Previous Rotation Students
2021-2022
Callum Hudson
May 2022 - August 2022
2021 MRes Marine Biology, University of Plymouth, UK
2020 BA Biological Sciences, Wadham College, University of Oxford, UK
Callum completed his Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Oxford, before graduating from the University of Plymouth with an MRes degree in Marine Biology. During his Master’s, Callum researched the impacts of ocean acidification on the structure and stability of marine communities following typhoon disturbance, utilising underwater CO2 seeps as natural analogues for future ocean conditions. Having joined OIST in May 2022, Callum is now undertaking his first rotation within the pi-Conjugated Polymers Unit. Using spectroscopic techniques (Raman and FTIR), Callum hopes to characterise the abundance, identity, and impacts of microplastics in sea water samples and lab-raised organisms collected in and around multiple Japanese marine research stations.
I am an avid surfer, diver, and karaoke-er, making Okinawa the perfect place for me!
E-mail: callum.hudson [at] oist.jp
Daniel Gutierrez Del Rio
May 2022 - August 2022
2022 MEng Materials Science, University of Tsukuba, Japan
2017 BSc Chemistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico
My background is in chemistry, science education, and materials science. I obtained my bachelor's degree in chemistry from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. During my undergraduate research I developed novel electrolyte materials for solid oxide fuel cells. Then, I worked as a chemistry teacher for two years at both highschool and undergraduate levels. In 2019 I obtained a Japanese Government MEXT scholarship for graduate studies at the University of Tsukuba. During this period I conducted my Master's research in the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), studying nanostructured thermoelectrics and conductive polymer hybrid thermoelectrics.
At OIST I will be developing smart-polymer materials for biosensing applications.
E-mail: Daniel.Gutierrez [at] oist.jp
Nivedha Velmurugan
January 2022 - April 2022
I received my MSc degree in the year 2019 from Stella Maris College, Chennai, India. My dissertation work was centered on the preparation of a Ru-based catalyst for the dehydrogenation of formic acid and bimetallic nanocatalysts in different compositions for the biomass conversion of furfural.
Joining as a PhD student at OIST in Jan 2022, my first lab rotation is with Prof. Christine Luscombe. A vast library of semiconducting polymers, owing to their crucial application in optoelectronics, has been synthesized in the recent decade using various conventional coupling methods- that often requires many synthetic steps and relies on stoichiometric amounts of toxic metallic reagents. Direct arylation polymerization, one of the more atom-efficient methods, is implemented to tackle the aforementioned drawbacks. My rotation work would focus on studying the Green DArP methods to synthesize pi-conjugated semiconducting polymers, specifically, transition metal-free, oxidant free and room temperature DArP.
Academia aside, I enjoy writing movie reviews and reading fiction and always tend to keep my metaphorical invisibility cloak on.