Jasti has been a recent recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, and Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, as well as a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. In the summer of 2014, he moved to the University of Oregon where he is currently a Professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Associate Director of the Materials Science Institute.
