Lab Alumni

Joseph Cacciatore is a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He obtained his M.S. degree in Engineering Technology under the guidance of Dr. Kilaz and Dr. Eric Dietz as a member of the Purdue Military Research Institute. He earned his B.S. in Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 2018. His research interests are using two-dimensional gas chromatography to aide in assuring electronics authenticity for applications in the Department of Defense.

John Ganser obtained his M.S. in the School of Engineering Technology under the guidance of Dr. Kilaz. He worked on hybrid energy storage systems for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). He holds B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Purdue University at West Lafayette and has industry experience as a practicing application engineer for Caterpillar Oil and Gas. The scope of John's research includes application and testing of hybrid electric propulsion systems for aircraft.

Jacob joined Kilaz's and Kenttamaa's research groups in Fall 2019. Before joining, Jacob earned his B.S in chemistry from Campbell University and his M.S from East Carolina University. His research interests focused on analytical method development using various chromatography (UPLC & GC/GC) and mass spectrometry techniques for complex mixture and aviation fuel analysis.

Kai Jin obtained his M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University. He earned his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Rutgers University and Beijing University of Chemical Technology. He worked on developing solutions for existing plastic waste under the supervision of Prof. Gozdem Kilaz and Prof. N.-H. Linda Wang.

Brent Modereger earned his B.S. degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry from San Jose State University before coming to Purdue. Brent obtained his Ph.D. as a student in the Analytical Chemistry Division of the Department of Chemistry. He was a joint member of both Prof. Gozdem Kilaz's and Prof. Hilkka Kenttamaa's groups, specializing in mass spectrometry and chromatography to research efforts in aviation fuels.

Mark Romanczyk obtained his Ph.D. in the Department of Chemistry working on the development of Mass Spectrometry Methods for distinguishing isomers, characterizing complex mixtures, and determining the capability of organic compounds to swell aircraft O-ring seals.

Petr Vozka obtained his Ph.D. in the School of Engineering Technology under the guidance of Dr. Kilaz. He holds B.S. degree in Chemistry and M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague. His research interests include fuel chemistry, properties, and certification protocol. He worked on the chemical composition-property correlations in alternative aviation fuels.