The Xu group had a very busy summer of growth and change!
We welcomed two new postdoctoral fellows, Peng Guo and Zui Tao. Peng has joined our lab after earning his Ph.D. from Fuzhou University, where his work focused on cobalt fluoride and cobalt hydride intermediates. Within our lab, Peng is spearheading new areas of research in chiral topological materials which catalyze asymmetric organic synthesis. Zui has joined our lab as an HQI Fellow after earning her Ph.D. from Cornell University. She will be working on optical spectroscopy and magnetometry study for solid-state materials such as transition-metal dichalcogenides, and will also jointly research with Professor Hongkun Park’s group.
We have also welcomed three new fellows: Chennan He, who recently completed a Bachelor’s degree at Columbia University; Armaan Shaikh, who recently completed a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Cambridge; and Alana Okullo, who holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of San Francisco and is currently earning her Master’s degree at Howard University.
Last but certainly not least, we welcomed a number of undergraduate students into our ranks: Ian Svetkey (Harvard University), Tuan Hyunh (Lawrence University), Chengfeng Zhu (Peking University), Qingxin Zhang (Peking University), and Zhenhao Xia (Peking University).
We also said farewell to two of our lab’s postdoctoral fellows, Anyuan Gao and Zhe Sun, who are moving on to the next steps in their careers. We will miss you and wish you the very best!
In late September, the lab kicked off the new academic year with a lab retreat in the mountains of New Hampshire. Group members enjoyed hiking, cooking together, and even trying out a zipline course!
This fall, we look forward to getting to know our new G1 (first year graduate) students and all that they will bring to our lab community.