Principle Investigator
Sean T. Roberts
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin, 2014-present

Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Southern California, 2010-2013
(with Prof. Stephen E. Bradforth & Alexander V. Benderskii)

PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010
(with Prof. Andrei Tokmakoff)

BS, University of California Los Angeles, 2003
(with Prof. Benjamin J. Schwartz)

Sean's CV
Contact Information

Office: Welch Hall 3.120B (map)
Phone: (512) 475-9450 
Email: roberts@cm.utexas.edu

Mailing Address:
105 E. 24th St. Stop A5300
Austin, TX 78712-1224
Graduate Students
Michael Azzaro
Email: azzaro.m@utexas.edu

BS, State University of New York at Geneseo, 2013

Mike was born and raised in Schenectady, New York.  He earned a BS in Chemistry from the State University of New York at Geneseo, where he studied luminescent properties of PbSe quantum dots under Dr. Jeffrey Peterson. Mike joined the Roberts group in the Fall of 2013, where he studies the effect of surface chemistry on the optical and electronic properties of semiconductor quantum dots using ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy. Outside the lab his interests include playing his guitar, and going to shows.
Aaron Le
Email: aaron.k.le@utexas.edu

BS, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 2013

Aaron Le was born and grew up in eastern Pennsylvania.  Aaron received his BS in Chemistry from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, where he studied artificial peptide synthesis under Dr. Lauren Levine. He now works for Dr. Sean Roberts, where he researches singlet fission in thin films using femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy. Outside of the lab, his interests and hobbies include live music, cooking, and the continual search for the perfect cup of coffee.
Aaron Moon
Email: apmoon@utexas.edu

BS, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013

Aaron P. Moon grew up in Carrollton, GA. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology where he attained a BS in Chemistry, and studied ion trapping in the lab of Dr. Ken Brown. He is now working on obtaining his PhD at the University of Texas at Austin in the lab of Dr. Sean Roberts, where he researches charge transfer states in OPV’s through the use of sum frequency generation. In his off time he enjoys spending time with his wife, playing games of all types, reading, and listening to music.
Jon A. Bender
Email: jonbender@utexas.edu | Website: jonabender.xyz

BS, Loyola University Chicago, 2014

Jon received his BS in Chemistry and Mathematics from Loyola University Chicago. He worked with Al Herlinger and Dan Killelea, studying the synthesis of polyamino carboxylic acid ligands for Lanthanide/Actinide separations and atomic subsurface species on transition metal surfaces with UHV-STM, respectively. In the Roberts Group, Jon is studies singlet fission in perylenediimide thin films and hybrid organic-inorganic triplet exciton transfer with material characterization, ultrafast spectroscopic techniques, and theoretical approaches. In his free time, Jon performs improvisational comedy and can't settle on a single hobby otherwise.
Michelle Blemker
Email: mblemker@utexas.edu

BS, Loyola Marymount University, 2014

Michelle was born and raised in Camarillo, California, and completed her undergraduate education at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, receiving a B.S. in Chemistry. Her research there focused on organic synthesis and characterization of guanine quadruplexes. After graduation, she worked at the biopharmaceutical company Amgen Inc. for one year as an Associate Scientist, where her projects focused on long-term antibody stability studies. Currently, she works under Sean Roberts at the University of Texas at Austin. Outside of lab, Michelle enjoys being active and outdoors, including yoga and hiking, as well as reading and socializing with friends.
Daniel Cotton
Email: decotton@utexas.edu

BS, Washington University, St. Louis, 2016

Daniel (Danny) Cotton was raised up and down the California coast. While studying at Washington University, St. Louis, he worked under Dr. Julio D’Arcy developing processing methods for conductive organics for use in electrochemical capacitors. Danny joined the Roberts group in 2016, and is working understanding the electronic structure of thin film organic chromophores via sum frequency generation and related spectroscopies. When not in lab, Danny enjoys camping, reading, music, and trying new things with friends.
Emily Raulerson
Email: eraulerson@utexas.edu

BS, Florida State University, 2016

Emily was born and raised in Okeechobee, Florida. She received BS degrees in Chemistry and in Applied Mathematics from Florida State University. Emily joined the Roberts lab in the fall of 2016 at the University of Texas at Austin. Her extracurricular pursuits include reading, biking, and camping.
Brittany Pollok (Joint with Rose Group)
Email: brpollok@utexas.edu

BS, Texas Lutheran University, 2018

Brittany is from Seguin, Texas. She received a BS degree in chemistry from Texas Lutheran University. Brittany joined the Roberts group in the fall of 2018. Outside of lab she enjoys hiking and swimming.
Honghao Wang
Email: hhwang@utexas.edu

BS, University of Arizona, 2018

Honghao was born and raised in Shenyang, China. He received a BS in chemistry from the University of Arizona, where he studied Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy with Dr. Stephen Kukolich. He joined the Roberts lab in fall 2018. In his spare time, he enjoys road trips, watching Sci-Fi movies and eSports games.
Undergraduate Students
Inki Lee

Inki was raised in Denton, TX and is currently in the process of getting a BS in chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. In the Roberts group, Inki is currently working on optimizing quantum dots to be used for nanocrystal to organic exciton transfer. Outside of school and lab, Inki enjoys listening to many different types of music, playing games, and exploring the city.
                                                                        

Annie Zhang (Joint with Webb Group)

Annie grew up in College Station, Texas, and is a second-year chemistry student minoring in science communications. She joined the Roberts group in the spring of 2018, and is currently working with the Webb group to map out the excited states of photoactivatable green fluorescent proteins. In her free time, she enjoys baking desserts, bouldering and looking for good taco spots around Austin.
                                                                        


Group Alumni - Postdoctoral Scholars
Ravindra Pandey (Fall 2014 - Spring 2017)
Email: rpandey.fcy@iitr.ac.in
Currently an Assistant Professor at IIT Roorkee
Group Alumni - Graduate Students
Atlantis Frost (Fall 2016 - Fall 2017)
Group Alumni - Undergraduates
Mark Babin (Spring 2014 - Summer 2016)
Email: markcbabin@berkeley.edu
Currently Pursuing a PhD in Chemistry at UC Berkeley

Mirna Gonzalez (Fall 2015 - Fall 2016)

John Gao (Spring 2016 - Fall 2016)

Jacob Anderson (Fall 2016)

Zachary Tobin (Fall 2016)
Currently Pursuing a PhD in Chemistry at Texas A&M

Diana Zhang (Fall 2016 - Spring 2017)

Brooks Clingman (Fall 2016 - Spring 2017)

Benny Renard (Fall 2015 - Fall 2017)

Jim Hall (April 2018 - August 2018)

Mitchell Haecker (GREAT: Summer 2017)

Adam Peasley (GREAT: Summer 2018)
Group Alumni - Welch Summer Scholars
Kelby Erickson (Summer 2015)
Currently pursing a BS degree at UT Austin

Lauren Dossett (Summer 2016)
Currently pursuing a BS degree at MIT

Abhilash Potluri (Summer 2017)

Benjamin Li (Summer 2018)
Currently pursuing a BS degree at UT Austin