Kempler Group

Prof. Paul Kempler

Assistant Professor, University of Oregon

Director of the Electrochemistry Masters Internship Program

Associate Director, Oregon Center for Electrochemistry

email, linkedin, twitter, google scholar, office: LISB 430

Curriculum Vitae

Paul Kempler is an Assistant Professor in Chemistry and the Director of the Oregon Center for Electrochemistry. A Portland native, he moved to Nashville to double major in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at Vanderbilt University under the supervision of Prof. Paul Laibinis and Prof. Kane Jennings. He completed his Ph.D. with Prof. Nathan Lewis at the California Institute of Technology in 2020 in Chemical Engineering, studying solar fuels devices converting water, sunlight, and CO₂ into hydrogen and hydrocarbons. His thesis investigated high-aspect-ratio features in light-absorbing semiconductors and electrocatalysts opportunities to improve solar fuels device performance. At Oregon, he has developed electrochemical technology laboratory courses integrating advanced experiments with coding in Python as part of the first industrially-focused Master’s program in electrochemistry in the United States. His research interests are broadly described by a desire to (1) understand the fundamentals of electrochemical reactions controlled by ion-transfer and  (2) use new electrochemical processes to transform manufacturing and abate global CO₂ emissions.

Postdoctoral Scholars

Evandi Rahman graduated from Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) with a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering in 2024. He previously developed metal oxide electrocatalysts for electrochemical processes, such as chlorine evolution reaction (ClER) and nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR). In the Kempler group, he is working on membrane optimization and cell reactor design for scaled-up ironmaking process. Additionally he is interested in chemical control of the iron plating process in concentrated alkaline electrolytes. His research interests are broadly described by developing efficient electrocatalysts and electrochemical cells for green energy sources.

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Graduate Students

Kira Thurman is a graduate of the Master’s internship program in polymer science and has also worked as a researcher at NREL prior to arriving at Oregon in 2021. She is co-advised by the Boettcher lab as part of the Liquid Sunlight Alliance (LiSA) and is studying fundamental aspects of corrosion reaction kinetics using well-defined monolayers on single crystal surfaces.

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Manasa Rajeev graduated from University of Kerala with a degree in General Chemistry. At UO, in collaboration with the Boettcher lab and Hgen, she is interested in improving the efficiencies of low-cost alkaline water electrolyzers by studying integrated electrode-membrane architectures built for gas bubble management. Currently, she is investigating catalyst degradation during hydrogen generation from intermittent electricity sourced from wind and solar energy.

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Raj Shekhar graduated from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela with a B.S. + M.S. in Chemistry. He earned an M.S. in Materials Science and Nanotechnology from Université Paris-Saclay where he studied the binuclear activation of water-molecule at transition-metal-based electrocatalysts. His Ph.D. research at Oregon, in collaboration with researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, is focused on the mechanism of direct metal-oxide-to-metal reduction in concentrated alkaline electrolytes. Raj is co-advised by the Boettcher lab.

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Louka Moutalier graduated from the University of Oregon in 2019 with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry, before working as a high school Chemistry/Physics teacher for two years. In 2021, Louka joined the incoming Chemistry graduate cohort at the University of California, Santa Barbara and earned his M.A. in Chemistry with an emphasis in Chemical Education in 2022. He then returned to UO to join the Electrochemistry Masters Internship Program (class of 2023) where he interned with EnZinc studying advanced anodes for secondary zinc batteries. As a Ph.D. student he is researching metal oxide/metal conversion reactions in alkaline zinc anodes for grid-scale energy storage.

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Andrew Goldman graduated from Lehigh University in 2019 with a BS in Materials Science and Engineering. While at Lehigh, he worked in the lab of Professor Nicholas Strandwitz studying electrostatic phenomena at the interfaces in Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor devices for photovoltaic applications. After graduating, he started a business as a small plant nursery specializing in nut trees and other edible perennials in an effort to facilitate the transition to a more regenerative and carbon-negative food system. Now at the University of Oregon Center for Electrochemistry, Andrew is studying the relationship between process, structure, and properties of iron films electrodeposited using the Chlor-Iron process with the goal of designing full-scale reactors to decarbonize steelmaking.

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Stern, E graduated from Western Washington University with a BS in chemistry in 2023. They have a background in heterogenous catalysis and surface chemistry, and their interests are in transport phenomena. As a Ph.D. student at UO, they are studying fundamental ion transfer kinetics at the electrode-electrolyte boundary using the deposition of well-ordered monolayers on single crystal surfaces in the presence of surface/solution species.

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Undergraduate Students

Caitlyn Cannan is a 4th year undergraduate in the Robert D. Clark Honors College earning a B.S. in chemistry. She is additionally pursuing a master’s degree as a part of the 2024 cohort with the OCE’s Accelerated Electrochemistry Masters Internship Program. Currently, her research project at UO focuses on understanding the phase transition mechanisms for interfacial ion transfers across various electrochemical systems.

Nadia Barnard is a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon, majoring in chemistry while concurrently pursuing a master’s degree in electrochemistry through the Accelerated Master’s Program (AMP). Her research at Oregon focuses on the ion transfer kinetics of model systems, with her current project examining proton transfer into thin-film tungsten oxides in various environments. Nadia is passionate about renewable energy research, particularly hydrogen fuel cells, and plans to pursue a PhD in electrochemistry after graduation.

James Cecil is a 3^rd year undergraduate student at the University of Oregon pursuing a B.S in chemistry with a physics minor. His research consists of studying the electrochemical activity of various iron (hydr)oxides and how metal doping affects electrochemical activity. After graduation, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in electrochemistry at the University of Oregon.

Favour Foday is an undergraduate at the University of Oregon, majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Bioengineering. Her current research focuses on reverse current phenomena in alkaline water electrolysis. Favour is particularly interested in how electrochemical principles can be applied to biological systems, including biosensors, medical devices, and biofuel cells. Ultimately, she aims to contribute to innovations that merge biological processes with cutting-edge electrochemical technologies.

Alumni

Postdoctoral Scholars

Prof. Anastasiia Konovalova (DTU Energy)

Masters Students

Berkley Noble (Magrathea Metals)

Carinna Lapson (PNNL)

Sara Scodellaro (Moses Lake Industries) 

Casey Mezerkor (PNNL)

Linn Kelley (NREL)

João Victor De Moraes Morgado (Natron)

Serafina Fortiner (Nel Hydrogen)

Gainer Phay (ESS Inc.)

Antowan Davtians (Redwood Materials) 

Karana Dunn (ESS Inc.)

Mark Mancini (HRL)