Members

Dr. Young-Gi Kim

Dr Young-Gi KimPrinciple Investigator: Dr. Young-Gi Kim (ygkim [at] desu.edu, 302.857.6535)

Dr. Young-Gi Kim was born in Wonju, South Korea. He studied polymer subjects at Han Yang University, Seoul, South Korea, earning a BS and a MS. After studying in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, Dr. Kim earned a PhD in 2003 in the Polymer Sciences Program (Plastic Engineering option) in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, focusing on the synthesis and application of fluorescent polymers, organic molecules, metal complexes and inorganic/metal nanoparticles for advancing nanostructured solar cells, PLEDs and fluorescence amplified biosensors. Dr. Kim has conducted postdoctoral fellow research in the area of synthesis and application of donor-acceptor variable band gap polymers for innovating polymer solar cells, CNT based PVDs and PLEDs in the Dr. John Reynolds group of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Florida for more than 4 years. For the past 25 years, Dr. Kim has gained extensive experience in academia as well as the industrial innovative roles for advancing modern organic and polymer materials along with the application in the area of Innovative Nano, Energy, Photonics, Electronics, Electric and Bio, covering the fields of basic science to engineering-based commercialization. 

Dr. Kim is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry at Delaware State University and is one of the advisory board members for the industrial sector. His major interests lie in the innovation of organic and polymer materials for the application of energy and organic electronics, including solar cells, batteries, supercapacitors, biosensors, and smart coatings. Dr. Kim is conducting multi-step synthesis of organic and polymer materials for using in the areas of energy and organic electronics.

WAFAA ABOUSAMRA

WafaaGraduate Student: Wafaa Abousamra (Spring semester, 2017 -)

Wafaa was born in Alexandria, Egypt. She earned a BS degree as she double majored in Chemistry and Physics at the Alexandria University in Egypt. She is currently a PhD student at Delaware State University and is currently conducting research in the Kim Group.

Past Members

OMAR MELTON

omarGraduate Student: Omar Melton (Fall semester, 2015 -)

Omar Talib Melton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Omar has studied at Penn State’s Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization. While there he learned material processing and fabrication techniques for various nanodevices. Omar received his AS and BA degree in Nanotechnology and Chemistry, respectively, as well as earning a minor in Mathematics from Cheyney University, PA. He has research experience in data analysis (2008), dye sensitized solar cells (2010), farmed fish nutrition (2011) and plant based drug discovery (2012).  Omar has also worked for Johnson and Johnson doing cleaning validation and Carson Valley Children’s Aid as a math teacher prior to enrollment at Delaware State.

As a member of Dr. Kim’s Group, Omar is looking for a MS degree in Applied Chemistry and is working in the fields of advanced energy and organic electronics. Omar believes the best kind of fiction is science fiction.

KYUNG MIN LEE

KYUNG MIN LEEUndergraduate Student: Kyung Min Lee (Fall semester, 2016 -)

Kyung Min Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea. Her hobbies include listening to music and playing sports

SEONG HYUN BAE

SEONG HYUN BAEUndergraduate Student: Seong Hyun Bae (Fall semester, 2016 -)

Seong Hyun Bae was born in South Korea.

SHEHU ISAH

SHEHU ISAHGraduate Student: Shehu Isah (Spring semester, 2017 -)

Shehu was born in Midwestern Nigeria and earned a BS degree in industrial chemistry from the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa university, Bauchi, Nigeria and an MS degree in industrial chemistry from the Bells University of Technology, Ota, Nigeria. Shehu started his PhD program at the Florida institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL in Falls 2015 where he conducted research on the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) material and application of aquatic macrophytes for AgNP phytoremediation. He also conducted research on the synthesis and characterization of transition aluminas ((η, γ, δ-Al2O3) for application in catalytic hydrosilation. Shehu has teaching and supervising experiences in general / organic chemistry and in undergraduate chemistry laboratory sessions, respectively. Shehu has published 4 articles and reviewed 2 articles.

JISOO KIM

JISOO KIMUndergraduate Student: Jisoo Kim (Spring semester, 2017 -)

Jisoo was born in Daejeon, South Korea. He is currently senior in chemistry major at Delaware State University. He enjoys listening music.

QUEENIE TECSON

QUEENIE TECSONUndergraduate Student: Queenie Tecson (Spring semester, 2017 -)

Queenie was born in the Philippines and earned her associate’s degree in dental hygiene. Queenie is currently in the Department of Chemistry pursuing her educational career towards dentistry.

SUHYUN NAM

SUHYUN NAMSuhyun Nam (“Su”) was born in South Korea. Currently, Su is studying chemistry and biology subjects. Her hobbies include editing videos and writing a novel. Su is trying to upload Youtube channel from time to time.

ALLAKATEE WOAH-TEE

allakatee

AW came from Baltimore. She is currently a Senior double majoring in Chemistry and Psychology. She chose those two because she has strong love for math and human behaviors. AW loves shopping and spending time with family.

Taiesha Coward

Taiesha CowardUndergraduate Student: Taiesha Coward, Fall semester, 2018 -)

Taiesha is from Dover, Delaware. She has a Pharmacy Technician Certification and an Associate Degree in Architectural Engineering. She is a senior majoring in Chemistry Pre-Professional. Driven by knowledge obtained working in a pharmacy she gained a desire to understand the chemical breakdown of prescriptions and how they affect the body.  My research objective is to obtain a greater understanding of how organic and polymer materials can be used to biotechnology fields. She loves spending time with her family and enjoying life having a trip and reading a book.

Dylan McConnell

dylon mcconnellUndergraduate Student: Dylan McConnell, (Fall semester, 2018 -)

Dylan is from Harrington, DE. Dylan is currently a senior, majoring in Chemistry Pre-Professional at Delaware State University. His professional interests are in pharmaceuticals and drug delivery systems. His personal hobbies include cooking and hiking.

Sarah Saintile

Sarah Saintile Undergraduate Student: Sarah Saintile (Fall semester, 2019 -)

My name is Sarah Saintile. I was born in Dover, DE. I am a Senior majoring in Chemistry with a minor in Biology. I am currently tutoring the Organic Chemistry class. I have had two internships: one doing research in Poland and the other as a Sales and Marketing intern for a Vaccine company. I love Chemistry and I love helping students find their way of understanding the material so they can perform exceptionally on their exams.

Yue Zhao

Yue ZhaoUndergraduate Student: Yue Zhao (Fall semester, 2019 -)

Yue Zhao was born in China, and grown up in Changchun, China. Yue is pursuing a BS degree in Chemistry at Delaware State University. Yue’s professional interests are in pharmaceuticals and the formulations of drugs. Personal hobbies include cooking and listening to music.

Jamie Holmes

jamie holmesGraduate Student: Jamie Holmes (Fall semester, 2020)

Jamie was born in Washington, DC and currently resides in Kent County, DE. Jamie has a B.S. degree in Chemistry and a Master’s in Teaching with a concentration in Science Education. Jamie’s professional experience includes high school chemistry teacher, pharmaceutical sales, and medical device sales. Jamie’s hobbies are singing, reading, and serving with her husband in ministry. She is currently a Ph.D. student at Delaware State University and is conducting advanced research in the Kim Group.

Marshall Fahey

Marshall FaheyGraduate Student: Marshall Fahey, Fall semester, 2018 - 2020)

Marshall currently resides in Centreville, MD and works for ILC Dover. He earned a BS degree in Cell Biology and Genetics at the University of Maryland and is currently a MS student at Delaware State University.  He is currently conducting research in the Kim Group.

Anh Nguyen

anh nguyenGraduate Student: Anh T. L. Nguyen (Fall semester, 2021 -)

My name is Anh T.L. Nguyen. I was born in Hai Duong City, Vietnam. I got my BS at Western Kentucky University in double majors Biology and Chemistry. I attended Delaware State for my MS in Chemistry Food Science. After graduation, I worked in Human Ecology departments as a lab technician and associate researcher. Recently, I am a Ph.D candidate at Applied Chemistry a Chemistry and am conducting advanced research at Dr Young-Gi Kim’s and Dr Alberta Aryee research groups. 

Tasia Walker

tasia walkerGraduate Student: Tasia Walker (Fall semester, 2021 -)

Tasia was born in New Jersey. Tasia earned a BS degree in Biology and minor in Chemistry from Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey. She has over 6 years of professional experience in the Pharmaceutical and Chemical industry. She is currently a PhD student at Delaware State University and is currently conducting research in the Kim’ group. I like to Road Bike, Vacation, and spend time with my family. Also, I am the eldest of 9 siblings

Leila Mouhtarim

leila mouhtarimUndergraduate Student: Leila Mouhtarim (Fall semester, 2020 -)

My name is Leila Mouhtarim. I have lived in Dover, Delaware most of my life but am originally from Pennsylvania. I am a junior chemistry major with a minor in biology. I am currently the TEAL fellow for organic chemistry and tutor biochemistry and genetics in the tutorial center. My goal as a tutor is to, not only help students perform well on their exams, but to encourage students be confident in their academic abilities and achieve their goals. I was accepted to do a research internship in Poland in 2020. Upon graduation, I will pursue graduate studies in pharmacology with the aspiration of becoming a pharmacologist. Some of my personal hobbies include painting, knitting, and baking.  

Dan Yang

dan yangGraduate Student: Dan Yang (Fall semester, 2020 - 2023)

Dan Yang was born in Tianjin City and lived in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, China. Dan received her B.S. and M.S. degree at the Department of Chemistry at the Delaware State University. Her advisor of the MS was Dr. Kim. Dan is currently a Ph.D. student, conducting advanced research in the area of Energy and Organic Electronics at the Dr. Kim’s research group.

Destinee Thomas

Destinee ThomasGraduate Student: Destinee Thomas (Fall semester, 2020 -)

Destinee was born in Staten Island, New York. She earned her BS degree in Chemistry from Delaware state University. Destinee is currently a MS student at Delaware State University and is conducting advanced research in the Kim group.