Recent News
2021
August
Dr. Libo Yao joins the group as a postdoctoral scholar (co-advised by Prof. Nirala Singh). Libo earned his Ph.D. from the University of Akron, where he worked with Prof. Zhengmeng Peng studying “Sustainable, Energy-Efficient Hydrogenation Processes for Selective Chemical Syntheses.”
July
Lirong Shi has officially joined the lab as a Ph.D. student in Chemistry! She will begin in the lab starting Fall 2021. Congratulations!
June
Maiko Lunn has officially joined the lab as a Ph.D. student in Chemistry! Congratulations!
May
The McCrory Lab has been awarded a DOE Early Career Research Program Award for “Building from Discrete Molecular Electrocatalysts to Multidimensional Catalyst Architectures: the Effects of Charge Delocalization and Electronic Coupling on Electrocatalytic Activity.”
We welcome rotation student Andrew Laduca (B.S. Chemistry, Grand Valley State University)!
March
Congratulations to Weixuan Nie on his successful dissertation defense! He is the third Ph.D. student to graduate from the McCrory Lab!
Our article “Enhancing a Molecular Electrocatalyst’s Activity for CO2 Reduction by Simultaneously Modulating Three Substituent Effects” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Congrats Weixuan and Drew!
February
The McCrory Lab has been awarded funding for “CO2 to Fuels Through Chemistry and Technology” in collaboration with the Linic, Bala Chandran, Goldsmith, and Singh groups.
Our perspective review article “The Effect of Extended Conjugation on Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction by Molecular Catalysts and Macromolecular Structures” has been accepted for publication in Current Opinion in Electrochemistry. Congrats Weixuan and Drew!
2020
December
Our article “A CoV2O4 Precatalyst for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction: Highlighting the Importance of Postmortem Electrocatalyst Characterization” has been accepted for publication in Chemical Communications. Congrats Sam, Mike, and our collaborators in the Chia-Cheng Lin group at Taipei Tech!
September
We welcome rotation students Hayley Lillo (B.S. Chemistry, Saginaw Valley State) and Josh Hazelnis (B.A. Chemistry, B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Buffalo)!
Jukai Zhou has officially joined the lab as a Ph.D. student in Macromolecular Science & Engineering. Congratulations!
July
The McCrory Lab has been awarded NSF Funding for “Increasing the Reductive Stability of Self-Assembled Monolayers on Metallic Surfaces to Enable Reductive Electrocatalysis” in collaboration with the Penner-Hahn group.
Our article “Determining the Coordination Environment and Electronic Structure of Polymer-Encapsulated Cobalt Phthalocyanine under Electrocataytic Conditions using In Situ X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy” in Dalton Transactions has been included in this quarter’s “Dalton Transactions HOT Articles” themed collection.
June
Our article “Controlled Formation of Multilayer Films of Discrete Molecular Catalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction using a Layer-by-Layer Growth Mechanism Based on Sequential Click Chemistry” has been accepted for publication in ACS Applied Energy Materials. Congrats Jeremy and Weijie!
Congratulations to Michaela Barber for being recognized by the UM Chemistry Department and the American Chemical Society with the ACS Analytical Chemistry Award.
Congratulations to our undergraduate researchers for earning summer research awards! Drew Tarnopol, Michaela Barber, and Jonah Eisenberg were awarded SURP fellowships. We are so excited to have them working in the lab this summer!
May
Our article “Determining the Coordination Environment and Electronic Structure of Polymer-Encapsulated Cobalt Phthalocyanine under Electrocataytic Conditions using In Situ X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy” has been accepted for publication in Dalton Transactions. Congrats Yingshuo, Kwan, Weixuan, William, and our collaborators in the Penner-Hahn Lab!
April
Congratulations to Weixuan Nie on being awarded a Rackham One-Term Dissertation Fellowship!
Congratulations and good luck to all of our recent BS and MS Graduates:
Michael Riehs (BSChem) – starting PhD studies at University of Washington
Lei Pan (MS Chemistry) – starting PhD studies at University of Texas at Austin
Jukai Zhou (MS Macro Sci & Eng) – starting PhD studies at the University of Michigan.
We welcome rotation student John Robinson (B.S. Harvey Mudd College)!
Kevin Rivera Cruz has officially joined the lab as a Ph.D. student in Chemistry (co-advised by Paul Zimmerman). Congratulations!
March
Congratulations to Kwan Leung and Yingshuo Liu on their successful dissertation defenses! These are the first two Ph.D. students to graduate from the McCrory Lab!
Our article “Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction by Cobalt Bis(pyridylmonoimine) Complexes: Effect of Ligand Flexibility on Catalytic Activity” has been accepted for publication in ACS Catalysis. Congrats Weixuan, Ammar, and the other co-authors!
January
We welcome rotation student Pui Man (Audrey) Cheung (B.S. Western Washington University)!
We welcome University of Michigan undergraduate researchers Michaela Barber, Jonah Eisenberg, and Jordan Hinkley!
2019
October
Our article “Effect and Prevention of Trace Ag+ Contamination from Ag/AgCl Reference Electrodes on CO2 Reduction Product Distributions at Polycrystalline Copper Electrodes” has been accepted for publication in ACS Applied Energy Materials. Congrats Kwan!
September
We welcome rotation student Henry Wu (B.S. Portland State University).
August
Congratulations to Kwan Leung for winning a Karle Symposium Poster Travel Award!
July
Congratulations to Yingshuo Liu on being awarded a Rackham One-Term Dissertation Fellowship!
June
Our invited mini review “Controlled Substrate Transport to Electrocatalyst Active Sites for Enhanced Selectivity in the Carbon Dioxide Reduction Reaction” has been published in Comments on Inorganic Chemistry. Congrats Yingshuo, Kwan, Sam, and Taylor!
We welcome rotation student Kevin Rivera Cruz (B.S. University of Puerto Rico, Cayey).
May
Congratulations to Yingshuo Liu on being awarded the Robert W. Parry Award for excellence in research in inorganic chemistry!
Congratulations to Kwan Leung on being awarded the Florence Fenwick Outstanding Student Instructor Award for her contributions to general chemistry instruction!
April
Our article “Modulating the Mechanism of Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction by Cobalt Phthalocyanine through Polymer Coordination and Encapsulation” has been accepted for publication in Nature Communications. Congrats Yingshuo!
Congratulations to Ammar Ibrahim and Michael Riehs for being recognized by the UM Chemistry Department and the American Chemical Society with undergraduate research awards. Ammar was awarded the ACS Physical Chemistry Award, and Michael was awarded the ACS Inorganic Chemistry Award.
Congratulations to Ammar Ibrahim for graduating from the University of Michigan. Good luck with your graduate studies in chemistry at Caltech.
March
Congratulations to our undergraduate researchers for earning summer research awards! Lesley Escobar, Michael Riehs, and Drew Tarnopol were awarded SURP fellowships. We are so excited to have them working in the lab this summer!
February
We are very excited to be awarded the 2019 Cottrell Scholars Award from the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement for our work on “Selective Electrocatalysis by Polymer-Encapsulated Catalysts: the Role of Charge and Substrate Transport on Catalytic Efficiency.”
We welcome University of Michigan undergraduate researcher Drew Tarnopol!
January
We welcome rotation student Lloyd Fisher (B.S. Mercer University)!
Lei Pan (B.S. Shanghai Jiao Tong University) and Ziqiao Xu (B.S. Ohio University) have joined the lab as Master’s students. Congratulations!
2018
December
Our collaborative article “Imidazole for Pyridine Substitution Leads to Enhanced Activity Under Milder Conditions in Cobalt Water Oxidation Electrocatalysis” with the Anderson Lab at U Chicago has been accepted for publication in Inorganic Chemistry. Congrats Chia-Cheng and Weijie!
October
Matthew Kastelic from the Department of Chemical Engineering has joined the lab as a Ph.D. student. Congratulations!
September
Our book chapter “Evaluating Electrocatalysts for Solar Water-Splitting Reactions” co-authored by Jeremy Kallick has been published by the Royal Society of Chemistry in the book Integrated Solar Fuels Generators! Congrats Jeremy!
We welcome rotation student Lirong Shi (B.S. Nanjing University)! We also welcome University of Michigan undergraduate researcher Lesley Escobar!
June
Congratulations to former visiting scholar Qi Wang’s graduation from Nankai University! Good luck with your graduate studies at Purdue University!
May
Juan Trejo has joined the lab as an undergraduate REU student. We are excited to welcome him to the lab for a summer working with Robert Bonsall!
Congratulations to Weixuan Nie on being awarded the Margaret & Herman Sokol Graduate Summer Research Fellowship for excellence in research!
April
Taylor Soucy has officially joined the lab as a Ph.D. student. Congratulations!
Congratulations to William Dean and Taylor Soucy on being awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships! Congratulations to Robert Bonsall on being named an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mention.
Congratulations to Weijie Feng for earning his M.S. in chemistry from the University of Michigan! Good luck with your graduate studies in the Macromolecular Science and Engineering program at the University of Michigan!
Congratulations to Sai Sivakumar and Johathan Sohn on their graduation from the University of Michigan! Good luck with all your future endeavors!
March
Congratulations to our undergraduate researchers for earning summer research awards! Ammar Ibrahim and Michael Riehs were awarded SURP fellowships. We are so excited to have them working in the lab this summer.
January
Weixuan Nie’s article “Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction by a cobalt bis(pyridylmonoimine) complex: effect of acid concentration on catalyst activity and stability” has been published in Chemical Communications! Congrats Weixuan!
We welcome rotation student Federica Ricci (M. Sc. University Delgi Studi Perugia) and welcome back rotation student Taylor Soucy (B.S. Penn State)!
2017
December
The McCrory Lab has been awarded an NSF CAREER Award: “Promoting Selective Electrochemical CO2 Reduction by Controlling a Catalyst’s Primary, Secondary, and Outer Coordination Spheres.”
September
We welcome rotation student Nathanael Downes (B.S. Allegheny College)!
August
Weijie Feng (B.S. Shanghai Jiao Tong University) has joined the group as a Master’s student, and undergraduate student Qi Wang from Nankai University has joined the lab as a visiting scholar. Congratulations!
June
We welcome rotation student Taylor Soucy (B.S. Penn State)!
May
Robert Bonsall, William Dean, and Samuel Michaud have officially joined the group as Ph.D. students. Congratulations!
April
Congratulations to Jeremy Meeder and Teresa Kwapisz on their graduation from University of Michigan! Jeremy, good luck with your graduate studies in chemistry at Texas A&M! Teresa, good luck with all your future endeavors!
March
Congratulations to Jeremy Kallick on being awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship!
An interview with Professor McCrory by the popular-science website Technica Curiosa has been included in an article for solar water-splitting entitled Out of Thin Air.
January
We welcome rotation student William Dean (B.S. UMBC)!
2016
December
Our article Gastight Hydrodynamic Electrochemistry: Design for a Hermetically Sealed Rotating Disk Electrode Cell in collaboration with the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis has been accepted for publication in Analytical Chemistry.
November
Dr. John Lin’s article “Effect of Chromium Doping on Electrochemical Water Oxidation Activity by Co3-xCrxO4 Spinel Catalysts” has been accepted for publication in ACS Catalysis. Congrats John!
September
We welcome rotation student Samuel Michaud (B.S. UMass Amherst)! We also welcome University of Michigan Undergraduate researcher Sai Sivakumar!
July
Our lab has been officially certified as sustainable lab by the UM Office of Campus Sustainability with a rating of “Gold.”
Yingshuo Liu has officially joined the group as a Ph.D. student. Congratulations!
June
We welcome rotation students Bobby Bonsall (B.S. Penn State) and Quintin Cheek (B.S. Wayne State)!
May
Jeremy Kallick, Kwan Leung, and Weixuan Nie have officially joined the group as Ph.D. students. Congratulations! We also welcome rotation student Yingshuo Liu.
April
Congratulations to our undergraduate researchers for earning summer research awards! Teresa Kwapisz was awarded a James E. Harris scholarship, Jeremy Meeder was awarded a SURP fellowship, and Jonathon Sohn was awarded a UMEI UROP fellowship.
March
Dr. Wesley Kramer’s article “Polymer Coordination Promotes Selective CO2 Reduction by Cobalt Phthalocyanine” has been selected as a cover article in Chemical Science. Congrats Wes!
January
We welcome rotation students Kwan Leung (B.S. Ohio State) and Andy Brehaus-Alvarez (B.S. Western Washington)! We also welcome back Weixuan Nie (M.Sc. Nanjing University) for a second rotation!
2015
October
We welcome University of Michigan undergraduate researchers Teresa Kwapisz and Jeremy Meeder!
September
Dr. Chia-Cheng (John) Lin joins the group as a postdoctoral scholar. John earned his Ph.D. from Iowa State University, where he worked with Prof. Javier Vela studying “Functional Silica-encapsulated Photoactive Nanocrystals.”
We welcome rotation students Weixuan Nie (M.Sc. Nanjing University) and Jeremy Kallick (B.A. Occidental College)!