Chemistry Graduate Student Organization – Department of Chemistry

The Chemistry Graduate Student Organization provides opportunities for graduate students to connect with each other and discuss graduate school life. By hosting seminars and offering resources we aid in the professional development of grad students. The CGSO also collaborates with the department to host visitation and orientation events. CGSO wants to amplify grad students’ voices and represent their interests within the department.

Meetings are held on the first Friday of every month at 3:00 PM in the Chemistry Graduate Student Lounge. We invite all interested graduate students to attend and join our email list by contacting CGSO directly, if you are interested in joining!

President – Tessa Whitaker

Hi! My name is Tessa and I’m the CGSO President this year. I am a fourth year in the Henry and Kennan groups and work on synthesizing peptide nucleic acids to incorporate into a biosensor for detecting microRNA. Outside of lab, I love to read, build my house-plant collection, watch basketball, and go to concerts!

Vice President – Dimagi Kottage

Howdy! My name is Dimagi, and I’m the CGSO Vice President this year. I’m a second-year student in the Chen group, where I study the properties of polycatenated materials synthesized via Lewis pair polymerization. When I’m not in the lab, you can usually find me rock climbing, backpacking, running, dancing, or reading.

Treasurer – Amelia Skinner

Hi! I’m the CGSO treasurer, Amelia Skinner, and I am a second year in the Borch lab. I use mass spectrometry and other tools to investigate soil organic matter formation and the transformation of organic matter with disturbances such as a wildfire. In my free time, I like to climb, crochet, yap, and paddle b

Secretary – Andrea Baer

My name is Andrea, and I am your CGSO secretary! I am starting my second-year in the Chen group, where my research focuses on bio-based circular polymers and biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoates. I love recycling! In my free time, I enjoy going to concerts, reading, working out, and spending time with my friends.

Sabari Kumar

Sabari Kumar (he/him/his) — Co-president: Hi everyone! I’m a third year PChem grad student in the Kim group; my work uses techniques from computational chemistry and data science/machine learning to predict molecular properties. In my free time, I enjoy cooking, spending time with my dog, Sage, and biking and skiing around Colorado. As one of the CGSO co-presidents, I’m passionate about improving working conditions for graduate students and postdocs, and community outreach.

Brandon Portela

Brandon Portela (he/him/his) — Co-president: My name is Brandon Portela and I’m the co-president of the CGSO. I am a third-year graduate student in the Miyake & Paton group, and I focus on quantum mechanical modeling of photo- and electro-chemically driven reactions. In my free time, I enjoy going to different breweries, bars and catching up on Netflix shows.

Ava Chard

Ava Chard (she/her/hers)— Vice President: I am a 2nd year in the Reynolds group where I work on analytical method development in the Cannabis Research Center. In my free time I love hiking, cooking, and spending time with my cat!

Ren Borgia

Ren Borgia (she/her/hers) — Treasurer: My name is Ren, and I am a 2^nd year joint between the Prieto and Neilson groups. My current research is focused on making and characterizing defect-tolerant semiconducting materials for applications in solar cells. In my free time, I compete in powerlifting and I enjoy reading, hiking, and cooking. As the treasurer of the CGSO, I’m excited to contribute to our chemistry community by helping to organize rewarding opportunities for students. I aim to facilitate interactions between students and the greater Fort Collins community through service opportunities, connections between students in different divisions through social events, and access to graduate school advice/information through panels and workshops.

Juniper Morales

Juniper Morales (they/them/theirs)— Secretary: Hey ya’ll, I’m Juniper, I am a 2nd year in the Sambur group. I’m currently working towards quantitively resolving ion-insertion in electrochromic materials via a novel microscopy method. In my free time, I enjoy rock climbing, in particular multi-pitch trad and alpine adventures. As secretary of the CGSO, I hope to increase diversity and foster inclusivity by building community amongst existing/incoming cohorts.