News

The Gagliardi Group came together in high spirits for a lively and memorable holiday celebration, embracing the excitement and joy that define this festive time of year. This year’s event featured a catered dinner showcasing A Taste of Italy at Your Table menu, along with a spirited Secret Santa gift exchange that kept everyone laughing and engaged.

The night was all about enjoying each other’s company: sharing stories, discovering the surprises behind each gift, and simply having a great time together. With plenty of fun moments and a fantastic meal, the gathering offered a chance for everyone to unwind and connect in a relaxed, upbeat setting.

Looking ahead, the Gagliardi Group is energized by the momentum of 2025 and the strong sense of teamwork that continues to grow within the group. Celebrations like this highlight the importance of coming together, appreciating one another, and carrying that positive spirit into the year to come.

Here’s to a wonderful holiday season and a bright year ahead!

We are excited to welcome Dr. Eun Mi Kim and Dr. Arpan Choudhury as the newest postdoctoral researchers joining the Gagliardi Group.

Eun Mi recently completed her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Penn State University, where her work integrated advanced computational methods with molecular-scale design. She also earned an M.S. in Chemistry (2019) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering (2017) from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), reflecting her strong interdisciplinary training across chemistry and engineering.

Arpan joins us after completing his Ph.D. in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, where he focused on developing and applying electronic structure methods. His academic background includes an M.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Hyderabad (2018) and a B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Calcutta (2016), marking a steady progression toward expertise in theoretical chemistry.

Both Eun Mi and Arpan bring deep computational experience, diverse scientific perspectives, and enthusiasm for tackling challenging problems in chemical research. We are thrilled to have them on board and look forward to the contributions they will make to our community.

We are delighted to share that Dr. Hilal Daglar will be joining UL Research Institutes as she embarks on the next chapter of her professional journey. This new role is a testament to Hilal’s dedication, expertise, and the enthusiasm she has brought to her research and collaborations during her time with us.

We recently came together to celebrate Hilal’s accomplishments and to wish her well in this exciting new endeavor. It was a moving occasion, an opportunity to reflect on her many contributions, her thoughtful approach to science, and the positive spirit she brought to every project and discussion.

Hilal’s transition to UL Research Institutes marks a wonderful step forward, and while we will greatly miss her presence and insight, we are eager to see the impact she will continue to make in her new role.

Congratulations, Hilal! Best of luck as you take on this exciting next adventure!

We are thrilled to congratulate Helen and Younghwan on successfully passing their candidacy exams. Their commitment and effort have led to this well-earned achievement.

Best wishes to both as they continue making great strides in their research!

We’re thrilled to celebrate the success of the 2025 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Catalysts and Advanced Materials for Environmental Solutions (SURF-CAMES) symposium!

This year’s fellows — Azeem Currah (Anderson group), Eva Devlin (Wuttig group), Caroline Hou (Wuttig group), Maya Martinez (Gagliardi group), Srimaye Peddinti (Anderson group), and Ashok Tate (Wuttig group) — shared their outstanding research with the community, marking an exciting conclusion to the first year of this summer program.

A special thank you to their mentors, who supported and guided these talented students throughout the summer — and joined them in the celebration (pictured).

We’re incredibly proud of our SURF-CAMES fellows and look forward to seeing their continued growth and contributions to science.

Graduate student Joanna Wang led a hands-on tutorial for first-year graduate students on performing quantum chemistry calculations using a quantum computer.

We are proud to share that Dr. Lac Ha Nguyen will be joining Tennessee Tech University as an Assistant Professor of Inorganic Chemistry this fall.  This new role is a well-earned step forward, and we’re excited to see where this path leads him.

Lac Ha has been a steady and thoughtful presence in the Gagliardi Group—bringing clarity to complex problems, a deep commitment to his work, and a drive that consistently moved projects ahead.  Whether tackling challenging research questions or supporting those around him, he led by example and made a real mark on the group’s culture and progress.

As he takes this next step into a faculty position, we have no doubt he will bring the same care, curiosity, and integrity to his teaching and research.  His future students and colleagues are lucky to have him.

Thank you, Lac Ha, for everything you have contributed.  We will miss you—and we look forward to seeing all that you accomplish in this next chapter.  Congratulations!

We also took the opportunity to celebrate another exciting milestone: the publication of Younghwan Kim’s first paper—congratulations, Younghwan!

The Gagliardi Group and the inaugural SURF-CAMES (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Catalysts and Advanced Materials for Environmental Solutions) fellows came together for a summer outing aboard the First Lady Chicago Architecture Tour.

The event offered a relaxed setting for students, researchers, and principal investigators to connect, enjoy the city’s architectural beauty, and strengthen community ties beyond the lab.  It was a meaningful opportunity to foster new relationships and celebrate the spirit of collaborative science.

We’re excited to announce that Dr. Ruhee D’Cunha will be joining Millikin University in Decatur, IL, as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry this August.  This opportunity marks a new chapter in her career and reflects the dedication, talent, and enthusiasm she brought to her work during her time with us.

Last week, we came together to celebrate Ruhee’s accomplishments and send her off with a warm and heartfelt farewell.  It was a chance to reflect on her many contributions to the group—her thoughtful approach to science, her supportive presence, and the curiosity she brought to every discussion.

Ruhee’s transition to a faculty position is an exciting and well-earned milestone.  While we’ll certainly miss having her around, we look forward to seeing the great things she’ll do in her new role.

Congratulations again, Ruhee—and best of luck on this next adventure!

The Gagliardi Group is excited to welcome six first-year graduate students for summer research rotations.  Throughout the summer, the students will work closely with mentors in the group to explore cutting-edge topics in theoretical chemistry and develop valuable research skills.

The students and their mentors are:

• Yi Deng, mentored by Dr. Matthew Hermes

• Aidan Lindsay, mentored by Aniruddha Seal

• Jeffrey Peralta Tejada, mentored by Bhavnesh Jangid

• Kevin Rapp, mentored by Shreya Verma

• Whitney Short, mentored by Joanna Wang

• Tim Strang, mentored by Aniruddha Seal & Shreya Verma

We’re thrilled to have them join us and look forward to a productive and inspiring summer!

Members of the Gagliardi Group, including Bhavnesh Jangid, Joshua Zhou, Valay Agarawal, and Jacob Wardzala, have won the AI+Science Hackathon Challenge. This challenge focused on characterizing materials using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). To tackle the problem, they employed quantum chemistry–motivated descriptors to train a message-passing neural network (MPNN), enabling the prediction of core-binding energies with sub-eV accuracy compared to experimental values.

For more details, check out the full news coverage here

Please join us in congratulating our newest Ph.D.!  Matthew’s hard work, creativity, and commitment to science have led him to this exciting achievement.  In July, he will take the next step in his journey as a Quantum Solutions Computational Chemist at PsiQuantum in Palo Alto, California, where he will contribute to advancing quantum technologies for chemical innovation.

Congratulations, Dr. Hennefarth!

It is with great joy that we celebrate Dr. Matthew Hennefarth for his successful PhD defense in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Chicago on June 6, 2025!

Matthew’s dissertation, “Linearized Pair-Density Functional Theory”, introduces a new approach to electronic structure theory.  He developed the method from the ground up, designing the theoretical framework, implementing it in code, and applying it to explore excited-state reactions and dynamics.

Next month, Dr. Hennefarth will begin an exciting new chapter as a Quantum Solutions Computational Chemist at PsiQuantum in Palo Alto, California, where he will help advance the frontier of quantum technologies for real-world chemical applications.

Congratulations, Dr. Hennefarth!  We’re excited to see the amazing impact your work will make in the future!

We are thrilled to congratulate Dr. Arturo Sauza de la Vega on the successful defense of his PhD thesis, “Multireference Studies of Transition Metal and Actinide Containing Molecular Systems”, at the University of Chicago’s Department of Chemistry.  Arturo defended his dissertation on June 5, 2025, presenting a seminar that showcased his innovative work on multiconfiguration pair-density functional theory and its application to molecular qubits.

Next, Arturo will join the University of Iowa as a postdoctoral scholar in the research group of Professor Bess Vlaisavljevich, where he will focus on actinide-containing molecular systems using relativistic four-component computational methods.

Congratulations once again, Dr. Sauza de la Vega!  We are excited to see where your research leads next!