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Damien Guironnet - professor of chemical and bimolecular engineering

Damien Guironnet

Professeur

guironne@illinois.edu

  • 2025-Present | Professor
    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • 2021-2025 | Associate Professor
    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • 2014-2021 | Assistant Professor
    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • 2011-2014 | Senior Research Scientist
    BASF Corporation - Charlotte, NC
  • 2009-2011 | CENTC Postdoctoral Fellow
    The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, NC
  • 2005-2009 | Ph.D. in Chemistry, Summa Cum Laude
    Universitat Konstanz - Germany
    Research advisor: Prof. Stefan Mecking
  • 2001-2005 | MS in Chemical Engineering
    Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Mulhouse - France

Graduate Students

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Jerry Rong

5th Year ChBE Graduate Student

yrong6@illinois.edu

Education

BS in Chemical Engineering (2017-2021)

University of Colorado - Boulder, CO

Research

My research is to incorporate bottlebrush polymer channels in membranes.

Hobbies

I love playing the piano and bartending. 

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Kaitlyn Wiegand

5th Year Chemistry Graduate Student

kwiegand@illinois.edu

Education

BS in Chemistry (2019-2021)

Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, IL

Research

My research is focused towards making shaped bottlebrush polymers dispersed in water for potential nanomedicine applications.

Hobbies

I enjoy baking, arts and crafts, and music. I especially enjoy learning new skills in all these areas, like learning how to bake new pastries or playing new songs on the piano.

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Michael Taleff

4th Year ChBE Graduate Student

mtaleff2@illinois.edu

Education

BS in Chemical Engineering (2018-2022)

BS in Chemistry (2018-2022)

University of Texas - Austin, TX

Research

I am investigating the termination rates in fast initiation polymerizations.

Hobbies

I like to ride my bike and play volleyball. Whenever I am feeling less energetic, I play video games or get stuck customizing Emacs.

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Joanna Vo

3rd Year Chemistry Graduate Student

jnvo2@illinois.edu

Education

BS in Chemistry (2019-2023)

University of Texas at Dallas - Dallas, TX

Research

My research focuses on the synthesis of bottlebrush polymers with an emphasis on photonics.

Hobbies

I enjoy playing flag football, attempting to ice skate, crocheting, exploring new places, and spending time with friends and family.

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Elizabeth Vrana

2nd Year Chemistry Graduate Student

evrana2@illinois.edu

Education

BS in Chemistry (2020-2024)

The Ohio State University - Columbus, OH

Research

My research focuses on the synthesis of shape-controlled diblock bottlebrush copolymers.

Hobbies

I love running, hiking, and anything outdoorsy. I also love reading a good book cuddled up with my cats, knitting, and hanging out with my friends!

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Kyle Kirkendall-Jones

2nd Year ChBE Graduate Student

kylek6@illinois.edu

Education

BS in Chemical Engineering (2019-2023)

BS in Chemistry (2019-2023)

University of Wisconsin - Madison - Madison, WI

Research

My research focuses on the exploration of autocatalytic chemistry and its uses in chemically induced frontal polymerization.

Hobbies

My favorite pastimes are being active such as working out and when the weather permits, I love training and racing in triathlons. When I'm not being active I love watching movies and reading.

Undergraduate Students

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Dareall Acheampong

3rd Year Undergraduate Student in ChBE

dache2@illinois.edu

Mentor: Damien Guironnet

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Edgar Dobra

2nd Year Undergraduate Student in ChBE

edobra2@illinois.edu

Mentor: Damien Guironnet

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Celia Colucci

2nd Year Undergraduate Student in ChBE

celiciasc2@illinois.edu

Mentor: Kaitlyn Wiegand

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Kael Schwarckopf

 2nd Year Undergraduate Student in ChBE

kaelds2@illinois.edu

Mentor: Michael Taleff

Alumni

  • Camille Boucher-Jacobs ('19)- Solugen

  • Muhammad Rabnawaz ('17)- Associate professor at Michigan State University

  • Scott Hicks ('15)- University of Rochester

  • Alfons Pineda-Knauseder ('25)

  • Keelee McCleary-Petersen ('25)- Air Force Research Laboratory

  • Vanessa DaSilva ('25)- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation

  • Yash Kamble ('24)- Postdoc at Texas A&M University (Hsiao Lab)

  • Susannah Miller ('23)- EcoLab

  • Brian VanDyke (Masters '22)- Crystal Pharmatech

  • Nicholas Wang ('22)- Braskem

  • Danielle Harrier ('22)- Exponent

  • Alexander Horn ('21)- 3M

  • Tianwei Yan ('21)- Postdoc at University of Delaware (Epps/Korley Lab)

  • Dylan Walsh ('20)- Postdoc at MIT (Jensen/Olsen Lab)

  • Micheal Hyatt ('20)- Postdoc at University of Minnesota (Mahanthappa/Bates Lab)

  • Jaimie Kurtz (Masters '18)- University of Illinois (College of Education)

  • Carl Schultz ('21)- Boston start-up

  • Marjorie Bridgewater ('21)- JPL National Lab

  • Lingze Wei (Masters '17)- Graduate student at Stanford University

  • Yating Feng

  • Ava Chen

  • Jay Lim

  • David Yang

  • Devin Schinski

  • Thomas Johnston

  • Bugra Sahin

  • Robert Schneider

  • Muneeb Ansari

  • Mikaela Dressendorfer

  • Kristen Lee

  • Pak Wing Chen

  • Chengling Qiu

  • Bryan Scheulin

  • SiiHong (Will) Lau

  • Regev Trigalo

  • Tola Okesanjo

  • Eric Su

  • Yasheen Jadidi

  • Evan Richter

  • Michael Kubacki

  • David Braker

  • Joseph Schlude

  • Brett Llewellyn

  • Rahul Gogia

*Please contact Michael Taleff (mtaleff2@illinois.edu) to update your information*