Welcome to the Kenis Group!

Reactor and reaction engineering for electrochemical manufacturing and nanomaterial discovery

Meet the Team! 

Group Picture!

 

Left, front to back: Hensi Dauti, Josie Wachtveitl, Jeff Xu, Haowei Long, Prof. Paul Kenis, Rachel Gaines, Abi Meek

Right, front to back: Yewon Moon, Katharine Moy, Beth Kleimenhagen, Minjun Choi, Ben Sit, Yu-Shen Liu, Juan Rojas, Sukhwa Hong

Not pictured: Andressa Almeida Simões, Ritvik Kokal, Hamza Elayan, Yasmine Rios, Blaine Lu, Mohamed Maher Ibrahim, Brandon Chiang, Darien Raymond, Abu Nayeem


 

The P.I.

Paul J.A. Kenis

Director, School of Chemical Sciences
Elio Eliakim Tarika Endowed Chair in Chemical Engineering

kenis (at) illinois (dot) edu

 

Graduate Students

Rachel N. Gaines

Joined 2020 (ChBE) |  Lab Manager      
Glycerol Electrolysis | Decoupled Electrolysis

rgaines3 (at) illinois (dot) edu 

R.H. Jeff Xu

Joined 2020 (ChBE) | Safety Officer
Autonomous Synthesis

rhxu2 (at) illinois (dot) edu

Haowei Long

 Joined 2021 (ChBE) | Equipment Manager
Ammonia Electrolysis

haoweil4 (at) illinois (dot) edu


C.Y. Benjamin Sit

 Joined 2021 (ChBE) | Equipment Manager
CO2 Electrolysis

csit2 (at) illinois (dot) edu


Andressa J. Almeida Simões

Joined 2022 (ChBE) | Events Coordinator
CO2 Electrolysis

aa84 (at) illinois (dot) edu

Vijay M. Shah

Joined 2023 (ChBE) | Inventory Manager
Microdroplet Chemistry | CO2 Capture

vijayms2 (at) illinois (dot) edu

Abiela M. Bradley

Joined 2023 (ChBE)
Decoupled Electrolysis

abielam2 (at) illinois (dot) edu


Juan Rojas

 Joined 2023 (ChBE)
CO2 Capture

juanar2 (at) illinois (dot) edu


Yu-Shen Liu

 Joined 2023 (ChBE)
CO2 Capture

ysliu2 (at) illinois (dot) edu


Ritvik Kokal

 Joined 2024 (ISE)
Systems Integration (CO2 Capture & Conversion)

rkokal2 (at) illinois (dot) edu


Darien Raymond

 Joined 2024 (ChBE)
Water Electrolysis

darienr2 (at) illinois (dot) edu


Brandon Chiang

 Joined 2024 (ChBE)
Autonomous Synthesis

bchiang6 (at) illinois (dot) edu


Mohamed Maher Ibrahim

 Joined 2024 (ChBE)
Plasma Electrolysis

mmi3 (at) illinois (dot) edu


S.M. Abu Nayeem

 Joined 2024 (ChBE)
Ammonia Electrolysis

snayeem2 (at) illinois (dot) edu


 

Undergraduate Students

Katharine K. Moy

Joined 2023 (ChBE)
CO2 Electrolysis

kkmoy2 (at) illinois (dot) edu

Josie M. Wachtveitl

Joined 2023 (ChBE)
CO2 Electrolysis

jms17 (at) illinois (dot) edu

Hensi Dauti

Joined 2023 (ChBE)
Autonomous Synthesis

hdaut2 (at) illinois (dot) edu

Yasmine Rios

Joined 2024 (ChBE)
Decoupled Electrolysis

yrios7 (at) illinois (dot) edu

Hamza Elayan

Joined 2024 (ChBE)
Decoupled Electrolysis

helay2 (at) illinois (dot) edu

Blaine Lu

Joined 2024 (ChBE)
Autonomous Synthesis

lu88 (at) illinois (dot) edu

 

Postdocs

Dr. Sukhwa Hong

Joined 2023 (PhD, POSTECH)
CO2 Electrolysis | CO2 Capture

shearth (at) illinois (dot) edu

Dr. Minjun Choi

Joined 2024 (PhD, GIST)
Water Electrolysis | CO2 Electrolysis

mjchoi (at) illinois (dot) edu

 

Group Alumni

To request an update: contact us using the link at the bottom of this page!

 

Postdocs

Last Name First Name Current Institution Graduation Year
Henckel Danielle National Renewable Energy Lab 2020
Pawate Ashtamurthy Roche Sequencing Solutions 2017
Desai Amit Solugen 2012
Wheeler Tobias 10X Genomics 2010
Ranga Jayashree Salem State University 2007
Zhou Wei-Ping Brookhaven National Lab 2007
Bhamidi Venkat Eastman Chemical Company 2008
Asthana Amit NIPER-National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad 2003
Gancs Lajos Lam Research 2004
Waszczuk Piotr Boston Scientific 2002

 

Ph.D. Recipients

Last Name First Name Current Institution Graduation Year
Cofell Emiliana 3M 2022
Bhargava Saket Dow Chemical 2022
Vikram Ajit Merck 2021
Nwabara Uzoma Twelve 2021
Sinclair Whitney Regeneron 2021
Verma Sumit Shell 2018
Kim Byoungsu Hyundai Motor 2017
Schieferstein Jeremy Elecktrofi 2017
Wittenberg Joseph Donaldson 2017
Horstman Elizabeth Gilead Sciences 2016
Kumar Vivek Xiami India 2016
Ma Sichao Twelve 2016
Wu Kunna A*Star Singapore 2015
Byrne Matthew Element Biosciences 2014
Goyal Sachit Dow Chemical 2014
Jhong Huei-Ru "Molly" Dow Chemical 2014
Mohan Ritika McKinsey & Company 2014
Naughton Matthew Self-employed 2014
Guha Sudipto Dell Technologies 2013
Tice Joshua Ortho Clinical Diagnostics 2013
Hollinger Adam Penn State University - Erie (Penn State Behrend) 2012
Khvostichenko Daria M-I SWACO, A Schlumberger Company 2012
Thorson Michael Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 2012
Rosen Brian Tel Aviv University 2012
Gupta Chaitanya ProbiusDX Inc 2011
Kapoor Ashish SRM University, India 2011
Lopez-Montesinos Pedro Massachusetts Maritime Academy 2011
Whipple Devin W.L. Gore & Associates 2011
Zhang Jieqian DuPont 2011
Brushett Fikile MIT 2010
Henderson Jerrod University of Houston 2010
Perry Sarah University of Massachusetts - Amherst 2010
Schudel Benjamin Natera 2010
Cole Matthew UOP 2008
Silvestre Jonathan OSI-soft 2008
He Justin The Estee Lauder Companies Inc 2007
Mitchell Michael Solenis 2007
Talreja Sameer Ineos 2007
Junaedi Christian Precision Combustion 2006
Spendelow Jacob Los Alamos National Lab 2006
Toepke Michael Dow Chemical 2006
Yoon Seong Kee Apple 2006
Kane Cheikhou University of Dakar, Senegal 2005
Choban Eric DSM 2004

 

M.S. Recipients

Last Name First Name Current Institution Graduation Year
Jang Hyukjin Frederick National Lab 2020
Kundu Avirup Applied Materials, India 2019
Rastogi Chandan Hero Future Energies 2005
Kim David Mosaic Claims Management 2004
Hasjim Petersen University of Chicago 2002
Thybo Susanne NIRAS, Denmark 2002

 

Interns & Post-Baccalaureate Researchers

Last Name First Name Current Institution Graduation Year
Cheng Yingshuang Tsinghua 2024
Ardila Contreras Valentina UCLA 2022
Young Katherine Purdue 2022

 

B.S. Recipients

Last Name First Name Current Institution Graduation Year
Kleimenhagen Beth University of Colorado - Boulder 2024
Azmoodeh Danny P&G 2021
Beaudoin Jessica University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 2017
Oruc Muhammed American University of the Middle East 2016
Papadopoulos Theodore Sage Environmental Consulting 2016
Lee Garam University of Delaware 2015
Moradia Akash McKinsey & Company 2015
Gu Guen Ho Korea Institute of Energy Technology 2013

 


Want to know more?

Information on open positions (graduate, undergraduate, and postdoctoral) can be found on our research page.

A full list of the group's publications can be found on our publications page.

Our lab's resources (instrumentation, code, etc.) can be found on the resources page.

To learn about who we are as a lab, please refer to the fun page.

For inquiries not covered by the information on the website, please email us!