2026 Chemistry Newsletter
Message from the Chair
Department Spotlights
Department Kudos
Teaching Faculty Updates
Research Lab Updates
Alumni Class Notes
Message from the Chair
It is a pleasure to bring you greetings from Foggy Bottom and GW Chemistry!
As I write this, temperatures are starting to drop, and fall is descending on Washington, D.C. We have settled into the new academic year with classes, laboratories and research projects in full swing. The hum and buzz of GW’s community is apparent in every corner of campus—from the GW Deli to the University Student Center and back again.
In Science and Engineering Hall (SEH), we focus on what we do best—teaching and research in the chemical sciences. Faculty have earned several new (and large!) grants this year—very impressive in a challenging funding climate. Last year, our faculty produced 21 peer-reviewed articles, one patent and maintained 18 active research grants.
Our class enrollments continue to be high, and they remain above the division and college averages. Several faculty and staff celebrated their 25th working anniversaries at GW this year (Chris Cahill, Shanna Roth and Martin Zysmilich), and Anthony Middleton celebrated his 20th working anniversary at GW. We are fortunate to have them in our community!
This year, we are looking forward to Professor Fabien Goulay joining our faculty as the Mark Wrighton Associate Professor of Chemistry in January 2027. Professor Goulay is a physical chemist and comes to us from West Virginia University.
In addition, we are fortunate to have begun two faculty searches: one for a tenure-track assistant professor and one for a special services teaching assistant professor, both with an August 2027 start date. We look forward to expanding our faculty ranks as that will help us meet the teaching, research and service aspirations of the department.
As a scientific community, we are in unprecedented times. We will continue to work together to meet the challenges, focus on our strengths and make forward progress. I hope each of you will take some time to visit our department. I look forward to hearing from all of you.
Cindy Dowd
Department Chair
Department Spotlights
Welcome Dr. Fabien Goulay!
Dr. Fabien Goulay joins our faculty as the Mark Wrighton Associate Professor of Chemistry. Dr. Goulay is an accomplished physical chemist whose research focuses on gas-phase kinetics, radical intermediates and aerosol systems relevant to sustainable energy and the environment.
Dr. Goulay earned his PhD from the University of Rennes in France and completed postdoctoral training at UC Berkeley and Sandia National Laboratories before joining the faculty at West Virginia University. Over his career, he has built an internationally recognized experimental research program utilizing pulsed laser photolysis, photoionization mass spectrometry and synchrotron radiation facilities.
At GW, his research group will investigate the fundamental oxidation mechanisms of next-generation biofuels, tracking radical reaction pathways and intermediate branching to optimize combustion efficiency and mitigate harmful emissions. In parallel, his lab will explore atmospheric particulate chemistry, examining heterogeneous surface reactions and organic aerosol aging mechanisms that drive air quality and climate forcing.
In the classroom, Dr. Goulay is a dedicated educator who emphasizes active learning, computational modeling and collaborative problem-solving to demystify complex chemical principles. He brings extensive experience mentoring both undergraduate and graduate researchers, fostering an inclusive training environment where students gain direct hands-on experience with advanced instrumentation and kinetics simulations.
We are excited to welcome Dr. Goulay to our community and research corridors in SEH.
Dr. Michael Massiah’s Green Chemistry Initiative in Guyana
Dr. Michael Massiah reached out to the Guyanese Embassy about the opportunity to provide service to the people of Guyana. Ambassador Hinds, who was the former president and prime minister of Guyana for over two decades, met with chemistry faculty and toured our research labs. After his visit, Ambassador Hinds and Dr. Michael Wagner began a collaboration to convert wood material from Guyana into usable graphite, needed for battery production.
Furthermore, Dr. Massiah spent his sabbatical from GW in Guyana as a Distinguished Visiting Professor with the University of Guyana. He was hosted by their Departments of Chemistry and Biology in the faculty of natural sciences, where he taught organic chemistry and biochemistry. Dr. Massiah created a green chemistry course and developed an MS program in natural products for the University of Guyana. We look forward to future collaborations as a result of Dr. Massiah’s sabbatical.
Department Kudos
Professor Christopher Cahill and PhD student Elizabeth Decoteau visited the University of the West Indies as part of a collaboration on research and student initiatives.
Professor Cahill also gave a presentation to a “standing room only audience” at Towson University’s Chemistry & Forensic Science Seminar. Dr. Cahill discussed his team’s research in f-block chemistry with applications to environmental remediation and nuclear forensics.
Thank you to Dr. Vanessa dos Reis Falcão for reaching out to the community and serving as a science coach through the American Chemical Society (ACS) in partnership with Bard High School Early College where Dr. Falcao is mentoring and supporting students in their development as young scientists. She visits the STEM club once or twice a month to work with students on scientific problem-solving, experimental design, chemistry concepts and research skills while encouraging curiosity, critical thinking and confidence in STEM. She worked with the GW Alpha Chi Sigma (AXE) group and our grad students to organize a visit to GW which included hands-on experiments. Dr. Falcao and AXE members served on the public school science symposium.
We feel so fortunate to have our former students come back to visit and give us the opportunity to learn from them. Dr. Kaveh Kahen, PhD ’05, resident of Phenomenex, returned as our Spring 2026 Caress Alumni Speaker where he gave a seminar titled “Beyond the Bench: Driving Innovation and Operational Excellence in the Life Sciences Industry.” Dr. Korey Carter, PhD ’17, assistant professor at the University of Iowa, wowed us in September with his talk about “Developing Coordination Chemistry Tools to Control Metal-Ion Crystal Fields and Redox Chemistry in f-Element Clusters and Frameworks.”
Graduate student Jillian Brejnik, from the Kostal Group, received both the 2026 HESI GTTC Professional Development Travel and Training Awards and support through the HESI GTTC FAST program for her research.
Graduate student Diana Garnica Acevedo, also from the Kostal Group, received several Society of Toxicology (SOT) recognitions, including: selection as a 2026 Best Trainee Abstract Award Finalist by the SOT Biological Modeling Specialty Section and a 2026 SOT Travel Award.
Dr. Cynthia Dowd was awarded the university’s highest honor for mentorship, the OVPR 2026 Mentorship Award.
Michael Wagner received a $134,862 contract from Sintl Pty LTD to develop nano silicon composite material for high-energy lithium-ion batteries.
Teaching Faculty Updates
- Dr. Vanessa dos Reis Falcão supervises the Organic Chemistry Recitation Leader Program which provides structured peer-led learning support for students in organic chemistry. Recitation leaders receive pedagogy training and facilitate collaborative problem-solving sessions focused on helping students develop conceptual understanding, apply chemical principles and prepare effectively for exams. Sessions emphasize active learning rather than lectures, with students working in small groups on carefully selected problems followed by guided discussion and review. Recitation leaders also serve as approachable academic mentors, helping students build confidence, identify misconceptions and develop effective problem-solving strategies. Recitation leaders also attend lectures to support active learning helping students solve problems creating a sense of belonging and community in the classroom.
- Dr. Martín G. Zysmilich serves as deputy chair and director of Graduate Studies in the Chemistry Department and continues to be active in chemistry education at the national level. In 2026, he participated as a facilitator in the ACS New Faculty Workshop and served on the organizing committee for the ACS Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting. Together with Professor Dowd, he helped bring Professor Rigoberto Hernandez, president of the ACS, to campus as the 2026 Caress Lecturer. Within the department, he developed and taught CHEM 1113: General Chemistry for Engineers. Outside the classroom, he successfully chased and observed his third total solar eclipse.
Research Lab Updates
Cahill Group
The year 2026 is one for the record books in the Cahill Lab. Professor Cahill enjoyed a much-needed sabbatical during the spring semester, where extensive travel had him catching up with collaborators, giving lectures and attending conferences. Highlights include the AAAS meeting in Phoenix, the Mineralogical Society of America Meeting in Tucson and (wait for it) the annual meeting of the Grateful Dead Studies Association in Albuquerque.
He and graduate student Liz Decoteau travelled to Jamaica to visit long-time collaborators and train students on newly acquired equipment, and to Pacific Northwest National Lab for some critical sorption experiments on scintillating metal-organic frameworks. Undergrad (and now MS candidate) Sofia Horowitz gave an awesome poster at the International Union of Crystallography Meeting in Calgary—just days before grad student Mary Elias gave her first international oral presentation. A great conference for sure!
Other personnel updates: grad student Haley Guthrie welcomed baby George in April, and undergrads Sophia Broz and Claire Belatti gear up for graduation and next steps. Former undergrad and now MS candidate Caroline Banholzer is enjoying TA responsibilities AND her forensics project to look at anti-counterfeiting measures using lanthanides—great stuff! Funding remains solid despite the climate, including another renewal of Cahill’s DOE Heavy Element Chemistry award, which marks 21 years of continuous funding from this program.
Dowd Group
A great year in the Dowd Lab! In 2026, we welcomed new faces in the Dowd lab, as well as saying goodbye to some dear lab members. We said goodbye and good luck to Dr. Ben England and undergrads Diego Asencio and Issa Samba. Ben is a patent examiner at the USPTO. Diego is pursuing an MS in chemistry at Waseda University (Japan) before starting a PhD in chemistry program. Issa is riding rescue and applying to medical school. All are greatly missed.
We welcomed undergrads Justin Steck, Max Fitzsimons and Nicole Johnson to the lab. Three undergrads received fellowships to support their work in the lab this summer. Jada Traynor earned a Robert Vincent Fellowship, Justin earned a Madeleine Jacobs Fellowship and Abdelrahman Moharram earned a GW Undergraduate Fellowship. Congratulations all!
We are also grateful for a significant foundation grant that will fund a project in the lab for three years! With one year under her belt, Cindy continues to serve as chair of the department. The lab is a happy hive of researchers making molecules against important infectious diseases, learning organic/medicinal chemistry and having meaningful experiences along the way. Come visit!
Kostal Group
The Kostal Group continues to expand its work at the intersection of computational chemistry, predictive toxicology and safer molecular design, while also welcoming Benjamin Maybaum as a new group member.
A focus has been the group’s leadership within the HESI Genetic Toxicology Technical Committee (GTTC). Dr. Kostal leads large cohorts of scientists from industry, government and regulatory agencies, academia and nonprofit organizations working to improve mechanistic understanding and prediction of the carcinogenicity of impurities.
Jillian Brejnik received both the 2026 HESI GTTC Professional Development Travel and Training Awards, as well as support through the HESI GTTC FAST program for her research. The Training Award supports an internship in Germany focused on biobased cosmetic formulations, providing valuable experimental and formulation context to strengthen her computational modeling of nitrosamine-formation pathways.
Diana Garnica Acevedo received several Society of Toxicology (SOT) recognitions, including selection as a 2026 Best Trainee Abstract Award Finalist by the SOT Biological Modeling Specialty Section, a 2026 SOT Travel Award, Her biodegradation research is now expanding through a collaboration with Alexei Lapkin’s group at the University of Cambridge and Chemical Data Intelligence in Singapore to develop improved predictive models for chemical biodegradation.
Geetesh Devineni has continued advancing AI-enabled generation and physics-led screening of biobased chemical space for safer chemical design.
The group has also expanded its educational outreach by supporting and mentoring two students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), Matthew Peng and Ruth Berhe. Ruth is completing her TJHSST Research Practicum with the group under Diana’s mentorship.
Finally, the group reached two major funding milestones: an National Science Foundation (NSF) collaborative award with Yale for “Collaborative Research: CAS-SC: A systems approach to sustainable molecular design for tunable degradation of green chemicals and materials,” and a major Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation award with GW serving as the lead institution, bringing together GW, Yale, Johns Hopkins and UL Research Institutes to integrate high-throughput data, physics-led modeling, AI/ML, exposomics and iterative molecular design.
Together, these activities reflect the group’s continued evolution from developing individual predictive models toward building integrated, mechanistically grounded frameworks that can actively guide the design of safer and more sustainable chemicals.
Massiah Group
The Massiah Group continues its studies on protein ubiquitination—the process of covalently attaching ubiquitin to a protein that will be marked for degradation. This is an important regulatory process in cells. During the first half of the year, Professor Massiah spent his sabbatical at the University of Guyana. Dr. Massiah continued to support the research and education of two undergraduate students, Clare Trainor and Peri Roper, who continued to work in the lab while Professor Massiah was away.
In fall 2026, two graduate students (Erik Infante and Tazrif Amin), four undergraduate students (Jeremiah Engermann, Juan Hernandez, Ambreen Mariyam and Zena Barabandi) and a high school student (Rudra Kushwah) are currently working on new projects for new directions in the research focus, building on past results and experiences.
We have also embarked on a collaboration with groups in Finland, which has led to the lab hosting a visiting scholar, Henrik Hakkinen, from the University of Finland, Helsinki.
Meisel Lab
It has been another exciting year of growth and collaboration for the Meisel Lab. We congratulate PhD student Dani Rodrigues on the successful defense of her dissertation, the first Meisel lab PhD, and we wish her the very best in her next endeavors! In collaboration with Professor L. Courtney Smith (GW Biology), the lab published research on immune protein structure in the Journal of Immunology with PhD candidate Chris Grubb serving as second author.
The lab also received a Katzen Team Science Award from the GW Cancer Center to launch a collaborative research program on the cancer target DDR1 with the laboratory of Rong Li (GW Biochemistry). Lara Jasaitis, BS ’26, a former biology major and chemistry minor, joined the lab to work on the DDR1 project as a laboratory technician.
We are also excited to welcome MS student Pietro Stroik to the Meisel lab this fall. The lab also hosted GW Cancer Center SPARC student Bella Villano (Virginia Commonwealth University) for summer research. Bella will present her work at the 2026 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists.
Miller Lab
The Miller Lab was very busy in 2026. Professor Houston Miller and current PhD student Erin McCaughey attended the European Geophysical Union meeting in Vienna, Austria. Professor Miller has been serving as a co-convener for a colloquium titled “Advanced Spectroscopic Measurement Techniques and Applications for Atmospheric Science.” Erin presented the lab’s development work for a sensor to measure potassium radiative emissions from wildfires. Professor Miller also attended the Eastern States Section of the Combustion Institute in Raleigh, N.C., where he presented on the same topic.
The lab group headed to Kyoto, Japan, in July for the 41st International Symposium on Combustion (ISOC), where Erin presented a poster titled, “Stochastic Modeling of PAH Growth along Diffusion Flame Streamlines.” ISOC provides great networking opportunities for doctoral students with travel to various countries at each new symposium location.
In addition to Professor Miller and Erin, there was plenty of representation from the Miller lab at ISOC. This includes former postdoc Anthony Hamins and alumna Monica Flores, MS ’20, PhD ’25. They also presented a work in progress poster on the potassium work.
Professor Miller and Erin also attended the 2026 Field Laser Applications in Industry and Research meeting in Aix-les-Bains, France. Erin was given a rare podium spot to discuss the Potassium in Wildfire work, which received glowing reviews. They were able to squeeze in a few hours exploring nearby Geneva, Switzerland, the evening the conference ended.
The group notes that they were not always on the road, and they spent time in the laboratory working on instrument development and trying to understand the chemistry leading to the observed measurements. (Hint: Evidence suggests that the classic “flame tests” are not exclusively a result of thermal excitation, but also have contributions from chemiluminescence.) The lab work was dramatically enhanced by hosting Ms. Adela Collado Rodríguez, a doctoral student at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
In other news, Professor Miller announced that he is planning to retire at the end of the academic year. Never fear—he will continue doing research in the lab as he finishes his current NSF award.
Pincus Lab
In the Pincus Lab, we're thrilled to welcome postdoc Dr. James Luk and new PhD student Atlas Gregory. They've both hit the ground running working on designing new biopolymer adsorbent materials for metal recovery. Continuing PhD student Brian Beukema and EGC masters students Emma Finigan and Ivy Ha are studying the effect of environmental conditions on the degradation of plastic pollution.
We've been very fortunate to receive funding this past year both internally via the GW University Facilitating Fund and externally via a $550,000 NSF grant to fund our work on interactions between toxic metals and microplastics and photo-oxidation of plastic pollution, respectively.
Sadtchenko Group
The Sadtchenko Group recently published an article in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters titled “The Heat Capacity of Bulk Supercooled Water between 185 and 205K.” This is especially exciting for student authors Tanya Ryzi (undergraduate) and Chloe V. Waldt (doctoral) as this paper is the first publication for them both. The research team was able to measure the heat capacity of bulk supercooled water in a temperature range colloquially known as “no-man’s-land.” The measurements were obtained using a unique fast-scanning calorimetry apparatus designed by the Sadtchenko group. The research project has provided crucial missing data for current debate on the fundamental properties of water.
Wagner Lab
The Wagner lab is happy to share that undergraduate Kuren Vandyoussefi (Britt Fellow), Michael Scarberry (3rd year graduate student), Jack Poland (2nd year graduate student), Dr. Kevin McKenzie (postdoc) and Dr. Nathan Banek (research professor) have continued to refine our graphitization process to enable the City of Estevan, Canada, to transition their lignite mine to one in which the “carbon ore” is converted to Li-ion grade graphite. The project is quickly moving to pilot production. In addition, 1414 Degrees Ltd, an Australian company, licensed a silicon battery technology developed in our lab and have branded it SiNTL. We are helping them further develop it and scale-up production, so that they can fulfill their contracts for drone and satellite batteries made with our technology.
Alumni Class Notes
- Rebekah Brucato, PhD ‘23, is a senior scientist at Kraton Corporation.
- Nick Deifel, MFS ’06, PhD ’13, is a visiting professor at his undergraduate alma mater, Kenyon College.
- Jarod Fincher, PhD ‘19, is a senior research investigator at Incyte.
- Jordan Herder, PhD ’24, is now a program management analyst at Arcfield in Maryland.
- Dan de Lill, PhD ‘08, is a senior instructor of chemistry at the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University.
- Priscilla Long, BS ‘23, joined the chemistry PhD program at New York University.
- Chenyang Ma, PhD ‘22, has completed four years at EMD Electronics.
- Jessica (Stuart) Myers, PhD ‘16, is an associate teaching Pprofessor at Villanova University.
- Mikaela Pyrch, BS ‘15, MS ‘17, is now an assistant professor of chemistry at University of Alabama- Birmingham.
- Sylwia Stopka, PhD ‘17, is an associate principal scientist at Bayer.
- Katie Wright, PhD ‘17, was promoted to associate principal scientist at Merck.
And Our Class of 2026 is Off …
- Diego Asencio, BS ’26, is pursuing an MS in chemistry at Waseda University in Japan via a MEXT scholarship and then a PhD at Washington University (already admitted).
- Caroline Banholzer, BS ’26, is pursuing an MFS at GW
- Manuel Diaz, BS ’26, is working in the forensics field.
- Olivia Duffy, BS ’26, is pursuing an MFS at GW.
- Nadim El-Najjar, BS ’26, is an anesthesia technician at Inova Hospital.
- Isabelle Frazier, BS ’25, attends the School of Medicine at Indiana University.
- Ivy Ha, BS ’26, is pursuing an MS in environmental & green chemistry at GW.
- Sofia Horowitz, BS ’26, is an MS candidate in the Cahill Group.
- May May (Catherine) Hubbard, BS ’26, is an NIH postbac studying HIV dynamics.
- Ashley Klucken, BS ’26, is attending the Law School, specializing in pharmaceuticals patent law.
- Jonathan Kurtz, BS ’26, is working at the Patent Office now and considering graduate school.
- Nicholas Rothwein, BS ’26, holds a research internship at the Clinic for Special Children before attending medical school.
- Issa Samba, BS ’26, is an EMT before attending medical school.
- Clare Trainor, BS ’26, is pursuing a PhD at University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy, Baltimore.
- Kuren Vandyoussefi, BS ’26, is attending medical school.
- Zoe Wise, BS ’26, is attending GW Medical School
- Adrian Wood, BS ’26, is pursuing a PhD in chemistry.
- Victoria Martin, MS ’26, is attending a PhD program in environmental chemistry in Texas.
- Darren Dolan, PhD ’26, is director of research and development at MXene Inc.
- Lara Skibbie, PhD ’26, is a postdoc at US Naval Research Laboratory.