Group Photo March 2023
(left to right): Marc Groves, Max Kling, Josh Richardson, Matt Conley, Jiaxin Gao, Kavyasripirya Samudrala, Yutthana Lakliang.
(left to right): Marc Groves, Max Kling, Josh Richardson, Matt Conley, Jiaxin Gao, Kavyasripirya Samudrala, Yutthana Lakliang.
The PI:

Dr. Matthew P. Conley (matthew.conley at ucr.edu)
Matt grew up in and around Chicago. He obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2004, and was introduced to research in Vladimir Gevorgyan's group. He joined Richard F. Jordan's group at the University of Chicago for his Ph. D. As a member of the Jordan group Matt studied the isomerization mechanisms of Pd(II) complexes. He pursued a postdoc at the ICIQ in Tarragona, Spain with Javier de Mendoza (2008 – 2011), where he worked on guanidinium receptors. In 2011 Matt moved to ETH in Zurich, Switzerland to work in Christophe Coperet's group as a postdoc. In the Copéret group he worked on surface organometallic chemistry to synthesize well-defined heterogeneous catalysts. He also worked on characterization of supported species and molecular organometallic complexes using solid-state NMR. In 2015, he joined the faculty at the University of California, Riverside and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2021. Throughout all of his moves he remains a loyal fan of the Chicago Cubs.
Full CV
Matt grew up in and around Chicago. He obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2004, and was introduced to research in Vladimir Gevorgyan's group. He joined Richard F. Jordan's group at the University of Chicago for his Ph. D. As a member of the Jordan group Matt studied the isomerization mechanisms of Pd(II) complexes. He pursued a postdoc at the ICIQ in Tarragona, Spain with Javier de Mendoza (2008 – 2011), where he worked on guanidinium receptors. In 2011 Matt moved to ETH in Zurich, Switzerland to work in Christophe Coperet's group as a postdoc. In the Copéret group he worked on surface organometallic chemistry to synthesize well-defined heterogeneous catalysts. He also worked on characterization of supported species and molecular organometallic complexes using solid-state NMR. In 2015, he joined the faculty at the University of California, Riverside and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2021. Throughout all of his moves he remains a loyal fan of the Chicago Cubs.
Full CV
Previous Members
Jessica Rodriguez (Ph. D, 2022): chemist at Afton Chemical
Winn Huynh (Ph. D, 2022): chemistry instructor at Pierce College in Los Angeles
Damien Culver (Ph. D, 2020): staff scientist at Ames National Lab.
Hosein Tafazolian (Postoc): senior scientist at Triton Systems
Oliver Vu (MS 2016)
Brian Tran (Undergraduate)
Adam Zhao (Undergraduate)
Josh Mahutga (Fourth Year Undergraduate)
Jessica Rodriguez (Ph. D, 2022): chemist at Afton Chemical
Winn Huynh (Ph. D, 2022): chemistry instructor at Pierce College in Los Angeles
Damien Culver (Ph. D, 2020): staff scientist at Ames National Lab.
Hosein Tafazolian (Postoc): senior scientist at Triton Systems
Oliver Vu (MS 2016)
Brian Tran (Undergraduate)
Adam Zhao (Undergraduate)
Josh Mahutga (Fourth Year Undergraduate)
Interested in Joining?
Prospective Postdocs:
We are searching for a postdoctoral researcher. If you are interested send your CV (with 3 references) and brief description of your graduate research.
Prospective Undergraduate Students:
Undergraduate research is a great opportunity to gain experience in the lab, and highly encouraged for students interested in chemistry as a career. Interested students should contact Matt by email and also take a look at the UCR Undergraduate Research page.
Prospective Graduate Students:
Apply directly to the Chemistry Graduate Program at UC Riverside. [link] We are happy to discuss our research with prospective graduate students, but can not answer questions about admissions.
We are searching for a postdoctoral researcher. If you are interested send your CV (with 3 references) and brief description of your graduate research.
Prospective Undergraduate Students:
Undergraduate research is a great opportunity to gain experience in the lab, and highly encouraged for students interested in chemistry as a career. Interested students should contact Matt by email and also take a look at the UCR Undergraduate Research page.
Prospective Graduate Students:
Apply directly to the Chemistry Graduate Program at UC Riverside. [link] We are happy to discuss our research with prospective graduate students, but can not answer questions about admissions.