About

2025-2026 Officers

Isaac Timmer (He/Him/His)
Isaac Timmer (He/Him/His)Presidentitimmer@purdue.edu
  • Bio
  • Role

Isaac is from Grand Rapids, MI and he completed his BS in Engineering, Chemical Concentration from Calvin University (Grand Rapids). Isaac joined Purdue in 2023 and is advised by Dr. Morgan. He is working on modeling glycogen synthesis in cyanobacteria under seasonal variations. Isaac enjoys playing board games, cards, video games, hiking and sports. He also enjoys watching crime TV shows.

Leads GSO meetings, oversees planning and execution of Symposium, liaises with the School of Chemical Engineering administration on behalf of the graduate student body.

Samantha Jernigan (She/Her/Hers)
Samantha Jernigan (She/Her/Hers)Vice Presidentjernigan@purdue.edu
  • Bio
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Samantha is from Ponca City, Oklahoma. She completed her B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Oklahoma State University and started at Purdue in 2023. She is advised by Dr. Tackett and Dr. Beaudoin. Her research mainly focuses on the electrocatalysis of defense critical materials. In her free time, she likes to read, hike and play dungeons and dragons.

Assists President in overseeing event planning; manages finances for Symposium and events throughout the year; supports committees in events planning and operations when necessary.

Pravinkumar Sahu (He/Him/His)
Pravinkumar Sahu (He/Him/His)Co-Curricular Chairsahu22@purdue.edu
  • Bio
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Pravinkumar is from Nagpur, India. He received his bachelor's in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, India. His time at Purdue started in 2024 and he is currently working under Dr. Reklaitis. His current research centers on building a model for Micellization Process using Population Balances for Tangential Flow filtration systems. His hobbies include billiards, some sketching, and keeping up with MARVEL.

Responsible for hybrid social/professional development events like Truth and Beauty seminars and Future Faculty Lunches.

Gautam Khare (He/Him/His)
Gautam Khare (He/Him/His)Outreach Chairgkhare@purdue.edu
  • Bio
  • Role

Gautam is born in Boulder, Colorado and raised in Mumbai, India. He has a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Goa, India. He began his graduate studies at Purdue in 2023 and is a part of the Schultz group. His research is on the rheological characterization of rearranging hydrogels. When he is not working, he enjoys reading, classical music, and long walks.

Responsible for educational outreach events such as the After School Science Education Program at Murdock Elementary.

Destina Genc (She/Her/Hers)
Destina Genc (She/Her/Hers)Sustainability Chairgenc@purdue.edu
  • Bio
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Destina is from Canakkale, Turkiye. She completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in Chemical Engineering from Bogazici University. Joining Purdue in 2024, she is currently studying polymer-based biomaterials for regenerative tendon healing under the supervision of Dr. Hebner. Destina enjoys arts and crafts, traveling, and cooking. 

Responsible for sustainability efforts within the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, including recycling initiatives and clothing drives.

Aniela Wright
Aniela WrightSocial Chairwrigh807@purdue.edu
  • Bio
  • Role
Aniela is from Plano, Texas, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M. She arrived at Purdue in 2024 and is a member in the Beaudoin Research group. Her research revolves around the mixing and printing of energetic materials. In her free time, she likes reading, watching c/k dramas, and baking.

Responsible for social (i.e. non-sports related) events throughout the year (e.g. quiz bowl, ice skating, mini golf, bowling, happy hour).

Katherine Young (She/Her/Hers)
Katherine Young (She/Her/Hers)Purdue Graduate Student Government Representativeyoung514@purdue.edu
  • Bio
  • Role

Katherine is from Wenonah, New Jersey. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering at Purdue University. She joined this program in 2023 and is currently working in the Nagy group on the crystallization of pharmaceuticals under the presence of impurities. Katherine's hobbies include reading, traveling, crafting, and playing with her dog.

Represents ChE GSO in PGSG, which hosts university-wide social events for graduate students (e.g. the grad student semi-formal at Lafayette Brewing Co.), provides travel grants and other forms of financial assistance for grad students, and advocates graduate students' interests in Purdue policies.

Miranda Rubio
Miranda RubioFirst-Year Representativerubio18@purdue.edu
  • Bio
  • Role
Though originally from Wisconsin, Miranda calls Texas her home. She graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M. She enrolled in Purdue in 2024 and is currently a member in the Hebner group. Her research is focused on self-regulating, stimuli-responsive liquid crystal elastomers. In her spare time, she enjoys running, hiking, and painting.

Contacts new first-year students throughout the summer to make sure any questions about moving to Lafayette, starting at Purdue, etc. are answered; leads planning of welcome picnic for first-year students; represents first-years throughout the school year at graduate committee meetings; organizes mentor-mentee program.

Reagan Huckabee (He/Him/His)
Reagan Huckabee (He/Him/His)First-Year Representativerhuckabe@purdue.edu
  • Bio
  • Role
Reagan is from Lubbock, TX and he completed his BS in Chemical Engineering from Texas Tech University. He arrived at Purdue in 2024 and is advised by Dr. Gounder. He is working on manipulating acid site distributions for hydrocarbon catalysis. Reagan enjoys playing video games, the guitar, lifting weights, and listening to heavy metal.

Contacts new first-year students throughout the summer to make sure any questions about moving to Lafayette, starting at Purdue, etc. are answered; leads planning of welcome picnic for first-year students; represents first-years throughout the school year at graduate committee meetings; organizes mentor-mentee program.

Dana (Kuei Tan) Lee (She/Her/Hers)
Dana (Kuei Tan) Lee (She/Her/Hers)First-Year Representativelee5289@purdue.edu
  • Bio
  • Role
Dana is from South Korea. She graduated with a BS in Chemistry and an MS in Chemical and Biological Engineering both from Korea University. Her journey at Purdue started in 2024, where she is co-advised by Dr. Iglesia and Dr. Hibbitts. Her research project is on the alkane dehydrogenation using Lewis acid-base pairs on Zro2-based catalysts. In her free time, Dana enjoys piano, swimming, baking, and dancing.

Contacts new first-year students throughout the summer to make sure any questions about moving to Lafayette, starting at Purdue, etc. are answered; leads planning of welcome picnic for first-year students; represents first-years throughout the school year at graduate committee meetings; organizes mentor-mentee program.

Phin Ariyaphuttarat (He/Him/His)
Phin Ariyaphuttarat (He/Him/His)Safety Chairpariyaph@purdue.edu
  • Bio
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Phin comes from Thailand and graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from New York University. He started his time at Purdue in 2024 and is advised by Dr. Schultz. His research focuses on cell-material interactions in synthetic hydrogel scaffolds. Phin enjoys walking, all kinds of sports (basketball, volleyball) and cooking.

Responsible for safety awareness, accountability, and transparency programming in the School of Chemical Engineering; also serves as a member of the Departmental Safety Committee.

Rain Zheng (They/Them/Theirs)
Rain Zheng (They/Them/Theirs)Student Advocacy zheng870@purdue.edu
  • Bio
  • Role
Rain is from Beaverton, OR and completed their undergrad at Oregon State University. They started at Purdue in 2024 and are currently in Dr. Morgan's lab. Their project is regarding metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria for aromatic compounds. In their free time, Rain enjoys video games, origami, piano, and other card games.

Serves as Voting Representative on graduate committee; speaks with students throughout the year to allow graduate students to provide input (both anonymous and otherwise) regarding what they would like to see from GSO or how GSO could better represent their interests as ChE grad students.

Shriram Joshi
Shriram JoshiSports Chairjoshi267@purdue.edu
  • Bio
  • Role
Shriram is from Pune, India. He completed his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Goa, India. He joined Purdue in 2023 and is co-advised by Dr. Basaran and Dr. Narsimhan. His research involves understanding interfacial phenomenon by studying the dynamics of rotating fluids. Outside of research he likes to go hiking, do calisthenics or do gardening in his free time.

Responsible for sports events throughout the year, including intramural sports teams organization, informal kickball and frisbee games, etc.

Luis Guzman (He/Him/His)
Luis Guzman (He/Him/His)Cultural Ambassadorlguzmanj@purdue.edu
  • Bio
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Luis is from Cartagena, Colombia. He completed his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Universidad de Los Andes and his M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Florida. He arrived at Purdue in 2024 and is a student in Dr. Nagy's research group. His research project is about  pharmaceutical supply chain modeling and optimization. In his free time, he enjoys going to the gym, playing tennis, and learning languages.

Advocates on behalf of the School’s students to the university administration; and aims to liaise with students at large, encouraging students to explore, learn, and experience different cultural traditions.

Daniel Nasr (He/Him/His)
Daniel Nasr (He/Him/His)Communications Chairdnasr@purdue.edu
  • Bio
  • Role
Daniel is born in Michigan but raised in Kelhat, Lebanon. He completed his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Balamand. He joined Purdue in 2024 and is currently a student in Dr. Beaudoin's lab working on the bladeless mixing of energetic materials. In his free time, he enjoys running, hiking, and hanging out with friends.

Manages GSO website, events calendar, Facebook page and Twitter page; Takes meeting minutes and posts them for public viewing on GSO website; Publicizes about GSO events on social media; Prepares write-up about GSO activities for dept newsletters.