News

February 10, 2022 – Zac Faitz receives teaching award!
For his excellence in the classroom, Zac Faitz was selected for the Outstanding Chemistry Teaching Assistant Award. Congratulations Zac!

December 5, 2022 – Good things come in threes!
Shivani, Dasol Im, and Brynn LeMasters are three brilliant first-year students that joined the Zanni Group this cycle. Welcome to the team!

October 7, 2022 – Congratulations, Dr. Zach Armstrong!
Zach defended his thesis, titled “Ultrafast two-dimensional white-light spectroscopy of excitons in disordered environments”. Zach is going to spend a season working as ski patrol before starting a post-doc at University of Colorado.

August 26, 2022 – Congratulations, Dr. Miriam Bohlmann Kunz!
Miriam defended her thesis, titled “Ultrafast pulse-shaping applied to multi-dimensional spectroscopy and novel microscopy methods”. Miriam also just published another paper, titled “Time-Domain Photothermal AFM Spectroscopy via Femtosecond Pulse Shaping”.

August 20, 2022 – Dr. Minjung Son receives Young Investigator Award!
Dr. Minjung Son was the recipient of the 2022 ACS Young Investigator Award in experimental physical chemistry. Congratulations Minjung, you’re doing great!

May 11, 2022 – Congratulations, Dr. Erin Birdsall!
Erin defended her thesis, titled “2D Infrared Spectroscopy for the Study of Membrane-bound Proteins and Peptides”. Erin will be working for the Smithsonian museum, studying the science behind restoration and preservation of priceless artwork.

May 9, 2022 – Congratulations, Dr. Cat Fields!
Cat defends her thesis, titled “Structure and Cytotoxicity of Islet Amyloid Polypeptide Variant Using 2D IR Spectroscopy and Other Biophysical Techniques”. Cat will continue working in the field of protein aggregation in a Partner Therapeutics. We have celebrated Cat in the best Zanni Group traditions, click here to see the pictures from the day.

December 8, 2021 – Yuzhe, Zac and Harrison join the Zanni group!
At the end of this year Zanni group gained three new first year students – Yuzhe Zhang, Zac Faitz and Harrison Esterly. Welcome to the group! 

May 1, 2021  – Nan joins the Zanni group!
We are happy to welcome a new postdoc to Zanni group – Dr. Nan Yang! 

November 24, 2020  – Matt joins the Zanni group! 
Zanni group gained one new first year this November – Matt Ryan. Welcome to the group!

September 1, 2020  – Minjung joins the Zanni group! 
The start of the academic year brought another postdoc to Zanni group – Dr. Minjung Son. Welcome to the group!

June 26, 2020 – Congratulations, Dr. Jessica Flach!
Jessi defended her thesis, titled “Ultrafast 2D White-Light Spectroscopy of Semiconducting Materials for Photovoltaics”, click here to learn more about Jessi’s work.  We celebrated Jessi’s achievement with a picnic in the park, check out the pictures here

June 8, 2020 – Congratulations, Dr. Megan Petti!
Megan defended her thesis, titled “Development of Novel  Surface Sensitive and Surface Specific Two-dimensional Spectroscopies” on June 8, 2020. Megan will be moving to Chicago to work for McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP as a technical advisor. Congratulations, Megan! Click here to see pictures of the day! 

January 31, 2020 – Congratulations, Dr. Ariel Alperstein!
Ariel defended her thesis, titled “Identifying Amyloid in Cataract Lens Tissue using Two-dimensional Infrared Spectroscopy” on January, 31, 2020. Congratulations, Ariel! Click here to see pictures of the day!

January 1, 2020 – Farzaneh joins the Zanni Group!
To start the new year, the Zanni Group gained a new postdoc, Dr. Farzaneh Chalyavi! Welcome to the group!

November 25, 2019 – Yulia joins the Zanni Group!
This November the Zanni Group gained one new first year, Yulia Podorova! We celebrated with dinner and a night out on around the capitol. Check out pictures here. Welcome to the group!

May 16, 2019 – Congratulations, Dr. Josh Ostrander!
Josh defended his thesis, titled “New Methods in 2D IR Spectroscopy and Imaging” on May 16, 2019. Congratulations, Josh! Click here to see pictures of the day!

April 26, 2019 – Congratulations, Josh, Ariel, and Megan for receiving departmental awards!
This year, three members of the Zanni group were honored at the Chemistry Department’s award ceremony. Josh received the Hartl Excellence in Research Award and the GSFLC Mentor Award, Ariel received the Schrag Outstanding Peer Award, and Megan received the Roger J. Carlson award. Awesome job! Check out pictures here.

April 9, 2019 – Congratulations, Miriam and Kieran on receiving the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship!
Miriam and Kieran are recipients of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Great work Miriam and Kieran!

March 22, 2019 – Congratulations, Dr. Kacie Rich!
Kacie defended her thesis, titled “Cytotoxic intermediates of human islet amyloid polypeptide studied using two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy” on March 22, 2019. Congratulations, Kacie! Click here to see pictures of the day!

March 20, 2019 – Cataracts paper featured in C&E News
Congratulations to Ariel for having her paper on amyloid in human cataracts being featured in C&E News! The paper has been published in PNAS and is available here

December 12, 2018 – Congratulations, Dr. Nick Kearns!
Nick defended his thesis, titled “Development of ultra broadband nonlinear spectroscopy and microscopy with applications to materials systems” on December 12, 2018. Nick will be working at Lockheed Martin in Seattle, Washington. Congratulations, Nick!

November 16, 2018 – Ryan, Kieran, Zach, and Sid join the Zanni Group!
Four new first years have joined the Zanni Group! We celebrated Ryan Allen, Kieran Farrell, Zach Armstrong, and Sid Dicke with dinner at Ha Long Bay and a night on the town. Welcome to the group!

November 15, 2018 – Marty is giving a student invited seminar at UCSD!
Marty has been invited by the students of University of California- Sand Diego to give a seminar. Way to go, Marty!

October 9, 2018 – Marty named a Fellow of the Optical Society!
Marty has been named a OSA fellow “for pioneering and innovative work advancing the optical technology and scientific applications of ultrafast multidimensional spectroscopies.” Congratulations, Marty!


April 27, 2018 – Ariel wins Roger Carlson Award!
Ariel won the Roger Carlson Award for outstanding spectroscopists in analytical chemistry. Way to go Ariel!


December 05, 2017 – Congratulations, Dr. Jia-Jung Ho!
Jia-Jung defended his thesis, titled “Surface Specific Multidimensional Spectroscopies and Their Theoretical Modeling” on December 1, 2017. Jia-Jung will be moving on to a postdoc position with the group of Tobias Kippenberg at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Congratulations, Dr. Ho!


November 20, 2017 – Cat, Miriam, and Erin join the Zanni Group!
This November the Zanni Group gained three new first years, Cat Fields, Miriam Bohlmann Kunz, and Erin Birdsall! We celebrated with dinner and a night out on State Street. Welcome to the group!


July 12, 2017 – Congratulations, Dr. Tom McDonough!
Tom defended his thesis, titled “Probing Exciton Dynamics in Organic Thin Films and Photovoltaics with Nonlinear Spectroscopy” on June 30, 2017. Tom will be moving on to Portland, OR to work at Intel.
Congratulations, Dr. McDonough!


May 1, 2017 – Jia-Jung wins the K.V. Reddy Award in Physical Chemistry
Congratulation to Jia-Jung Ho who won the K.V. Reddy Award in Physical Chemistry. This award is given to one graduate student each year in recognition of thier outstanding work as an experimental physical chemist.
Congratulations, Jia-Jung!


November 7, 2016 – Congratulations, Dr. Tianqi Zhang!
Tianqi defended her thesis, titled “Examination of Amyloid Structures in vitro and ex vivo with 2D IR Spectroscopy.” She will be moving on to work at Intel.
Congratulations, Dr. Zhang!


November 21, 2016 – Megan joins the Zanni Group!
The Zanni group welcomed a new first year, Megan Petti. We celebrated with many games of pool and a night out on Willy Street. Welcome to the group Megan!


October 4, 2016 – Congratulations, Dr. Huong Kratochvil!
Huong defened her thesis, titled “Structure and Dynamics of Proteins and Peptides Revealed by Two-Dimensional Infrared Spectroscopy.” She will be working as a postdoc for Prof. Bill DeGrado at the University of California-San Francisco.
Congratulations, Dr. Kratochvil!


September 26, 2016 – Potassium Ion Channel Paper Featured in C&E News
Congratulation to Huong on having her potassium ion channel paper featured in C&E News. The paper has been published in Science and is available here.


January 19, 2016 – Congratulations, Dr. Randy Mehlenbacher!
Randy Mehlenbacher defended his thesis, titled “Development of broad bandwidth nonlinear spectroscopies for characterization of electronic states in materials systems” on January 19, 2016. He will be working as a postdoc for Prof. Jennifer Dionne at Stanford University.
Congratulations, Dr. Mehlenbacher!


August 21, 2015 – Kaarin and Jessi join the Zanni Group!
The Zanni group welcomed two new first years, Kaarin Evens and Jessi Flach. We celebrated with dinner at Hop Cat and a night out in Madison. Welcome to the group Kaarin and Jessi!


January 19, 2015 – Congratulations, Dr. Reitz!
Tracey successfully defended her thesis, entitled “Advances in 2D IR Spectroscopy and Applications to Sensitized Thin Films.” Way to go Tracey! We are going to miss you.
Congratulations, Dr. Reitz!


June 21, 2015 – Zanni Group hosts TRVS Conference in Madison
Marty hosted the 2015 biennial international conference in the field of time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy. The conference allowed experts from all over the world to gather and exchange ideas and the knowledge about the latest advancements of the field. Along with listening to incredible talks and attending two fantastic poster sessions, participatants were able to go on excursions to Frank Loyd Wright’s Taleisin and PIKE Technologies.


May 21, 2015 – Randy wins the Richard and Joan Hartl Excellence in Research Award
Congratulations to Randy Mehlenbacher who won the Richard and Joan Hartl Excellence in Research Award. This award is given to one graduate student in the Physical Chemistry path each year, chosen by the faculty. Way to go, Randy!


November 04, 2014 – Jack, Josh, and Ariel join the Zanni Group!
The Zanni group welcomed three new first years, Jack O’Connor, Josh Ostrander, and Ariel Alperstein. We celebrated with lots of pool and toasts to a great year of science. Welcome to the group Jack, Josh, and Ariel!


April 18, 2014 – Kacie receives the NSF Fellowship
Kacie was recently selected as a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRF). Congratulations, Kacie!


January 13, 2014 – Peptide 2D SFG Paper Featured in C&E News
Congratulations to Jenny, David, Jia-Jung, and Arnaldo on having their 2D SFG paper of a surface-bound peptide featured in C&E News.


Decemeber 09, 2013 – hIAPP Intermediate Paper Feauted in C&E News
Congratulations to Lauren on having her hIAPP intermediate paper featured as the lead article in “News of the Day” in C&E News


November 06, 2013 – Nick and Kacie join the Zanni Group!
The Zanni group welcomed two new first years, Nick Kearns and Kacie Rich. We celebrated with a progressive dinner, stopping at Next Door Brewing, Harmony Bar, That BBQ Place, and the Old Sugar Distillery. Welcome to the group, Nick and Kacie!


August 09, 2012 – Marty and Chris form PhaseTech Spectroscopy
Prof. Martin Zanni and Dr. Chris Middleton have formed a company, PhaseTech Spectroscopy, to provide multidimensional spectrometers to the scientific research community. The spectrometers are based on mid-IR pulse shaping technology developed in the Zanni laboratory. See the PhaseTech website, phasetechspectroscopy.com, for more information.