Our Team

Shabnam Hematian, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Bernard-Glickman Dean’s Professor

Phone: 336.334.5867
Fax: 336.334.5402
Room: 405 Sullivan Science Bldg.
Email: s_hemati@uncg.edu

Shabnam was born and grew up in Tehran, Iran and found her love for chemistry as a high school student. She received her B.S. degree in chemistry from the National University of Iran and M.S. degree in inorganic chemistry from Sharif University of Technology. In 2010, she joined the research group of Professor Ken Karlin at Johns Hopkins University and studied the biologically inspired coordination chemistry of heme/Cu synthetic systems with nitrogen oxides such as nitric oxide, nitrite, and hyponitrite.

After finishing her Ph.D. dissertation, in the Fall of 2015, she began a postdoctoral position in the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where she worked with Professor Jonas Peters on the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon-based fuels. Shabnam then joined the research group of Professor Harry Gray as a postdoctoral fellow in the Spring of 2017. There, her research has focused on a mechanistic study of O2 reactivity of blue Thermus thermophilus laccase.

In the Fall of 2018, Shabnam started her independent academic career at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Her research group is interested in biological and energy sciences from an inorganic chemistry perspective. Their research is targeted toward manipulation of a broad range of unique redox processes that take place within homogeneous photocatalysts, protein scaffolds, and electrochemical systems. In 2022, Shabnam received the Bernard Glickman Bernard-Glickman Dean’s Professorship at UNCG and was awarded the Arthur E. Martell Early Career Researcher Prize from the Journal of Coordination Chemistry. In her independent career, Shabnam has been recognized with an NSF Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS) Award, an NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA), a 2023 DOE Early Career Award, and a 2024 UNC Research Opportunities Initiative (ROI) award.

Shabnam enjoys spending time with her husband and their 18-month-old son, Parsa. She also enjoys face-timing with family back home in Iran, sampling coffee and tea, and traveling. Shabnam loves cooking and eating Persian food. Food is a big part of the Iranian culture, and it serves as a catalyst that brings people together, while also giving her a little taste of home.

Current Members

Shyam Pahari

Postdoctoral Scholar

Ph.D. (Inorganic Chemistry)           
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

M.S. (Chemistry) 
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu

B.S. (Chemistry) 
Tribhuvan University, Pokhara

Sandip Das

Postdoctoral Scholar

Ph.D. (Inorganic Chemistry)           
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Tirupati

M.S. (Organic Chemistry) 
The University of Burdwan

B.S. (Chemistry) 
The University of Burdwan

Courtney Petersen

Postdoctoral Scholar

Ph.D. (Chemistry)           
The University of Alabama

B.S. (Chemistry with a Minor in Biology) 
Salisbury University

Winston Pitts

Postdoctoral Scholar

Ph.D. (Chemistry)           
University of Michigan

M.S. (Chemistry with Concentration in Biochemistry) 
University of Mississippi

Rezoanul Islam

Postdoctoral Scholar

Ph.D. (Inorganic Chemistry)           
Auburn University

M.S. (Chemistry) 
University of Dhaka

B.S. (Chemistry) 
University of Dhaka

Rafiul Noyon

Graduate Student 

M.Sc. (Inorganic Chemistry) 
University of Chittagong

B.S. (Chemistry)      
University of Chittagong

 

Alexa Kerkan

Graduate Student 

B.S. (Biochemistry)      
East Carolina University

Chris Olawoyin

Graduate Student 

M.Sc. (Inorganic Chemistry) 
Novosibirsk State University

B.S. (Biochemistry)      
University of Ilorin

Benjamin Masters

Research Assistant

M.S. (Chemistry)      
University of Chicago

B.S. (Chemistry with a Minor in Environmental Science)      
North Carolina State University

Marcos Tapia

Undergraduate Student

U-RISE Fellow & Goldwater Scholar

B.S. (Chemistry) Class of 2025
University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Learn more about Marcos’ research experience!

Kymberlee Harbin

Undergraduate Student 

U-RISE Fellow

B.S. (Chemistry) Class of 2026       
University of North Carolina at Greensboro 

Sophie Rocco

High School Student

2024 Draelos Scholar

The Early College at Guilford

Ella Schwanke

High School Student 

The Middle College at UNCG

Former Members

  • Firoz Khan - Postdoctoral Scholar (2019-2024) – Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from Banaras Hindu University

    Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Zadrozny Research Group at Ohio State University  

  • Zeinab AlSubeh - Graduate Student joint with the Oberlies Lab - Ph.D. in Medicinal Biochemistry (2019-2021) – Pharm.D. from Jordan University of Science and Technology

    Currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy at Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST)

  • Dahlia Porter - Graduate Student - M.S. in Chemistry (2022-2024) – B.S. in Chemistry from University of North Carolina at Greensboro
  • Maria Carrasco - Graduate Student - M.S. in Chemistry (2019-2021) & Undergraduate Student - B.S. in Biochemistry (2018-2019) – B.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

    Currently a Medical Student at the Ohio State University College of Medicine

  • Amy Waldbusser - Graduate Student - M.S. in Chemistry (2019-2021) – B.S. in Chemistry with a concentration in Forensic Chemistry from Appalachian State University

    Currently a Senior Chemist at Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories

  • Hadi Pourhadi - Graduate Student - M.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry  (2019-2021) – B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Mazandaran & M.S. in Chemistry from Sharif University of Technology

    Currently a Research Assistant at Wake Forest Proteomics and Metabolomics Shared Resource (PMSR)

  • Han Kang - Post-baccalaureate Student - Biochemistry (2023-2024) – B.S. in Biology from North Carolina State University

    Currently a Medical Student at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine

  • Jordan Lech - Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Chemistry) Class of 2024
  • Kiara Gonzales - Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Biochemistry) Class of 2026 
  • Runzi Li - Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Chemistry) Class of 2022

    Currently a PhD student in the Chirik Research Group at Princeton

  • Michael Mungaray - Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Computer Science) Class of 2023

    Currently a Software Developer at Fastenal

  • Mingli Yang - Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Biochemistry) Class of 2021
  • Katie Dezarn - Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Chemistry) Class of 2021
  • Kevin Doheny - Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Chemistry) Class of 2020

    Currently a Purification Scientist at Eurofins Scientific

  • John Leary - Homeschooled High School Student - 2024 NSF LEAPS Researcher
  • Alia Wang - Community College Student (Forsyth Technical Community College) – 2023 NSF LEAPS Researcher

    Currently an undergraduate student at Pitzer College – B.S. (Chemistry) – Class of 2025

  • Alayna Elliott - High School Student (Atkins Academic & Technology High School) - 2023 NSF LEAPS Researcher

    Currently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte

  • Della Spencer - Community College Student (Guilford Technical Community College) – 2022 NSF LEAPS Researcher

    Currently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro – B.A. (English) – Class of 2024 

  • Markia Miller - Community College Student (Guilford Technical Community College) – 2021

    Currently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro - B.S. (Biology) Class of 2024 

  • Prathamesh Jadhav - High School Student (Grimsley High School) – 2024 Draelos Scholar
  • Faheem Alam - High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2023 Draelos Scholar
  • Jonathan Gregory - High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2023 Draelos Scholar
  • Azhaan Buttar - High School Student (Northern Guilford High School) – 2022-2023

    Currently an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University

  • Eugenia Shirley - High School Student (Page High School) - 2022-2023 NSF LEAPS Researcher

    Currently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte

  • Nicholas Alejandro - High School Student (The North Carolina Leadership Academy) – 2022 Draelos Scholar

    Read about our 2022 Draelos Scholars here!  

  • Fully Porter - High School Student (Grimsley High School) – 2022 Draelos Scholar 

    Read about our 2022 Draelos Scholars here!  

  • Brenna Johnson - High School Student (Ledford High School) – 2021 Draelos Scholar

    Currently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  • Alex Seo - High School Student (Western Guilford High School) - 2020-2021

    Currently an undergraduate student at Columbia University

  • Joshua Park - High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2020 Draelos Scholar

    Currently an undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University

  • Sarah Ali - High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2020 Draelos Scholar

    Currently a Park Scholar at North Carolina State University

  • Alex Miroshnichenko - High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2020 Draelos Scholar – 2020-2021

    Currently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  • Erik Peterson - High School Student (Cornerstone Charter Academy) – 2020 Draelos Scholar

    Currently an undergraduate student at High Point University

  • Logan Weist - High School Student (Wesleyan Christian Academy) – 2019 Draelos Scholar

    Currently an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University

  • Aidan Hunt - High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2019 Draelos Scholar

    B.A. in Computer Science & Linguistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2023)

  • Boluwaji (Beejay) Odufuwa - High School Student (Western Guilford High School) – 2019-2020

    Currently an undergraduate student at Harvard University

  • Advika Kumar - High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2018-2019

    Currently an undergraduate student at Duke University

  • Sameer Nasir - Visiting Researcher (2022) - B.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte