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New Graduate Student Fellowship Awarded

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Graduate student fellowships are financial gifts that provide support for graduate students and their research. These gifts can make it possible for students to give presentations at national conferences, purchase materials for lab work, and more. In 2024, the Department of Chemistry awarded a new graduate student endowed fellowship, thanks to the generosity of Robert and Phyllis Yokley.

Robert Yokley is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Department of Chemistry. Born in Hohenwald, Tennessee, Yokley began studying chemistry at Middle Tennessee State University. That study was interrupted by the Vietnam War, where he served a tour of duty as a U.S. Marine. When he returned home, Yokley returned to his studies and completed his B.S. degree. After working as a chemist for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Yokley decided to continue his education and joined the Department of Chemistry at UT, where he worked under Professor Gleb Mamantov.

After receiving his PhD, Yokley went on to work as a chemist in industry until his retirement in 2006. Yokley remains an active member of the American Chemical Society where he has served as the Chair of the Senior Chemists Committee.

The Dr. Robert A. and Phyllis F.J. Yokley Endowed Fellowship is the result of Yokley’s hard work over the years, and desire to support new generations of upcoming chemists. In keeping with Yokley’s experience, the fellowship gives preference to veterans, specifically members of the Marine Corps. The first recipient of the fellowship was graduate student and Marine Corps veteran Dakota Landrie.

A South Caroline native, Landrie joined the Marines right after high school, citing a desire to challenge himself. During his service, he deployed to Afghanistan twice with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.

Landrie joined the chemistry graduate program in Fall 2022 and is now a member of Associate Professor Sharani Roy’s research group. His research uses theoretical models to explore electron transport. Currently in his third year, Landrie is working to become an interdisciplinary scientist, focusing on chemical physics.

“I am honored to receive this award and would like to thank Dr. Yokley for his service,” said Landrie.

The Dr. Robert A. and Phyllis F.J. Yokley Endowed Fellowship was awarded for the very first time at the department’s 2024 Honors Day, an event that celebrates the achievements of faculty, staff, and students. Robert and Phyllis Yokley were in attendance, along with their dog Otis.

Alum Spotlight – Neal

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Sabine Neal, born and raised in western Montana, graduated with her PhD working with the Musfeldt Lab in May 2021.

“The Musfeldt lab provided me with a lot of opportunity. Musfeldt knew I was a single parent and looked past that, believing in me, and giving me so many invaluable experiences,” Neal said. “I had a chance to work at two national labs, collaborate with scientists all over the world, travel to conferences, and employ cutting edge technology to study two-dimensional systems.”

Neal began working at Brookhaven National Lab in January 2021 as a Research Associate in Materials Science as a part of the Interface Science and Catalysis group at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials.

Neal’s expertise primarily lies in infrared and Raman spectroscopy and currently works on a broad array of instrumentation including both NanoIR, Photothermal, and nanoprobe systems to study high energy materials. She also uses LEEM and LEED to grow and characterize thin films. 

“UT’s chemistry graduate program helped me prepare in several ways. First, the hands-on training in the lab was crucial. I know how to trouble shoot, maintain lab equipment, and work independently.  Second, the many conferences, visitor presentations, and group talks helped to cultivate my communication skills,” Neal said. “Being a TA also helped me learn how to communicate effectively to different groups/skill levels of people. I really enjoyed working with the students and general chemistry staff.  Finally, I had three stand-out professors that aided in my personal journey to obtain my degree: Musfeldt, Sharma, and Kilbey.”

“As a single parent, most people have told me what I couldn’t do. I couldn’t get a bachelor’s degree. I did. I couldn’t get a master’s. I did. And most wouldn’t have believed I could earn a PhD. But I did,” Neal said. “You can do anything that you want if you put your mind to it and work hard. Stand up for yourself. Do what makes you happy. There is no limit!”

Dai Group Published in I&EC

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The Dai Group published their work “Mechanochemical Synthesis of High-Purity Anhydrous Binary Alkali and Alkaline Earth Chloride Mixtures” in the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (I&EC).

A direct synthesis route for high-purity, anhydrous binary salt mixtures has been developed. This atom efficient, solvent-free process is easily scalable, with the potential to produce salt mixtures that meet the purity standards required for industrial heat transfer and nuclear applications. The essence of the methodology lies in mechanochemical synthesis of carnallite precursors that can mitigate the hydrolysis of MgCl2·6H2O under direct heating. Each dehydrated salt carnallite was then analyzed for purity and oxide content through subsequent powder X-ray diffraction, and strong acid titration. This process presents a more effective alternative route compared to previous methods for obtaining low-oxide, high-purity chloride salt mixtures.

Phillip Halstenberg, graduate student, oversaw all experimentation and writing of this manuscript. Dmitry Maltsev was responsible for pXRD
measurements and data evaluation. Ellie Kim and Dianna
Nguyen performed titrations and calculations to quantify oxide
content as part of their undergraduate research. Sheng
Dai advised and oversaw all experimentation.

Collier at Kennesaw State University

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Graham Collier, originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina, received his BS in chemistry in 2011 from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Upon graduation, Collier enrolled in the graduate program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and studied porphyrin chromophores under the direction of Michael Walter. After graduating in 2013, Collier enrolled in the chemistry doctoral program at UT with a concentration in polymer chemistry.
 
Collier’s dissertation entailed studying structure-property relationships of purine-based polymers and chromophores under the guidance of Mike Kilbey. Collier received his PhD in 2017 and began his position as postdoctoral research associate at Georgia Tech studying conjugated polymers for electrochromic under the mentorship of John Reynolds. Collier joined the faculty of Kennesaw State University as a tenure-track assistant professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in fall of 2020.
 
Research in the Collier Group resides at the interface of organic, polymer, and materials chemistry. “We are interested in utilizing precise monomer synthesis to incorporate functional building blocks into polymeric materials with targeted macromolecular properties,” said Collier. “Specific interests include synthesis and characterization of conjugated polymer and molecule systems to understand how structure influences optical and electrochemical properties.”
 
Research in the Collier Research Group at KSU will involve the synthesis and characterization of organic molecules and polymers that find applicability in thin film electronics. The group will work to develop new polymers and molecules by manipulating their fundamental chemical structure to obtain targeted properties.