Postdoctoral Scholars
Dr. Venkatesh Piradi
Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Texas at Austin (2023-Present)
Former Post-Doctoral Scholar, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (2020-2022)
Ph.D. Chemistry, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong (2016-2019)
M.Sc. Organic Chemistry, Andhra University, India (2011)
B.Sc. Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, Andhra University, India (2009)
Dr. Samuel Emslie
Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Texas at Austin (2025-Present)
Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin (2020-2025)
M.Sc. Chemistry, the University of Sheffield, England (2020)
Graduate Students
Carolina Vigil Hernandez
Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin (2020-present)
carolina.vigil.hernandez@utexas.edu
Carolina is from Spain, and attended University College London for her undergraduate studies (M.Sc. Chemistry, 2020). She joined the Humphrey group in the Fall of 2020, and has since been working on synthesizing trimetallic nanoparticles and metal oxide supports for catalytic applications. She is very passionate about lab safety, enjoys dancing, and playing golf.
Nicolas D’Annunzio
Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin (2021-present)
Nicolas D’Annunzio became a member of the Humphrey group in 2021 and joined the nano sub group. As a member of the Humphrey group, Nick is exploring the synthesis, characterization, and catalytic applications of multimetallic nanoparticles as well as researching unique structures in hopes of enhancing catalytic activity of his particles. Before enrolling at UT, Nick obtained his B.S in Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh (2019) and worked as a Post Bachelor’s Research Associate at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (2019-2021). Outside of the lab Nick enjoys watching films, staying active, and exploring the many restaurants Austin has to offer.
Joseph Willoughby
Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin (2021-present)
Joseph is a proud Marylander who previously worked with apples and peaches in a fruit research lab at the University of Maryland in College Park while studying both chemistry and criminal justice/criminology. He joined the Humphrey Group in the Fall of 2021 where he has been working on MOFs ever since, specifically asymmetric phosphine MOFs. Being the epitome of a geek and proud, Joseph loves history, board games, video games, books, Dungeons and Dragons, and is an avid sports enthusiast, all to the detriment of anyone willfully (or not) listening to him. His goal in life is to find the perfect chocolate milk.
Irfan Arif
Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (2022-present)
Irfan is from Kanpur in India. He has done his bachelors and masters in Chemical Engineering from IIT BHU Varanasi (2017) and IIT Bombay (2019), respectively. After his studies, he worked for Indian Oil R&D for 3 years before joining UT Austin as a graduate student. He joined the Humphrey Group in the fall of 2022 and is working on the synthesis of nanoparticles and mesoporous supports for methane activation reaction. Outside of the lab, he likes to explore the city of Austin, cook food and follow various sports.
Chentao Fang
Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin (2023-present)
Chentao is originally from Quzhou, Zhejiang and he received his B.S. in Material Chemistry from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2021. From 2021-2023, he served as a research assistant in USTC focusing using MOFs to catalyze CO2 conversion. Now, Chentao hopes to synthesize new ligands and MOFs with fancy structures and applications to help with the real world. Outside of research, he enjoys fishing so much.
Austin Engstrom
Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin (2023-present)
Austin grew up in Seattle and attended the University of Washington, Seattle, where he graduated with a BS in Chemistry in Spring 2023. While there, he was an undergraduate researcher in the Cossairt lab, where he researched InP magic-size clusters. Once at UT, he joined the Humphrey lab in Fall 2023, where he synthesizes metal alloy nanoparticles for catalysis. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, impulsively creating spreadsheets about random things, and writing a novel.
Jamie Chin
Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin (2025-present)
Jamie Chin is originally from the greater Seattle area and earned her undergraduate degree at Chapman University in Orange County, California. During her undergraduate studies, she pursued a diverse range of research experiences, including enzyme studies of chlorogenic acid in sunflower flour cookies at Chapman University, investigations of biomass pyrolysis for sustainable energy production in Stockholm, Sweden, and an MRSEC-REU at the University of Washington, where she conducted air-free synthesis of ZnO nanorods. Outside of the lab, Jamie enjoys playing water polo and shopping at Costco.
Undergraduate Students
Emma Faye Warren
Chemistry, Expected 202X
Taylor Tran
Chemistry, Expected 202X
Ikechi U Onyekwere
Chemistry, Expected 202X
Visiting Students
Younghu Son (2025)
Younghu Son is a Ph.D. student in Chemistry at Kyungpook National University, Republic of Korea. His research focuses on designing and synthesizing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with enhanced proton conductivity, gas separation, and electrochemical properties. Using techniques like neutron scattering and X-ray diffraction, he investigates proton transport and adsorption behaviors in MOFs. In spring 2025, he joined the Humphrey group with support from the BK21 program scholarship. His work explores developing multi-metallic alloy catalysts on MOF supports for energy and environmental applications. In his free time, he enjoys running and watching Netflix.