The Gutekunst Lab is looking for a postdoctoral researcher with a strong background in small molecule or polymer synthesis. Interested candidates should submit an application to Prof. Gutekunst (willgute@gatech.edu) including a CV, 1-2 page research summary and the contact information for two references.
There are currently no open undergraduate research positions available. Prospective graduate students interested in synthetic polymer chemistry are encouraged to apply to the GT chemistry program.
Postdocs
Yongliang Su
Yongliang is from Puyang, China. After graduating from Shandong University in 2013, he joined Prof. Liu-Zhu Gong’s lab in USTC to pursue his Ph.D. In Gong’s group, his research mainly focused on metal/ organo cooperatively catalyzed asymmetric reactions. Thereafter, he spent three years in Prof. Doyle’s group as a postdoctoral associate and worked on the radical chemistry. Yongliang joined the Gutekunst’s group in 2021. His current research interest is polymerization of new monomers. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, listening to music, watching movies, and being with family and friends.
Graduate Students
Sterling Sweningson
Sterling was raised in Butteville, Oregon, where he remained while earning his B.S. in Systems and Structural Biology from George Fox University. His undergraduate research was focused on thermo-responsive amphiphilic homopolymers for micellar drug delivery under the supervision of Dr. Jing Hao. Sterling joined the Gutekunst group in Summer of 2018 when he began research on dynamic polymers.
Xuelin Sui
Xuelin Sui was born in Yantai, a coastal city in the northern China. He received his B.E. in polymer materials and engineering and M.S in polymer physics at University of Science and Technology of China. At the time, his research focused on coordination polymerization. Xuelin joined the Gutekunst’s group in 2018. Now, he is interested in ring-opening metathesis polymerization. When not doing chemistry, Xuelin can usually be found cooking, reading, listening to music, and spending time with his wife.
Dongqi Yi
Dongqi was born in Changchun, China. She graduated from Nankai University with a B.S. in pharmacy. In 2018, she received her master degree in biotechnology at Northwestern University. There, she worked on synthesis of GABA-AT inhibitors under the supervision of Dr. Richard Silverman. In fall 2018, she started graduate study in chemistry at Georgia Tech. Currently, she is co-advised by Dr. Agarwal and Dr. Gutekunst working on polyketide synthases.
Alec Pabarue
Alec was born in Kettering, Ohio and grew up in Macomb, Michigan. He attended Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida where he attained a B.S. in Biochemistry. At this time, he conducted research on the synthesis of photosensitive protecting groups and their applications in neuroscience. He joined the Gutekunst group in Fall 2019, and his research focuses on ring-opening metathesis polymerization.
Kellie Stellmach
Kellie grew up in Salem, Oregon and attended Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota where she obtained her B.A. in Chemistry with a minor in Spanish. While at Macalester, she conducted research on the synthesis of redox-active diimides with Dr. Dennis Cao. She joined the Gutekunst group in 2020, and her current research focuses on low-ceiling temperature polymers.
Mckinley Paul
McKinley is from the metro-Atlanta area. He attended Northwestern University where he majored in materials science and engineering with a chemistry minor. While at Northwestern, he did research under Prof. Chad Mirkin studying the fundamental reactivity of coordination complexes in a biphasic system with applications to artificial chemical signaling. His current research in the Gutekunst group explores the design of low ceiling temperature monomers for the next generation of sustainable polymers.
Timothy Hunter
Timothy Hunter attended South Carolina’s College of Charleston. Here, he worked under Dr. Frederick Heldrich to create a basic computer model via Vensim simulation software to predict products of substitution and elimination reactions; specifically, SN1, SN2, E1, and E2 reactions. He graduated in 2021 with a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in Studio Art.
Alvaro Calderon-Diaz
Alvaro received his B.S. in chemistry from Kennesaw State University in 2018. In 2019, he worked as a master’s students under Dr. Michael Stollenz at Kennesaw State University in the synthesis and characterization of bis(amidines) and their coinage metal complexes. Immediately after receiving his M.S. in chemistry in Spring 2021, Alvaro entered the chemistry PhD program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Alvaro is a PhD student in the Gutekunst Research Group and a 2022 GAANN Fellow. Outside of lab, Alvaro enjoys investing his time in K-12 STEM Outreach.
Jiyun Zhang
Jiyun was born in Shenzhen, China. She obtained her B.A. from Smith College in Chemistry in 2022. Her undergraduate research focused on site-specific protein-polymer conjugation with activated ester polymer for targeted cancer therapy under the supervision of Prof. Maren Buck. Jiyun joined the Gutekunst group in Fall 2022, and she is a chemistry Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech.
Undergraduate Students
Liam Ordner
Liam is from Niceville, Florida and is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Chemistry with a minor in Materials Science and Engineering. He works as a TA in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. In Spring 2020, he joined the Gutekunst group and began his research, which focuses on radical ring-opening polymerization.
Yilei Bu
Yilei is from Shanghai, China and is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Chemistry with a minor in Biomedical Engineering. She works as an undergraduate TA in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She joined the Gutekunst Group in 2021 and her research focuses on ring-opening metathesis polymerization.
Matthew Raeside
Matthew is from the metro-Atlanta area and is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Chemistry. He works as an undergraduate TA in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. In Fall 2022, he joined the Gutekunst group where he studies the synthesis of low ceiling temperature monomers.
Dominic Picca
Dominic was born in New York City, and is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering. He works as an undergraduate TA in the School of Physics. In Fall 2022, he joined the Gutekunst group where he studies liquid crystal formation and dynamic polymers.