Professor Anne E. V. Gorden
Professor
Prof. Gorden grew up in the great state of Texas before going away to college, studying chemistry and literature at Emory University in Atlanta. She later moved back to Texas to the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry with Prof. Jonathan Sessler. As part of her Ph.D. work, she had the opportunity to work at Los Alamos and Argonne National Laboratories. She then did postdoctoral studies with Prof. Kenneth Raymond at the University of California and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. After starting her academic career at Auburn University, she returned home to Texas, moving the research group to Texas Tech University. She now lives in Lubbock with her husband, Mr. Dr. Gorden, son, daughter, and a lab mix rescue, we call the lab experiment.
Mario Guagliardo
Graduate Student
2019
Mario grew up in Sicily in Italy, and joined the Gorden group, completing his undergraduate and master's degrees in chemistry at the Università degli Studi di Palermo. His current research focuses on applying green chemistry principles to organometallic catalysis through the synthesis of novel catalysts and the optimization of organic reactions in aqueous media.
John Ducilon
Graduate Student
2019
Originally from Haiti, John grew up in Florida. He joined the Gorden group after completing his undergraduate degree at the University of West Florida.
Dylan M. T. Eralie
Graduate Student
2020
Dylan earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Tennessee Technological University with an ACS certification in 2017. They continued at that institution earning a terminal M.S. in 2019. Their thesis topic was "Development of a Measure of Merit and its Application to Natural Product Stereochemical Determinations". Dylan joined Texas Tech in January of 2020. Dylan is currently working on synthesizing salophen, pyrasal, and bissalophen ligands for complexation with actinides and lanthanides.
Pooja Dogra
Graduate Student
2023
Pooja Dogra grew up in Una, India. She completed her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in chemistry from Panjab University in Chandigarh, India. Pooja is working on the synthesis and characterization of sulfonated salophen ligands and their metal complexes with lanthanides.
Xiaoyu Huo
Graduate Student
2022
Xiaoyu was born in Zaozhuang, a city in the eastern province of China. She completed her undergraduate studies in pharmaceutical engineering at Changzhou University in eastern China. Xiaoyu is working on the quinoxolinol metal complexes’ synthesis and catalytic application in benzylic and heterocyclic alcohol oxidations.
Biswash Guragain
Graduate Student
2023
Biswash grew up in eastern Nepal and completed his bachelor's and master's degree in chemistry from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Currently, he is working on synthesis of salqu based metal complexes to explore their catalytic activities.
Hayley Mahler (BCHM) Class of 26
Undergraduate Research
Hayley is originally from Wichita Falls, TX, and came to Lubbock to study Biochemistry and join Texas Tech’s Army ROTC. She joined the research group in the summer of 2024 and has plans to graduate in 2026 while simultaneously commissioning as an officer in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. After serving her contract, Hayley hopes to return to school and complete her PhD in chemistry.
Ansh Chugh (CHEM) Class of 27
Undergraduate Research
Ansh is a sophomore at Texas Tech University, majoring in Chemistry with a minor in Computer Science. He is originally from New Delhi, India. He joined the research group in Fall 2024 to deepen his understanding of scientific research. He really enjoyed chemistry in high school which is why he decided to major in it. He is eager to explore the branch further to discover which specialty he wants to pursue further. Ansh plans to graduate in Spring 2027 and aims to continue his education with a PhD in Chemistry.
Raymond Hicks (BCHM) Class of 26
Undergraduate Research
Raymond is a junior undergraduate majoring in biochemistry from Plano, TX. He joined the group in the summer of 2024. Currently, he works as an ER scribe and a Supplemental Instruction Leader for Chemistry. Raymond has a passion for teaching and helping others succeed. He plans to graduate from TTU and pursue medical school in hopes of becoming a physician.
Kyleigh LeBlanc (CHEM ) Class of 25
Undergraduate Research
Kyleigh is a senior undergraduate majoring in chemistry and grew up around Dallas, TX. She plans to graduate fall of 2024 and eventually further her education .in graduate school in chemistry.
Xander Duke (CHEM) Class of 25
Undergraduate Research
Xander has transferred to TTU from South Plains and is currently pursuing a degree in chemistry as a LSAMP scholar.
Austyn Furr (CHEM/CHEN ) Class of 25
Undergraduate Researcher
Austyn is originally from Childress, TX, but came to Lubbock to study chemistry and chemical engineering. He joined the group in the summer of 2024 as an LSAMP scholar and plans to graduate in the fall of 2025. Currently a bartender, he hopes to pursue a career in his degree field and eventually continue his education in nuclear engineering."
Levin Ozer (CHEM) Class of 25
Undergraduate Researcher
Levin grew up in Istanbul, Turkey and joined the group in Fall 2023 as a Chemistry Major. She hopes to graduate TTU and pursue a PhD in Chemistry.
Sadah Young (CHEM/MATH) Class of 25
Undergraduate Researcher
Sadah is a undergraduate student who started research with the group in Spring of 2024. She is a dual major in chemistry and math. Sadah is from Austin, Texas and works as a dance teacher at a local studio.
Jonathan DeAnda
(CHEM/MUSIC) Class of 25
Undergraduate Researcher
Jonathan DeAnda is a 4th year Biochemistry and Music double major originally from Houston, Texas, but he grew up in San Angelo. As college applications drew near, he realized he was too stubborn to put either science or music down, and decided to double major. He has three short-term goals to meet before graduation: a violin recital, to create and analyze different uranyl complexes iand publish the findings, and to get accepted into the Texas Tech School of Medicine. As a career, he hopes to be an orthopedic surgeon, but to never lose a passion for teaching and performing music.
Former Group Members
Gone but not forgotten....
Some of the Former members of the Gorden Group include:
Dr. Adineh (Aida) Rezaei, Fulbright Prof. Kseniia Yutilova (Vasyl' Stus Donetsk National University Ukraine), Fulbright Prof. Abid Banday (Islamia College Srinagar); Dr. Ethan Hiti (U. Alabama); Dr. Julie Niklas (Georgia Tech), Dr. Clay Black (Ecolabs), Dr. Emily Hardy (Old Dominion University), Dr. Maya West (Oak Ridge National Lab), Dr. Charmaine Tutson (Environmental Protection Agency), Dr. Michael DeVore II ( Savannah River National Lab), Dr. Kushan Weerasiri (Institute of Chemistry - Ceylon), Dr. Branson Maynard (EPRI), Dr. Yuancheng Li (Emory University/5MBiomen), Dr. Xianghong Wu (Chem Abstracts) and former postdoc Dr. Mohan Bharara.
Former Undergraduate Students
Aaron Wu, Rhea Karkera (24). Lilien Grosz (24), Dev Bhakta, Braxton Hawkins (23), Tessa Hoang (23), Justin Williamson (23), Ethan Chapman (23), Avery Stilley (22), Lydia Li, C. Reese Hitch (22),
From Auburn University: Grant Wilkinson (21), Madeleine Forbes, Florian Resnik (DAAD), Katherine Hunter, J. P. Grundhoefer, Aidan Wood, Katherine “Kate” Valentine, William “Ryan” Yates, Jacob Mayhugh, Rebecca Keller, Kevin Wyss, Sarah Payne, William A. Scott, Lindy “Chase” Elrod, Madeline Eddy, Ricardo Spencer, Joseph Nelson, Thomas Moreland, Gregory Kohler (NSF-REU); Chelsea Crooks, Zachary Hegetschweiler, Mary O'Barr, Tricia Hoffman (NSF-REU), Spencer Kerns, Kelly Sabrina Lynn, Emily Buss, Andrew Robinson, Kathryn Lasowskii (NSF-REU), Audrey Gamble, Logan McKenney, Meha Jha, Eleanor Isbell, Jon Matthew "Matt" McDonald, Kathryn "Katie" Heflin, Brandon Tate, Jordan Hamilton, Hannah Hubbard, Kara Strawbridge (Reynolds), Stephen Tonks, Demetrius Stanton, Jonah Vilseck & Timothy McCord