Group Members

Natia L. Frank

Associate Professor of Chemistry

B.A. Bard College, Chemistry
PhD – University of California, San Diego (Jay Siegel, Organic Chemistry)
CNRS Postdoc – University of Bordeaux/ICMCB CNRS Institute (Olivier Kahn, Magnetism)
NIH Postdoc – Caltech (Tom Meade/Harry Gray, Electron Transfer in DNA)
Assistant Professor, University of Washington, Seattle
Canada Research Chair and Assoc. Prof., Chemistry, University of Victoria
Associate Professor, Chemistry, University of Nevada, Reno

Contact:

Email: nfrank@unr.edu, Phone: (775) 784-4857

Frank Group in Spring 2023

Frank Group March 2023 in front of the beautiful art show by Linda Alterwitz “Self Without Interpretation” at the John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art, University of Nevada, Reno.

Current Group Members

Victor Achulonu, Ph.D. Student

Victor was born and raised in Abia State, Nigeria though he hails from Umuolu Emii in Imo State, Nigeria. He acquired his B.S. and M.Sc. in chemistry at the Abia State University, Uturu. He enjoys music.

Devon Adecer, Ph. D. Student

Devon was raised in Las Vegas, originally form the Philippines, and completed his B.Sc. in chemistry from University of Nevada, Reno and is currently investigating structure-function relationships in photochromic ligands for QIS.

Nuvraj Bilkhu, Ph. D. Student

Nuvraj was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Reno. She graduated with her Masters in Physics at the University of Nevada Reno and is currently pursuing a PhD in Chemical Physics studying MRI agents and biosensors. Some of her hobbies include dancing (ballet, zumba, etc.), traveling, watching documentaries and spending time with family and friends.

Gilbert Ganschow, Ph. D.

Gilbert was born in Grapevine, Texas, and grew up in Las Vegas. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Organic Chemistry studying Organic Electrode Materials and Fully Organic Radical Battery Systems. Some of his hobbies include working on Subaru’s, going on road trips, cooking/baking, and taking things apart and putting them back together.

Dr. Subrata Ghosh, Postdoctoral Fellow

Subrata hails from India, and is currently working on the QIS project.

Chinedu Osunkwo, Ph. D. Student

Chinedu hails from Nigeria and is investigating the effect of metal structure on photochromic properties for QIS.

Kingsley Oyenwe, Ph. D. Student

Kingsley was born in Nigeria. He received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Nigeria. His research interests revolve around functional materials, and is currently working on organic radical batteries. Mostly, he spends time in the park strolling on cool evenings or connecting with friends.

Prakash Rimal, Ph. D. Student

Prakash hails from the Nepal and was born and raised in Lamjung, Nepal. He graduated from Tribhuvan University in 2015 with a B.Sc. in Chemistry and an M.Sc. in 2019. where he studied antimicrobial activity of Cheilanthes bicolor at Tribhuvan University under the supervision of Professor Meena Raj Bhandari. Prakash is conducting research on organic radical batteries at the University of Nevada, Reno. Prakash enjoys hiking and traveling through the trails of Nevada and California in his spare time.

Harini Wimalasekers, Ph. D. Student

Harini was born and raised in Sri Lanka. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon, Sri lanka. During her undergraduate studies, she worked in the lab of Professor P. A Paranagama. At UNR, she is currently pursuing her PhD in optically gated materials for quantum information science. In her free time, she likes to practise the violin.