Group Members

Taisiia Feoktistova (Ph.D. student)

Taisiia joined the P.H.Y.C. group in 2017. Her research interests include reaction mechanism elucidation, specifically transition metal catalyzed organic reactions. 

Taisiia was born and raised in Ukraine. In 2012 she came to the United States as a FLEX high school exchange student in Cheney, WA. After a year in the U.S. she went back home to graduate from high school and then came back to go to Spokane Falls Community College. After graduating with an AA in Biology, she transferred to Whitworth University where she received a B.S. in Chemistry. In her free time Taisiia enjoys exploring Oregon and Washington States.

Joe Harper (Ph.D. student)

Joe joined the P.H.Y.C. group in 2017. His research interests are generally focused around transition metal mediated organic reactions - especially cyclizations and cycloadditions - as well as pericyclic reactions, and he is currently working on elucidating the mechanisms of some platinum catalyzed rearrangement reactions, among other projects.

Joe was born and raised in England. His father’s job later brought his family to Boise, Idaho. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Idaho, earning B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Biology, and a B.Mus. in Music Composition. He was also an active member of the U of I Greek system, serving on the Interfraternity Council for nearly four years. In his free time, Joe is an avid classical and electric guitarist, and can often be found at rock concerts.

Claire Boelke (Ph.D. student)

Claire joined the P.H.Y.C. group in 2018. Her research, in collaboration with Inpria, currently
focuses on thin films and the effects of differing ligand structures. The diversity of disciplines
within the P.H.Y.C. group helps her to understand both the inorganic and organic intricacies of
this research.

Claire grew up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
with a B.S. in Professional Chemistry. Her undergraduate research focused on organometallic
catalysis for applications in renewable energy. Claire is also on track to complete the college
teaching certificate program in order to achieve her goal of becoming a professor. She enjoys
reading, going to the beach, and DJing local parties in her free time.

Henry Wise (Ph.D. student)

Henry joined the P.H.Y.C. group in 2017 as an undergraduate researcher and continued his research as a Ph.D. student in 2019. His research focuses on using deep learning to predict the electronic structure of semiconducting amorphous oxides.

Henry was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington. After high school, he focused on music and played in numerous bands in various cities throughout the Pacific Northwest and California. He returned to school at 25, attending Portland Community College before transferring to Oregon State University to complete his B.S. in chemistry with a minor in Mathematics in 2019. During his time as an undergraduate student, he sought opportunities to participate in teaching and mentoring activities, working as a lab teaching assistant and tutor in addition to developing new lab modules for chemistry students. His passions include chemistry education, playing music, and mathematical modeling.

Gisela González-Montiel (Ph.D. student)

Gisela joined the P.H.Y.C. group in 2019. Her research interests include elucidation of reaction mechanisms, selectivities of synthetic organic reactions, and statistical applications. Her particular focus is on transition metal-catalyzed organic reactions.

Gisela was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. As a first-generation student, Gisela graduated from the University of Portland with a B.S. in Chemistry. Her undergraduate research experiences led Gisela to attend graduate school at Oregon State University, where she earned her M.S. in Chemistry under the mentorship of Dr. Sandra Loesgen in the field of fungal natural products. Afterward, Gislea continued at OSU in pursuit of further higher education, this time a Ph.D. in the field of computational organic chemistry under the mentorship of Dr. Paul Ha-Yeon Cheong. In her free time, Gisela enjoys leisure walking, reading webtoons, cardio boxing, strength training, solving puzzles, and nail painting. Gisela is fluent in Spanish and English.

Clara Wheeler (Ph.D. student)

Clara joined the P.H.Y.C. group in 2019.

Kaylee Cayton (Ph.D. student)

Kaylee joined the P.H.Y.C. group in 2018 as an undergraduate researcher and continued her research as a Ph.D. student in 2020.

Omar Farah (Ph.D. student)

Abdikani (Omar) joined the P.H.Y.C. group in 2020. His research interests include the stereo- and regioselective synthesis of nitrogen containing heterocycles such as piperidines, morpholines and thiomorpholines.

Omar was born in Somaliland, an internationally unrecognized former British colony. He lived in Ethiopia before immigrating to Washington state in 2007 with his family, where he obtained his B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry at Eastern Washington University before earning his M.S. in Chemistry at Central Washington University under the mentorship of Dr. Timothy Beng. After college, Omar moved to Wisconsin to work in the pharmaceutical industry where he developed processes for large scale production before coming to OSU in 2020. In the long-term, Omar wants to start a nonprofit organization that promotes access to educational opportunities to underserved communities, and in his free time, Omar enjoys playing soccer, hiking, running, camping, and watching sports events.

Michael Dickens (Undergraduate student)

Michael joined the P.H.Y.C group in 2019. His research interests include analyzing organic reaction mechanisms; the interactions, structures, and functionalities of proteins; and the explanation/modeling of chemical reactions. He is currently working on elucidating the mechanism of a synthesis of angularly substituted trans-fused hydroindanes.

Michael was born and spent his childhood in Maui, Hawaii, before moving to Oregon State University to pursue a B.S in Biochemistry and Biophysics with a minor in chemistry. In high school, Michael not only learned of his interest in chemistry, but also TV production, going on to both act in and direct short films as well as a full-length feature.

Michael hopes to use what he has learned in the PYHC group to pursue a Ph.D. in computational Chemistry or Biochemistry, and later, work in research to further the understanding of the chemical world.