Group News

Casey defended her dissertation on "Tunable gold nanostar-based plasmonic nanocomposites for reproducible SERS sensing. Her work is a culmination of design, characterization, and analytical validation of the performance of plasmonic nanocomposites incorporating gold nanostars into soft material matrices, resulting in two peer-reviewed publications and key findings that we hope to publish soon! Prior to joining the CAL in the fall of 2023, Casey worked under the direction of Dr. Indrasekara (2019-2021) and completed an Internship at the DHS. Casey was instrumental in helping LCB set up our research space in the Burson Chemistry building, and expertly facilitated our lab move to the new Cameron building last Fall. Congratulations, Casey! (July 2026)

Nour gave her second mini-seminar (public research update) en route to earning her MS in Chemistry - next step - the defense! Alexander and Lightness also completed their first mini-seminars to propose their research projects to their committees. 

Mini-seminars are critical milestones in our MS Chemistry program here at Charlotte. The first mini-seminar serves as a closed proposal where students present their research plans to their thesis committee in Year 1. The second mini is a public presentation open to the entire department, where they give a progress update at the end of their penultimate semester. 

Congrats all! (May 2025)

Lightness Ndalima joined the MS Chemistry program this past Fall and has officially joined the group! Lightness earned her BS in Chemistry from the University of Kansas and is excited to take on her journey in analytical chemistry! (February 2026)

Alexander Page joined the MS Chemistry program this past Fall and joined the group. Alexander comes to us from Sweden after earning his BS in Chemistry & Forensic Science from Missouri Southern State University (September 2025)

We are excited to be joined by Dr. Haddadnezhad - an expert in nanoparticle workflows, SERS platforms, and analytical sensing technologies. Navid is coming to us from Amherst, MS, and brings much complementary experience to the team. Welcome Navid! (July 2025)

Brinda successfully defended her Honor's thesis for his work on optimizing and characterizing a fluorescence detection system for microfluidic capillary electrophoresis. Congrats Brinda! (April 2025)

Nour Alsharid is starting her journey in the Chemistry MS program this Spring. Nour worked as one of the first undergraduate researchers in the Casto Analytical Lab since Fall 2023. Welcome back, Nour! (January 2025)

Bennett Roth started in the Chemistry MS program here at Charlotte this past Fall and joined the Casto Analytical Lab. Bennett comes to us from the University of South Carolina where he completed his B.S. degree in Chemistry. Welcome to the group, Bennett! (November 2024)

Most Jannatul Ferdous Suchi officially began her journey as a PhD student this Fall! Suchi has been working in the Casto Analytical Lab since Fall 2023 but joined the Chemistry & Nanoscale Science PhD program officially this Fall. Welcome back, Suchi! (August 2024)

Casey is officially a PhD candidate after successfully defending her proposal on surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates for microfluidic analysis tools - congrats Casey! (May 2024)

Alex successfully defended his Honor's thesis for his work on increasing sensitivity and selectivity of fluorescently labeled analytes in CE-LIF. Congrats, Alex! (April 2024)

Dr. Casto-Boggess excitedly welcomed Casey Folks to the group! Casey is a PhD student in the Nanoscale Science program with a strong background in Raman and nanoparticle synthesis. Welcome Casey! (Fall 2023)