Tong Ren
Tong received his B.S. (1981, Nanjing Forestry University) and M.S. (1984, Jilin University) in chemistry in China, and his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Texas A&M University under the supervision of late F. Al Cotton (1990). He held postdoctoral appointments at Texas A&M with Cotton (1991) and MIT with Stephen J. Lippard (1991–3). He was an assistant professor at Florida Institute of Technology (1993-8), an associate professor at the University of Miami (1998-2005), and has been a full professor at Purdue University since 2005. Research interests in his laboratory include organometallic molecular wires, mitigation of hazardous chemicals and sustainable chemistry.
Tong is a fan of music of all sorts including those of Pavarotti, Clapton, Lionel Richie, MJ, Snoop Dogg, John Legend and Rihanna. He is an avid player of online Sudoku and slow swimmer.
Email: tren@purdue.edu
Graduate Students
Leobardo Rodriguez Segura
Leo joined the Ren group in November 2019. While not officially assigned to a project, he is looking forward to begin working in the lab and learn all about Ni(cyclam) complexes.
Originally from Mexico, Leo grew up in Cedartown, GA – a small town located in the northwest hills of Georgia. He earned a BS in Chemistry and minored in Philosophy at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD. In his spare time, he enjoys watching movie trailers, drinking a glass of wine, eating tacos, FaceTiming his baby nephew (Mr. Mateo), and most importantly, keeping up to date with the trendiest dance moves.
Email: rodri709@purdue.edu
Prakhar Gautam
Prakhar joined the Ren group in Fall 2021. Though not currently assigned to any specific project, he is excited to get started in synthesizing compounds!
Prakhar comes from a small town in Georgia and received his B.A. in Biochemistry from Colorado College, where he decided to stay and work with local tech startups after graduation. When free, his hobbies include biking in fall weather and sledding when it snows. A fan of science fiction, you can find him concurrently reading multiple books with no clear end in sight for finishing any of them.
Email: gautamp@purdue.edu
Kyle McGuire
Kyle joined the Ren group in Fall 2022. He is currently not working on a specific project but is eager to get started in the lab and learn more about chemical synthesis.
Kyle is from Johnston, Iowa – a suburb of Des Moines. He did his undergraduate studies at Creighton University, where he got an ACS-certified B.S. in Chemistry. When not doing chemistry, he spends most of his time playing video games with friends and family or watching TV shows/movies. He also enjoys indoor rock climbing/bouldering on occasion.
Email: mcguir72@purdue.edu
Dilki Shanaz Hassan
Dilki joined the Ren group in the Fall 2022. She is excited to learn about the synthesis, characterization, and modification of Transition Metal complexes for different applications.
Dilki grew up in Sri Lanka, a small, beautiful tropical island in the Indian Ocean.She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry in 2021 from the University of Peradeniya,Sri Lanka.At University of Peradeniya, she worked in Prof. Manawadevi Ganehenege’s lab where she worked on the synthesis of Schiff base metal complexes of Nickel and application in Antimicrobial activity. She currently lives in West Lafayette.She enjoys listening to Music, watching movies and going on Hikes in leisure times.
Email: hassan83@purdue.edu
Rachael Marie Knieser
Rachael joined the Ren group in March of 2023. She is excited to continue learning about air sensitive synthetic techniques and working with others to gain experience working in a glovebox.
Rachael grew up in Indianapolis Indiana and received her B.S. in Chemistry and minor in theatre from Purdue University. Being a Purdue alum, she gives informative tours of the campus while walking backwards to friends and family, if you need help with directions let her know. Outside of work she enjoys reading books, gardening, and working on her house with her cat, Mabel.
Email: rknieser@purdue.edu
Undergraduate Students
Stephanie S. DeLancey
Email: sdelance@purdue.edu
Jeremy J. Roos
Jeremy Joined the Ren Group in Fall 2022 and is excited to continue learning about synthesis and characterization. He is currently working with Leo on synthesizing and characterizing cyclam complexes. Jeremy grew up just outside of Boston, Massachusetts, and is pursuing and ACS accredited B.S. in chemistry. In his free time, he enjoys puzzles, watching TV, and listening to music.
Email: roos1@purdue.edu
Austin J. Ebarb
Email: aebarb@purdue.edu