Faculty
Xiaofeng Guo, PhD
Associate Professor in Chemistry
Founding Member of Alexandra Navrotsky Institute for Experimental Thermodynamics
Faculty of Materials Science & Engineering
Affiliate Faculty of School of the Environment, School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and Institute of Materials Research
Ph.D. (Chemistry) University of California, Davis, 2014
B.S. (Physics) Sun Yat-sen University, China, 2010
Email: x.guo@wsu.edu | Phone: 509-335-7439 | Office: Fulmer 630A | CV: link
Graduate Students
Juejing Liu
Joined the lab in May 2020
B.S. (Polymer Materials) Guangdong University of Technology, 2012
M.S. (Materials Engineering) Guangdong University of Technology, 2015
Email: juejing.liu@wsu.edu | Office: 643 | PNNL intern
Research: Degradation of UO2 under extreme conditions
Technique in charge: Calphad and machine learning
Hope Lackey
Joined the lab in April 2021, co-chair with Dr. Amanda Lines, PNNL
B.S. (Environmental Studies) The College of Idaho, 2018
Email: hope.lackey@wsu.edu | Office: PNNL | PNNL scientist
Research: Optical spectroscopic on-line monitoring in the nuclear fuel cycle
Technique in charge: Optical spectroscopy and chemometric modelling
Jonathan Evarts
Joined the lab in September 2021, co-chair with Prof. John McCloy
B.S. (MSE) Ohio State University, 2006
M.S. (MSE) Ohio State University, 2008
Nuclear engineer at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (12 yrs)
Email: jonathan.evarts@wsu.edu | Office: Dana 44/PNNL | PNNL scientist
Research: Trillium production and glass waste form
Technique in charge: XAFS
Bryn Merrill
Joined the lab in May 2022
B.S. (Chemistry) Chapman University, 2020
Email: bryn.merrill@wsu.edu | Office: 630 | DGRP student
Research: Molten actinide chloride salt thermochemistry
Technique in charge: Calorimetry
Emma Carlsen Kindall
Joined the lab in August 2022
B.S. (Chemistry) Brigham Young University, 2021
Email: emma.carlsen@wsu.edu | Office: 630 | NEUP fellow
Research: Thermodynamics of non-oxide fuels and fission products in ceramics
Technique in charge: XRD and high pressure
Shinhyo Bang
Joined the lab in December 2022
B.S. (Nuclear Engineering) Seoul National University, 2021
Email: shinhyo.bang@wsu.edu | Office: Fulmer 630 | NRT scholar
Research: Thermodynamics of solid-state actinides under extreme conditions
Technique in charge: high pressure, spectroscopy
Natalie Yaw
Joined the lab in December 2022
B.S. (Chemistry) University of Chicago, 2019
Email: natalie.yaw@wsu.edu | Office: Fulmer 630 | NEUP fellow
Research: Nuclear waste forms and fuel cycle separation
Technique in charge: Synthesis and ligand design, solubility
Rachael Bergman
Joined the lab in December 2022
B.S. (Chemistry) Washington State University, 2020
B.S. (Biochemistry) Washington State University, 2020
Email: rachael.bergman@wsu.edu | Office: Fulmer 630
Research: Biomineralization and remediation
Technique in charge: Radiochemistry
Kenita Dahal
Joined the lab in April 2023
M.S. (Chemistry) Wichita State University, 2021
Email: kenita.dahal@wsu.edu | Office: Fulmer 630
Research: REE ceramics and waste forms
Technique in charge: Radiochemistry and Analytical
Hannah Hallikainen
Joined the lab in May 2023, co-chair with Prof. Cornelius Ivory
B.S. (Chemical Engineering) Arizona State University, 2019
Email: hannah.hallikainen@wsu.edu | Office: Wegner 251, Fulmer 630
Research: Lanthanide and actinide separations
Technique in charge: Electrophoresis, gamma spectroscopy
Clare Riley
Joined the lab in August 2023
B.S. (Chemistry, second in Vocal Performance) Pacific University, 2023
Email: clare.riley@wsu.edu | Office: Fulmer 630 | NRT
Research: Lanthanide and actinide ceramics and minerals
Technique in charge: TBD
Henry Anderson
Joined the lab in August 2023
B.S. (Chemistry) University of California, Davis, 2021
Email: henry.a.anderson@wsu.edu | Office: Fulmer 643 | NSIP intern
Research: High entropy alloys
Technique in charge: RUS
Undergraduate Students
Savannah Kahl
Joined the lab in August 2022
Senior in Biochemistry expected to graduate in Spring 2025
Email: savannah.kahl@wsu.edu | Office: TBD
Research: REE phosphate synthesis
Deven Biehler
Joined the lab in May 2023
Senior in Computer Science expected to graduate in Fall 2023
Email: deven.biehler@wsu.edu | Office: Remote
Research: ML on data
Haridhar Pulivarthy
Joined the lab in May 2023
Senior in Computer Science expected to graduate in Spring 2024
Email: haridhar.pulivarthy@wsu.edu | Office: Remote
Research: ML and thermodynamic database
Arthur Jia
Joined the lab in August 2023
Senior in Psychology expected to graduate Fall 2023
Email: yiyuan.jia@wsu.edu | Office: TBD
Research: Molten salt waste
Yecenia Cortez
Joined the lab in August 2023
Sophomore in Chemistry expected to graduate in Fall 2025
Email: yecenia.cortez@wsu.edu | Office: TBD
Research: Synthesizing and characterizing rare earth elements and ceramics with applications for nuclear fuels
Olivia Bahhage
Joined the lab in August 2023
Junior in Theoretical Mathematics expected to graduate Fall 2024
Email: olivia.bahhage@wsu.edu | Office: TBD
Research: REE phosphate synthesis, solubility and thermodynamics
Bhargav Iyer
Joined the lab in October 2023
Sophomore in Biology expected to graduate Fall 2025
Email: bhargav.iyer@wsu.edu | Office: TBD
Research: Molten salt thermochemistry and salt dehalogenation
Visiting Scholars
Gabriel Oliveira
Joined the lab in May 2023
B.S. (Materials Technology) FATEC/SP
M.S. (Nuclear Technology – Materials) University of São Paulo
Email: gabriel.oliveira@wsu.edu | Office: Fulmer 630
Research: Synthesis and Characterization of doped TiO2 microspheres