Welcome to our people page! Here, you can find a little more about each of us. Click someone's name to find out more.
Group Leader
Associate Professor
Degree: BA, MSci (2009) PhD (2013) University of Cambridge
Hometown: Colchester, England (“England’s oldest recorded town”)
Year started at Iowa: 2017
What is your project?
I am trying to set up a research program that studies the theory of chemical bonding at the interface with informatics. With my group, we are trying to build a diverse group of individuals with their own projects, goals and ambitions. We are working together to learn and grow.
Graduate Students
Graduate Student (since 2018)
Hometown: Twin Cities, MN
Degree: BS in Chemistry (2017), Drake University, IA; with Math minor.
Why this group?
This group is exciting because computational chemistry has the potential to grow tremendously in the future and I want to be a part of that.
What makes you passionate about your work?
When I get to study mathematical equations.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
There is always something new to learn.
Graduate Student (since 2019)
Hometown: Fountain City, WI
Degree: B.S. ACS Chemistry, Mathematics Minor
Role in group:
Currently, learn from my peers!
Why this group?
We are working on building/applying the mathematical models which are used to ascertain information of the quirky world of the quantum. There are very few people doing this work.
Graduate Student (since 2019)
Hometown: Stillwater, MN
Degree: BS in ACS Biochemistry (2019), Winona State University
Why UIowa?
There is a great community here with great opportunities as well.
Role in Group:
Current Group member
Why this group?
This group has a lot of collaborations with other groups in and out of the department. This allows for more connections to be made and to learn about many different areas.
Graduate Student (since 2020)
Hometown: Cedar Rapids, IA
Degree: B.S. in Biochemistry (2020), Loras College, IA
Why UIowa?
I loved the welcoming atmosphere when I came on my visit, not to mention the cool science everyone is doing, and my wife works at UIHC.
What makes you passionate about your work?
I enjoy working on new, interesting, and unsolved problems.
I also love to see those 'ah ha' moments on students faces when they learn something new or overcome a hard problem.
Graduate Student (since 2021)
Hometown: Sullivan, IL
Degree: BS in ACS Chemistry, Eastern Illinois University (2021)
Why UIowa?
It felt inviting, and everyone has been so supportive.
What makes you passionate about your work?
Learning new things about chemistry and sharing them with others.
How do you intend to make use of your PhD in the future?
Become a professor at an undergraduate university.
Graduate Student (since 2022)
Hometown:
Hoffman Estates, IL
Degree/Major:
BA in Biochemistry (2022), Grinnell College, IA
Why UIowa?
Initially, it was the location of not being in the middle of a cornfield of Iowa. It later became the variety of topics offered in research and the opportunities associated with it.
Why this group?
Computational chemistry is a topic that incorporates more than only chemistry, introducing me to new ideas/fields that I didn’t know before.
Undergraduate Students
Consultants
Assistant Research Scientist
Hometown: Hyderabad, India
Degree: MSc (2004, Biochemistry) University of Hyderabad, PhD (2013, Chemistry) University of Iowa
Why this group?
I am software consultant for the group. Playing with scientific codes to be able to do cutting-edge research excites me more than anything else.
What is your project?
Compiling and maintaining various quantum chemistry codes that are used in the Shepherd Group and generating integral files to be able to do Quantum Monte Carlo simulations.
Alumni
Postdoc (2023); Graduate Student (2017-2022)
Hometown: Crystal Lake, IL
Degree: BA Chemistry (2017), Carthage College, WI
What is your project?
Modeling and performing calculations on Jellium system
What makes you passionate about your work?
Learning anything new about chemistry
What do you enjoy most about your work?
Programing with groupmates
High School Student Researcher, Summer 2022
Hometown: Guangzhou, China
Degree: High School Student
Why this group?
This group is welcoming and kind to me. I love to be in a group where people collaborate in one project, and everybody bears a responsibility to the group. I like this kind of groupwork and the relationship built on top of the groupwork.
Undergrad Researcher, Summer 2019-Summer 2022
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Major: Physics, Computer Science
Role in group:
Undergraduate Researcher
Why UIowa?
The University of Iowa has a rich history of research and support for undergraduate engagement.
Why this group?
It’s exciting to be a part of a group which is conducting cutting edge research while also remaining interested in education and engagement.
Undergrad Researcher, Spring 2019-Spring 2021
Hometown: Naperville, IL
Major: Chemical Engineering BSE
Why this group?
Our group is unique because we are constantly doing what we can to challenge ourselves and help each other to improve academically.
What makes you passionate about your work?
I am driven to contribute to this group because I encounter many challenges that help me to think in different ways than I am used to.
Undergrad Researcher, Summer 2020-Spring 2021
Hometown: Dubuque, IA
Major: Chemical Engineering with a minor in French
Why UIowa?
The collaborative environment that permeates the university coupled with the extensive research activity made Iowa the right choice for me. It’s a place where I fit in, can grow as a student and a person, and contribute to things I am passionate about.
Undergrad Researcher, Spring 2021
Hometown: Muscat, Oman
Major: Biomedical Sciences
Why this project?
This project stood out to me because of how it aims to understand the effect of assessment tools on student reasoning.
Undergraduate Researcher, Spring & Fall 2019
Hometown: Heze, Shandong, China
Major: Computer Science and Engineering BSE
Why this group?
I found it that the idea of using python to solve chemistry equations is very cool and is a brand new exploration for me as well!
Undergraduate Researcher, Summer 2019
Hometown: Round Lake Heights, IL
Major: Chemistry
Why Uiowa?
The atmosphere on campus is very welcoming, and there are a lot of opportunities for undergraduates to gain experience in their field through research and volunteer projects.
Undergraduate Researcher, Summer 2019
Hometown: Riverside, CA
Major: Chemistry
What work activity do you enjoy most?
I personally enjoy talking with others about the problems that are occuring in our work and helping each other work it out.
Undergraduate Researcher, Summer 2019
Hometown: Muscatine, Iowa
Major: Nuclear Medicine Technology
Why Uiowa?
I grew up being a Hawkeye fan and they have excellent science courses.
Undergraduate Researcher, Summer 2019 and Fall 2019
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Major: Chemistry
Why Uiowa?
University of Iowa is a big school with many small communities that give me the opportunity to experience many diversities. The school also provides many research opportunities for undergraduates to engage in something other than what students learn in class
Undergraduate Researcher, Summer 2019
Hometown: Oxford Junction, IA
Major: Chemistry
What work activity do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy using computers to visualize and analyze molecular structures, especially orbitals. For me, the ability to see an accurate representation of the 3D structure of an individual molecule is one of the highlights of computational chemistry.
Undergrad Researcher, Fall 2020 to Spring 2022
Hometown: Glen Ellyn, IL
Major: Computer Science and Engineering
What makes you passionate about your work?
I love that my work is used to make other people's live easier. The better I am at my job the more productive others can be in their roles and that drives me to do the best that I can.
Undergrad Researcher, Fall 2021-Fall 2022
Hometown: Naperville, IL
Major: Biology, pre-med track, minor in Spanish
Role in Group: undergrad research assistant, currently Emily is mentoring me and getting me started with beginners' projects.
Why UIowa?
Iowa has a great health care program and chemistry/biology departments so I knew this would be a good place for me to go.
Undergrad Researcher, Fall 2021-Fall 2022
Hometown: Bettendorf, IA
Major: Mechanical Engineering, minor in Math
Role in group: Undergraduate Researcher
Why UIowa?
Iowa offers numerous opportunities to explore all my interests as well as a diverse student body of people willing to challenge each other academically.
Undergrad Researcher, Summer 2022-Fall 2022
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada
Major: Neuroscience, Mathematics with Chemistry, Biology minors
Role in group:
Undergraduate Researcher
Why UIowa:
Being an R1 institution and also not being located in the Southwestern United States was a very big draw to choose UIowa over other research-intensive schools, as I have a high level of interest in pursuing STEM-type research and family nearby.
Undergrad Researcher, since Spring 2023
Hometown: Ankeny, Iowa
Major: Chemistry Major
Role in Group:
Undergraduate Researcher
Why this group?
I like that this group gives me the opportunity to learn new skills that I can take with me through the rest of my studies in chemistry!
Undergraduate Research Teams
Who was on the team?
Jennifer Lane-Murcia
Heeseon Shin
Quintin Blad
Chengcheng Liu
What is your project?
Over the summer undergraduate research opportunity, our team investigated, replicated, extended, and reflected on Metal-Organic Framework research. We worked on researching the possibility of using an X-MOF (X = Fe, V) as a catalyst for the CO2 reduction reaction. We learned about computational chemistry, how to use different programs, as well as learn about the research project and how to work well as a team.
Who was on the team?
John Albert
Lauren Andrews
Chris McBride
What is your project?
We design catalysts that function to reduce CO2 to CO which can ultimately be used for the production of fuels. This was done utilizing density functional theory to test the effects on catalytic binding energy by modifying metal center, coordinating atom and electron density. Specific attention has been applied to CO2 coordination to the catalyst and the resultant effect on binding energy.
Why is it interesting?
If we can find a catalyst to reduce the amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere, we can greatly improve the environmental impact that this excess CO2 has had. The use of this converted CO2 for fuel would be a very valuable energy source.
Who is on the team?
Gabe Armas
Sungmin Moon
Seth Hoogendoorn
Emily Amato
Jingwen Chan
What is your project?
We perform calculations using Gaussian and QChem to better understand pyrazine carbon systems.
Who is on the team?
Owen Millers
Sydney Wilson
Lydia Heckler
What is your project?
The project entailed learning about computational chemistry and using it to study the effect of Al cluster size on H2 bonding. We used IQMol to build molecules and wrote inputs to optimize the geometry of different molecules and calculate energies, Mulliken charges, and Mulliken spin. The final goal was to increase the size of the Al nanoparticle to establish a relationship between Mulliken charge and nanoparticle size. As a team, we’ve learned how to work together to solve problems and make conclusions about our data.