An was born and raised in Binh Duong, Vietnam. In 2014, he moved to the U.S to attend college at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska where he got his B.S in Chemistry with a minor in Math. During his undergraduate study, he worked with Nathanael Fackler in multiple projects including template synthesis of macrocyclic imine and synthesis of verdazyl radical dye. In 2018, An joined Dr. Kami Hull at the University of Texas at Austin where he worked on developing transition-metal-catalyzed amination of olefins and borylation of arenes. In 2024, An obtained his PhD and joined the Carsch group, where his research addresses C–H functionalization and metalloradical catalysis. When he is not working on chemistry, An enjoys learning history, collecting interesting things, and playing Pokemon.

Brett Ratajczak was raised in Abingdon, Maryland. In 2019, he attended McDaniel College where he got his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. During his undergraduate studies, he worked with Peter Craig on multiple projects regarding synthesis of cobalt/zinc coordination Schiff base complexes to test for inhibition properties against the Main Protease (Mpro) and Papain-Like Protease (PLpro) of SARS-CoV-2. In 2024, Brett joined The Carsch Group at The University of Texas at Austin where he will work on the and synthesis of low-coordinate metal complexes. Brett enjoys hanging out with friends and going to the gym when not in lab.

Chungsoo Lee was born in Chuncheon, South Korea. He received a B.S. degree in 2022 and an M.S. degree in 2024, both in Chemical Engineering from Inha University. While at Inha, he worked with Dr. Sang Eun Shim on synthesizing and optimizing various types of block copolymer syntheses with a novel initiator. He completed his thesis on optimizing the synthesis of fluoro-block copolymer with promotors overcoming the traditional synthetic methods. In 2024, he joined the Carsch group where he will work on metallopolymers synthesis and membrane science for various gas separation. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at UT Austin in the Carsch Group and with joint affiliation with the Freeman Group in Chemical Engineering. He enjoys working out in the gym and playing playstation in his free time.

Ian was born and raised in rural Ohio. In 2021, Ian began his studies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he pursued a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. During his undergraduate years, Ian worked in the research group of Dr. Dominik Konkolewicz, synthesizing dynamic polymers and exploring novel crosslinkers. This work fueled his passion for polymer chemistry and advanced materials. In 2024, Ian graduated from Miami University with a B.S. in Chemistry, marking the beginning of his journey in scientific research and innovation on microporous metallopolymers at The University of Texas at Austin. In his free time, Ian enjoys watching Formula 1 and playing video games.

Chengmin Xie was born in Ningde, Fujian, China. He moved to Shanghai and lived there with his family since 2011. In 2019, he begin to receive his undergraduate education in Shanghai Jiao Tong University. There he attended Prof. Yuanhai Su’s lab studying the development of microflow reactors. Then, he moved to Prof. Yongjian Zhang’s lab where he received training in organic chemistry and finished his graduation thesis on PHOX ligand synthesis. After graduating in September 2023, he moved to Prof. Pengfei Zhang’s lab working on mechanochemistry, synthesizing porous metal oxide with catalyst activity. Now he is studying MOFs for the transfer of chemicals and synthesis of metal complexes with irregular electronic structure based on his interest in catalysis. Outside of science, he is also interested in learning languages.

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