Postdoctoral, Graduate, and Undergraduate Students in the Auerbach Group

Research in the Auerbach group is focused on modeling zeolites (crystalline aluminosilicates with nanometer-scale pores the size of small molecules) and other acid/base catalysts. We have particular interest in proton transfer reactions in zeolites and polymers, base-catalyzed reactions in zeolites, the reaction of zeolites with ammonia, and the interaction of zeolites and any guest molecules inside them with microwave radiation.

The group studies the aforementioned phenomena by a combination of molecular simulation techniques and electronic structure calculations. We employ molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo in various statistical ensembles, and computational quantum chemistry of both cluster and periodic models.

Graduate Students

• Karl Hammond [zeolite characterization and transport phenomena; computational spectroscopy]
• Usha Viswanathan [proton transfer reactions in zeolites and polymers]
• Vishal Agarwal [kinetics of nitrogen substitution in zeolites]
• Julián Santander [microwave simulation of zeolites and cellulose]
• Lin Jin [zeolite growth and stability]

Undergraduate Students

• Julia Kumpf [proton transfer reactions in polymers]
• Gabriel Cerriotti [proton transfer reactions in polymers]

Recent Alumni

• Autumn Brown (B.S., Gordon College, anticipated) [computational spectroscopy]
• Daniel Stapleton (B.S., UMass, 2007) [heat transfer in microwave-heated zeolites]
• Leanna Toy (B.S., UMass, 2006) [proton transfer in zeolites]
• Aldo Combariza (M.S., UMass, 2006) [microwave heating of zeolites and adsorbates]
• David Medeiros (B.S., UMass, 2006) [heat transfer in microwave-heated zeolites]
• Carlos Benitez (B.S., UMass, 2006)
• Matthew Ford (Ph.D., UMass, 2006) [zeolite growth and stability]
• Ethan Sullivan (B.S., UMass, 2005) [microwave heating of zeolites]
• Sudin Bhattacharya (postdoctoral fellow) [zeolite growth and stability]
• Miguel Jorge (postdoctoral fellow) [zeolite growth and stability]