Meet the Team!

Principal Investigator
Nadia Léonard
CHEM 3223
Graduate Students

5th Year Graduate Student
Chae Yeong Kim
Chae was born in Seoul, South Korea, and got her BA at Dongguk University(DGU) in 2017. She managed to get out of POSTECH and earn an MS in 2019. She now is pursuing her Ph.D. in Léonard’s group at UCSB. Outside of the lab, she likes to explore many hobbies. So far she has explored her interest in playing tennis, poker, and learning bjj, surfing and still exploring more.

3rd Year Graduate Student
Robert Till
Robert Till grew up in Royersford, Pennsylvania. While at Bucknell University, Robert studied asymmetric natural product derivatization of bile salts under the mentorship of Professor Michael Krout. After earning a B.Sc. in Biochemistry in 2023, Robert joined Professor Nadia Leonard's research group at UC Santa Barbara, focusing on developing transition metal catalysts for the electrochemical reduction of small molecules. When not working in the lab, Robert likes computer programming, video games, and discovering new wines.

3rd Year Graduate Student
AJ Chavez (co-advised w/ Abu-Omar)
AJ Chavez grew up in Downey, California, went to the USC and received a B.S. in Chemical Biology. During his time, he worked under Travis Williams and worked on the use of formic acid as a liquid organic hydrogen carrier using an Iridium catalyst. After his undergraduate, he decided to get his PhD at UCSB, where he joined Mahdi Abu-Omars group to investigate biomass upcycling. During his first year, he helped discover a class of nickel catalysts and wanted to explore their electrocatalytic properties under co-advisement of Nadia Leonard. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis, hanging out with his friends and going on adventures!

2nd Year Graduate Student
Jessica Bowen
Jessica grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, home of the 32-story Bass Pro Shop pyramid. She completed her undergraduate education at Christian Brothers University and had great fun during her two REUs at MTSU and USC, where she also learned she actually likes inorganic chemistry. She is now pursuing her Ph.D. in the Léonard group with a focus on rare earth metal separation. In her free time, she likes running, reading, crossword puzzling, hula-hooping, concert going, frisbee flicking, and talking!

2nd Year Graduate Student
Joel Duzha
Joel graduated from New Jersey Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Chemistry, where he worked on gaseous oxidized mercury detection under the mentorship of Professor Alexei Khalizov. He joined Professor Nadia Léonard’s research group in 2024 to investigate homogeneous carbon dioxide reduction pathways that yield multi-carbon products. In his free time, Joel likes listening to experimental music, painting, and playing video games.
Postdoctoral Researchers

Joined 2025
Sarah Costa
Sarah Costa grew up in Newark, NJ. She attended Drew University and completed her BA, where she began research in an inorganic lab. She then furthered her studies completing a doctorate in chemistry at the University of California Davis. Currently, Sarah is employed at the Léonard group as a postdoctoral scholar. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her dog and traveling.
Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate Student (Class of 2026)
Ariel Lee
I'm a chemistry major and art minor from the Bay Area. I enjoy learning about the world through the lens of chemistry and getting the chance to make things in the lab. The summer after my 1st year, I conducted undergraduate research in the Fortier Lab at the University of Texas at El Paso which affirmed my interest in inorganic and organometallic chemistry. Material science and chemistry with energy-related applications are also interesting to me. My hobbies include drawing, painting, photography, dance, cinematography, and video editing. Quite a few of my hobbies I pursue as a member of my dance team here at UCSB called SS805. I also enjoy listening to music, mostly K-pop, and watching anime.

