Rocky Top Undergraduate Chemistry Research Symposium Schedule
April 11th, 2026
11:30 AM – Kickoff Lunch (Mossman Lobby)
12:30 PM – Poster Session I (Mossman Lobby)
| Natalie Bacallao | Airborne Pollen as Atmospheric Particles: Size Distribution and Cloud Interactions |
| Colin Cheeseman | Synthesis of Novel Hypervalent Iodine Reagents through Ligand Exchange Reactions |
| Alden Dexter | Synthesis of a Non-Fullerene BODIPY Acceptor for Organic Solar Cell Applications |
| Brendon LeStrange | Topologically Motivated Chemical Fingerprints |
| Ryan Millsaps | Synthesis and characterization of N-heterocyclic carbene ligated gold nanoparticles via solution-state NMR. |
| Lindsey Morgan | Photolytic Decomposition of Δ3-1,3,4-Oxadiazoline Precursors for in situ Generation of Dialkyl Metal Carbenes to Catalyze Intermolecular Si–H Insertions. |
| Braden Penuel | An Investigation of the Interplay of Subsurface Oxygen and Chlorine Promotion in Silver-Catalyzed Ethylene Epoxidation. |
| Loudon Rogers | Synthesis of a Zwitterionic Polymer via Post-polymerization Modification |
| Alli Rumbaugh | Synthesis of Oligomeric Functionalized N-Heterocyclic Carbenes for Gold Nanorods |
| Peyton Stiles | Effects of Core-Shell Morphology and Insoluble Inclusions on Ice Nucleation |
1:30 PM – Oral Presentations (Mossman 102)
| Name | Title |
| Michael Gutierrez | Study of Novel Molecular Rotor BODIPY and its Non-Covalent Supramolecular Assembly with Zinc Porphyrinoids |
| Lynn Nguyen | Cysteine-Responsive Liposome for Cellular Delivery |
| Rahil Parikh | Investigating the Effects of Activator Byproducts on Ethylene Polymerization Catalysis |
2:30 PM – Coffee and Cookie Break
3:00 PM – Poster Session II (Mossman Lobby)
| Name | Title |
| Shelby Belt | Influence of Molecular Structure, Contact Chemistry, and Electrode Composition in Polyacene Single Molecular Junctions |
| Emily Cameron | Transition Metal Heliphyrin Complexes as Electrocatalysts for CO2 Reduction |
| Benjamin Childs | Spectroscopic Investigation of Cobalt (II) and Cobalt (III) Phthalocyanine Amine Complexes |
| Ashton Dy | Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning for NLRP3 Inhibitor Discovery in Alzheimer’s Disease |
| Anna Mahar | N-heterocyclic olefins for gold nanoparticle functionalization |
| Emily Major | Phthalocyanine Europium Double Decker Complex |
| Neil Parek | Electronic Characterization and Comparison of Tetracyanometallates |
| Caleb Russell | Engineering Bis-triphenylphosphonium Based Lipid Switch for Tunable GTP/TPi Responsive Liposomes Through Membrane Modulation |
| Karlotta Schley | Synthesis and characterization of pore-expanded metal-organic nanotubes (MONTs) |
4:15 PM – Keynote Address (Mossman 102)
Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs
Senior Clinical Trial Manager
Attovia Therapeutics
5:00 PM – Dinner and Awards Ceremony (Mossman Lobby)
6:00 PM – Closing Remarks (Mossman Lobby)