About Our Team

Nadim Mahmud

Contact: mnadim (at) vt.edu

B.S. in Chemistry, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh (2019)

Nadim started his PhD in Chemistry at Virginia Tech in 2021 and joined Worch lab as the first graduate student in December 2022. Nadim is very passionate about chemistry and always interested to learn more about other fields of science. In his undergrad, he worked on natural products chemistry but has since switched gears to green chemistry and sustainable polymers. He is now applying his synthetic skills to create stereopure sugar-derived polymers to afford high-performance polymeric materials. Outside of work, Nadim likes exploring new places, listening to metal music, and cycling. He is also a nature enthusiast.

Meng Jiang

Contact: mengjiang (at) vt.edu

M.S. in Chemistry, University of Florida (2020)

B.S. in Chemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology (2017)

As a Taoist and a chemist, Meng is interested in observing nature, recording patterns (and/or proposing theories), and predicting future events based on these patterns. She has previously worked in the fields of organometallic chemistry, solid-state inorganic chemistry, and computational chemistry before joining Worch Lab in Summer 2023. After intensively working in many different fields of natural science, with initial conflicts and later uniformity in thoughts, she has developed a somewhat atypical view of chemistry and life. Her current research focuses on creating programmable materials from dynamic covalent polymers.

Chizoba Obunadike

Contact: chizobaobunadike (at) vt.edu

B.S. in Chemistry, Osun State University, Nigeria (2020)

Chizoba Obunadike joined the Department of Chemistry at Virginia Tech in August 2023. Prior to joining the Worch Lab as a first-year graduate student in January 2024, she served as a graduate teaching assistant for the Organic Lab at Virginia Tech. Chizoba is deeply passionate about chemistry, with a particular fascination for dynamic covalent chemistry. She is captivated by its transformative power and the precise manipulation at the molecular level that can hopefully translate into groundbreaking innovations in smart materials. Dedicated to exploring the intricate ways this field can be harnessed to benefit society, Chizoba is currently working on developing sustainable elastomeric materials with adaptive properties. Outside of her academic pursuits, Chizoba enjoys listening to music and dancing.

Regina Ham

Contact: wjham23 (at) vt.edu

M.S. in Systems Food Biotechnology, Korea University, South Korea (2018)

B.S. in Food Bioscience and Technology, Korea University, South Korea (2016)

Regina is currently a doctoral student in the MACR program at Virginia Tech and joined Worch lab in Fall 2023. Prior to starting the MACR program in the summer of 2023, she worked as a researcher in a pharmaceutical and dietary supplement company in Korea. Her current research interests include dynamic covalent materials from biomass. Outside of the lab, Regina enjoys listening to music and dancing!

Adam Caridi

Contact: atcaridi (at) vt.edu

M.S. in Chemistry, Lewis University (2024)

M.S. in Chemistry, Lewis University (2022)

Adam is a first-year graduate student who joined the Worch Lab in Fall 2024. Adam is currently working on currently extrusion-based methods to develop more sustainable biocomposites. He is also working on developing recyclable photopolymer resins for circular additive manufacturing.

Chris Koelbl

Contact: christopherk21 (at) vt.edu

Christopher B. Koelbl Jr. (Chris, Cpher, Cman, etc.) is junior at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University pursuing a B.S. in chemistry. Chris was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in the northern Virginia area, graduating high school in 2021. His current research focuses on applying green chemistry concepts to improve the synthesis and application of synthetic polydisulfides derived from biorenewable cyclic disulfides. The ultimate goal of this project is to create intrinsically recyclable polymers that could be used in a multitude of applications while eliminating linear post-consumer waste. Chris plans to pursue a PhD in chemistry after completing his undergraduate degree.

Emily Bird

Contact: emilybird3703 (at) vt.edu

Emily is currently a junior at Virginia Tech pursuing a B.S. degree in Chemistry. Emily was born and raised in Northern Virginia. Her current research interests involve programmable polyimine networks. In her free time, Emily enjoys playing video games.

Eden Young

Contact: edenyoung (at) vt.edu

Eden is a sophomore Chemistry major at VT. She is working collaboratively to develop polydisulfide materials.

Paige Roach

Contact: paiger04 (at) vt.edu

Paige is a junior Biochemistry major from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at VT. She is working collaboratively to develop polydisulfide materials.

Sylvie Gobs

Contact: sylviegobs (at) vt.edu

Sylvie is a junior Chemical Engineering major from the College of Engineering at VT. She is developing recyclable composites that incorporate whole plant biomass as feedstock.

Markie

Contact: open the fridge and she will reveal herself

Markie was adopted in 2011 and has been a Worchie ever since. She’s traveled the world (France, England, Scotland, Wales, US), crossed the North Atlantic Ocean by ship, faked numerous injuries for sympathy and treats, and has moved over a dozen times with us. After all of these years, she now (finally) has her own private garden here in Blacksburg. Fun fact: Markie is named after the late actress Markie Post – just kidding, she just has a mark on her back…Another fact (this one is true): Markie once went 24 h without weeing because she refuses to go on the turf inside of airports – a girl has standards and all.