Principal Investigator
Dr. Christy L. Haynes (she/her)

Wilanyi is a fifth-year graduate student who earned her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey in May 2021. While in the Haynes Lab, she plans to develop nanomaterials for agriculture applications as part of a joint work between the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology and a USDA collaboration. Pronounce Wilanyi Alvarez Reyes. 

Casey is a fifth-year graduate student who earned her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Oklahoma in May 2021. While in the Haynes lab, she plans to study plasmonic sensing as an NSF graduate research fellow. Pronounce Casey Wouters. 

Clare is a fourth-year graduate student in chemical engineering, co-advised by Professor Vivian Ferry. She joined the Haynes lab as an undergraduate in 2019, and graduated summa cum laude with her B.ChE. in chemical engineering and B.S. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in 2022, then continued in the group as a graduate student. While in the Haynes lab, she will be working on developing chiral plasmonic nanomaterials for use in SERS sensors as a NSF graduate research fellow. Pronounce Clare Froehlich. 

Abby is a fourth-year graduate student who earned her B.A. in Chemistry from Ripon College in May 2022. While in the Haynes lab, she plans to work on carbon dots. Pronouce Abby Stitgen. 

Rhea is a third-year graduate student who earned her B.S. in Chemistry at Saint Louis University in May 2023. While in the Haynes lab, she plans to work on electrochemical redox sensing. Pronounce Rhea Caldwell. 

Timmy is a third-year graduate student who earned his B.S. in Biochemistry and Biotechnology with a minor in Physiology at Cal Poly Pomona. While in the Haynes Lab, he plans to work on developing and using plasmonic/SERS sensing. as an NSF graduate research fellow. Pronounce Timmy Nguyen 

Cheryl is a second-year graduate student who earned her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology and her master's degree in chemical engineering from Northeastern University. While working in the Haynes group, she plans to work in the silica nanoparticles space, focusing on delivering nucleic acids.

Cheryl's LinkedIn profile is available.

Suman is a fourth-year graduate student in the Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering program. She graduated with a bachelor's in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati in 2015. She then pursued a master's in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, completing it in 2017. She then worked as an engineer at Cairn Oil and Gas, Vedanta Limited, for five years before arriving at the University of Minnesota in Fall 2022. While in the Haynes lab, she plans to work on designing nanoparticles with PFAS affinity using renewable resources. Pronounce Suman Lata. 

Suman's LinkedIn profile is available. 

Emily is a first-year graduate student who earned her B.S. in Biochemistry from Adrian College in 2023, graduating summa cum laude. Before beginning her graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, she worked as a research chemist at 3M, where she investigated the effects of water chemistry on next-generation evaporative cooling products. While in the Haynes group, she is designing nanoparticles with PFAS affinity. 

Vanessa is a first year graduate student who earned her B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Spanish from Denison University in May 2025. While in the Haynes lab, she is working on designing silica nanoparticles for agriculture applications. Pronounce Vanessa Tsang,

Yuxin is a first-year undergraduate pursuing her B.S. in Chemistry. She joined the Haynes lab in May 2026 and is working with Cheryl to develop silica nanoparticles for nucleic acid delivery. 

Madi is a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering who joined the Haynes lab in September 2025. While in the Haynes lab, she is working with Rhea on carbon dot synthesis and electrochemical detection. 

Emily is a sophomore pursuing her B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry. She joined the Haynes lab in September 2025 and is working with Suman on developing carbon dots with PFAS affinity. 

Ashley Flynn is a current high school chemistry and physics teacher at Chanhassen High School. She earned her undergraduate degree in Chemistry Education from Minnesota State University, Mankato (Spring '23) and her master's in Curriculum and Instruction from Western Governors University (Spring ’25). Ashley is a part of the RET program (Research Experience Program for Teachers) and will be working with Abby Stitigen on various projects, including a chemistry outreach activity on specific and non-specific sensors.